Murder Victims, by Weapons Used

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The following table shows the number and percent of murder victims in the United States by the cause of death. Weapons used or cause of death include guns, stabbing, blunt objects, strangulation, arson, and more.

Weapons used or cause of death
Year Murder
victims,
total		 Guns Cutting or
stabbing		 Blunt
object1		 Strangulation,
hands, fists,
feet, or pushing		 Arson2 All
other3
Total Percent
1965 8,773 5,015 57.2% 2,021 505 894 226 112
1970 13,649 9,039 66.2 2,424 604 1,031 353 198
1975 18,642 12,061 64.7 3,245 1,001 1,646 193 496
1980 21,860 13,650 62.0 4,212 1,094 1,666 291 947
1985 17,545 10,296 58.7 3,694 972 1,491 243 849
1990 20,045 12,847 64.1 3,503 1,075 1,424 287 909
1991 21,676 14,373 66.3 3,430 1,099 1,529 195 847
1992 22,716 15,489 68.2 3,296 1,040 1,445 203 1,043
1993 23,180 16,136 69.6 2,967 1,022 1,482 217 1,168
1994 22,084 15,463 70.0 2,802 912 1,452 196 1,079
1995 20,232 13,790 68.2 2,557 918 1,438 166 968
1996 15,848 10,744 67.8 2,142 733 1,182 151 726
1997 15,289 10,369 67.8 1,963 702 1,187 134 934
2002 14,263 9,528 66.7 1,776 681 954 103 874
2006 14,990 10,177 67.9 1,822 607 833 115 1,128
2007 14,831 10,086 68.0 1,796 647 854 130 1,016
2008 14,224 9,528 66.9 1,888 603 964 85 1,156
2011 12,795 8,653 67.6 1,716 502 751 76 1,009
2012 12,765 8,855 69.4 1,589 518 767 85 951
1. Refers to club, hammer, etc.
2. Before 1973, includes drowning.
3. Includes poison, explosives, unknown, drowning, asphyxiation, narcotics, other means, and weapons not stated.
Source: Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United States, 1997, 2007 and 2008; Crime in the United States 2011, 2012.

Crime Data
Crime Data
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