If the setting of your manuscript is the good ole U. S. of A. and it contains a violent crime with a weapon, statistically, that weapon will be a gun. That’s why there’s a whole chapter on guns as well as wounds by firearms in my book. Firearm Stats
Criminal Justice Info Stats Firearm Stats
According to Criminal Justice Information Services Division 2016 report, of the 15,070 murder weapons used in the United States, 11,004 were firearms. What that means for us as writers is that we need to be familiar both with firearms and what they do. (Choose these links for a review of handguns and rifles/shotguns.)
In this first installment we are going to look at how to NOT handle a gun, some statistics regarding gun injuries and exactly how guns do damage. Hint: It’s not just because the bullet makes a hole.
How to NOT Shoot a Gun (In good conscience, I have to include this.)
Guns by the Numbers
Where are our characters most likely to be shot?
Well that depends on the circumstances of the shooting: assault versus unintentional. But, in both cases, I think the facts will surprise you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (yeesh, that’s a mouthful) the area most likely to struck by a bullet is the legs and feet.
Injury Care Stats
Mode of transport to hospital (1):
Ambulance/EMS – 69%
Air Transport – 2
Private Vehicle – 13
Walk-in/police – 6
Unknown (We all know it was a dragon) – 7
Medical outcome for firearm injuries in the U.S.(1):
ER visit, treatment and release – 31%
Hospitalization and release – 36%
Death – 33%
Fatality Stats
Fatal injuries by firearm(1): Men – 86%, Women – 14
Nonfatal injuries by firearm (1): Men – 90, Women – 10
Fatal injuries by age (1):
0-14 years 2.4%
15-24 42.7
25-34 27.4
35-44 12.1
45-54 8.0
55-64 3.9
65+ 3.2
Approximate number of fatalities by firearm type (2):
handgun – 64%
not stated – 28
rifles – 4
shotguns – 3
other – 2
If you are curious how those bullets actually do damage, see this post. It might not be how you think. A bullet creates far more than a hole! Here are a few more posts that will be helpful to all those writing damage by firearms. Until the next round at FightWrite, get blood on your pages.
