Homicide

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%.

The United States has experienced an unprecedented surge in homicides — the vast majority of which involve firearms. Mass shootings, however they are defined, are also increasing. Firearm suicide rates, in contrast, have remained stable. To understand these developments, it’s important to see where they came from. What are the long-term trends? What state and regional patterns exist in mortality and in firearm-violence prevention policies?

The rise in unemployment during the five months of the pandemic was associated with an increase in firearm violence and homicide in 16 American cities. 

Research led by UC Davis Professor Garen Wintemute shows that violence indirectly impacts most Californians. Though relatively few may experience or witness a violent act, a large majority of surveyed Californians reported having an “experience of violence” (EV). These included hearing gunshots in their neighborhood, encountering a sidewalk memorial to a violent death or learning about a violent event through their social network.

During the first five months of the pandemic in 2020, low-income communities of color experienced significantly greater increases in firearm violence, homicides and assaults compared to more affluent, white neighborhoods.

Previous studies showed increases in violence in U.S. cities during the pandemic but did not indicate where violence was highest or increased most within those cities.

In September, a 22-year-old white woman named Gabby Petito was reported missing by her family. A few months earlier, she had set off in a camper van she renovated with her high school sweetheart, Brian Laundrie, to explore the wild spaces of the American West. She updated her Instagram as she went with smiling photos of herself and Laundrie, framed by canyons and lit by sunsets, and touched base with her family back east every few days. 

Researchers at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) assessed the prevalence of exposure to violence, such as robbery or assault, and its impacts on the mental health and social functioning of California adults.

Legal purchasers of handguns with a prior DUI conviction have a greater risk of a future arrest for a violent offense -- including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault and for firearm-related violent crimes.

“The police picked him up from his high school after a terrified student told her principal he had threatened to slit her throat. She showed them his Instagram, where he had posted pictures of the Charleston Church shooter with the word “hero” underneath it, and a picture of their science lab with the caption “Columbine 2.0”. The officers didn’t find any guns or explosives, and couldn’t arrest him for the alleged threats, since the girl was too scared to be interviewed.