Homicide

Dr. Rose Kagawa co-presented alongside Michelle Spencer from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on alcohol misuse and gun violence in a briefing hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Click here for the full webinar by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. 

Communities impacted by homicide endure profound loss and trauma, yet the voices of those intimately acquainted with navigating its aftermath are often overlooked and undervalued. In this study, we center the perspectives of community violence prevention specialists (CVPS) to understand the role of community-based violence intervention (CVI) in the aftermath of homicide and identify essential needs for fostering holistic and sustainable safety and healing following homicide.

What was supposed to be a time of happiness and optimism for a new beginning was ruptured by tragedy and terror. In late January 2023, two horrific mass shootings targeted Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California.

“More than 33,000 people have died in mass shootings since January 1, 2023. Not only are guns the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 19 and young adults age 25 and under, but young Black Americans are 14 times more likely than white youth to die of gun homicide.

To determine the trends in domestic violence and firearm domestic violence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers used police-reported crime data from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2020. The onset of the pandemic was considered to be Mar. 20, 2020. The cities examined were Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; and Nashville, TN. 

In this issue: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We know that better understanding risk factors for domestic violence helps to develop more effective prevention measures.  

Identifying community characteristics associated with firearm assault could facilitate prevention. We investigated the effect of community firearm dealer and alcohol outlet densities on individual risk of firearm assault injury.

In this issue: According to newly released provisional 2022 mortality data from CDC WONDER, the rate of firearm mortality fell by 1.5% from 2021 to 2022. A 6.5% drop in firearm homicide deaths is driving that decrease, despite a 2.5% jump in firearm suicides. The overall 1.5% decrease may appear modest, but it represents tragedies prevented and lives saved.

In this issue: On June 2nd, we commemorated National Gun Violence Awareness Day to honor the victims and survivors of gun violence. Here at VPRP, we honor them through action by developing knowledge and driving change for a safer, healthier, and more equitable future.

One in five adults in California, or an estimated 6.5 million people, are concerned that someone they know, usually a friend or family member, is at risk of harming themselves or others, according to new research published in Preventive Medicine.

Of the people perceived to be at risk for harming others, an estimated 19% were said to have access to firearms. For those perceived to be at risk of harming themselves, that number was approximately 11%.