Most homicides are by younger
people.Under 18, guns are 8.1%; for under 36, most homicides are poison and
arson. Most gun homicides are by multiple offenders; the highest activities are
drugs and gangs.
Most homicides are committed
by 14-24 young adults. The Department of Justice does not publish non-citizen
murders (for a reason no doubt); however, many of the gang and drug shootings
are by non-citizens. Most violent murders are not by firearms.
Most violent murders are by
poison, arson, or other weapon (knife, hammer, or "other."
Gun control and registration
would not save any of these victims, as these numbers include justifiable
homicides wherein the person was protecting themselves lawfully.
Most murders were intraracial
From 1980 through 2008—
84% of white victims were
killed by whites (figure 19).
93% of black victims were
killed by blacks.
Long term trends and patterns
In the last decade (since
2000) the homicide rate declined to levels last seen in the mid-1960s
The homicide rate doubled
from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, increasing from 4.6 per 100,000 U.S.
residents in 1962 to 9.7 per 100,000 by 1979 (figure 1). (See Methodology for
information on rate calculations.)
In 1980 the rate peaked at
10.2 per 100,000 and subsequently fell to 7.9 per 100,000 in 1984.
The rate rose again in the
late 1980s and early 1990s to another peak in 1991 of 9.8 per 100,000.
The homicide rate declined
sharply from 9.3 homicides per 100,000 in 1992 to 4.8 homicides per 100,000 in
2010.
