For Release: Friday, August 12, 2016
Washington, DC — The latest research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) confirms that state laws allowing concealed handguns in public are putting our safety at risk. Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 885 deaths not involving self defense since 2007, including 29 mass shootings that killed 139 people, VPC research shows. Since there is no comprehensive recordkeeping of fatal incidents involving concealed carry permit holders, this tally most likely represents a small fraction of the actual total.
Details on these fatal incidents can be found on Concealed Carry Killers (concealedcarrykillers.org), an online resource that provides examples of non-self defense killings involving private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns in public. Information on these incidents is organized by state.
Overall, Concealed Carry Killers documents 696 fatal, non-self defense incidents since May 2007 in 41 states and the District of Columbia, resulting in the deaths of 885 people. Twenty-nine of the incidents were mass shootings as defined by federal law (three or more victims), resulting in the deaths of 139 victims. At least 17 law enforcement officers died at the hands of concealed carry killers since May 2007.
“Pro-gun advocates are continually working to create a guns-everywhere society, and the consequences have been deadly,” states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand. “Our research shows concealed handgun permit holders frequently perpetrate homicides and suicides while facilitating fatal unintentional shootings. And despite the gun-industry mantra that firearms are needed for protection, it is extremely rare for private citizens to use guns in self-defense.”
Because there is no comprehensive recordkeeping of deaths involving concealed handgun permit holders and many states in fact bar the release of such information, the examples on Concealed Carry Killers are taken primarily from news reports and most likely represent a fraction of actual events.
Concealed Carry Killers does not include the small number of incidents that are eventually determined to involve self-defense or where no verdict is reached at trial. All such incidents are removed from the database’s ongoing totals.
In the vast majority of the 696 incidents documented in Concealed Carry Killers (585, or 84 percent), the concealed carry permit holder either committed suicide (293), has already been convicted (222), perpetrated a murder-suicide (53), or was killed in the incident (17). Of the 84 cases still pending, the vast majority (71) of concealed carry killers have been charged with criminal homicide, four were deemed incompetent to stand trial, and nine incidents are still under investigation. An additional 27 incidents were fatal unintentional shootings involving the gun of the concealed handgun permit holder.
Concealed Carry Killers includes detailed narratives for the majority of the 696 incidents, including (if available) the age of the perpetrator and the victim(s), the weapon used, the relationship(s) of those involved in the killing, and motives for the killing when stated.
Below is a chart showing the status of all concealed carry killers since May 2007:
The findings of Concealed Carry Killers are consistent with the latest academic research, which shows that state laws allowing concealed handguns in public do not increase public safety — in fact, they do the opposite. A 2014 study from Stanford University concludes that state concealed carry laws actually lead to an increase in violent crime.
And a recent VPC study, Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use, shows it is extremely rare for private citizens to use guns in justifiable homicides. The study found that in 2013, there were only 211 justifiable homicides involving a private citizen using a firearm. That same year, there were 7,838 criminal firearm homicides, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s Supplementary Homicide Report.
Additional information, including a state-by-state breakdown of fatal incidents involving concealed carry killers, is available at concealedcarrykillers.org. To review all deaths involving concealed carry killers, click on “Total People Killed by Concealed Carry Killers.”
The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
