# Who is more likely to injure me with a gun? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021 "2016-06-10T14:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/1 "2016-06-10T14:18:39Z")
I am an adult who lives alone. I don’t own a gun, or have one in my home. Who is more likely to shoot me? A criminal with malicious intent, or someone else in possession of a gun? In the former category I would include, for examples, being robbed at gunpoint, a gang shootout where I am hit by a stray bullet, etc. In the latter category I would include hunters who miss their targets, neighbors who miss a home invader or who have an accidental discharge while handing a gun, cops who miss their target, celebratory idiots who fire guns up in the air, etc. I realize the odds of any of these things happening is very low, I’d just like to know am I more likely to be shot as a result of criminal activity or purely by accident? Also, I know the odds of an accidental shooting are much higher for people who have guns in their own homes, which isn’t the case with me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/2 "2016-06-10T14:21:11Z")
When I lived out in the woods, the occasional spent round would fall on the roof during deer season. That is the most near that I have come to being shot at. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/3 "2016-06-10T14:23:57Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > When I lived out in the woods, the occasional spent round would fall on the roof during deer season. > That is the most near that I have come to being shot at. That’s a valid bit of data, so I’ll add that I don’t live in a rural area where I might reasonably think that hunters are operating within range of my home. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/4 "2016-06-10T14:30:03Z")
This will depend entirely on where you live … in a crime ridden inner city neighborhood, then a criminal with malicious intent … in the forested countryside, then someone else in possession of a gun. If you did own a gun, then most likely you’d shoot yourself … ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/5 "2016-06-10T14:30:03Z")
Seeing as how you give your location as Madison, Wisconsin, I pulled this from Wiki > [@](#): > > In 2008, Men’s Health magazine ranked Madison as the “Least Armed and Dangerous” city in the United States in an article about “Where Men Are Targets”. Between 2004 and 2007, 17 murders were reported. In 2008, Madison Police reported 10 homicides. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/6 "2016-06-10T15:21:24Z")
According to [page 84 of this PDF from the CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf) found on [this site](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm), in 2013 the 33,636 firearms deaths broke down like this: Unintentional: 505 Suicide: 21,175 Homicide: 11,208 Undetermined: 281 Legal Intervention/War: 467 So unintentional firearm deaths are extremely low. And if we delve deeper into the homicide statistics, I would be a lot would be criminal-on-criminal activity. Get along with your neighbors and don’t hang out with criminals and your chance of getting shot is exceedingly low. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/7 "2016-06-10T15:34:29Z")
It is impossible to know your personal statistics but it is likely that the answer is a criminal. According to the gun violence archive there have been 23,000 incidents of gun violence in the USA this year. Of that total only a little over 1,000 were accidental shootings. I have read that about half of accidental shooting are self inflicted. I am not sure if the 23K number involves suicides as well but even if it did it seems like accidental shootings are way outnumbered by intentional shootings. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/8 "2016-06-10T15:40:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Seeing as how you give your location as Madison, Wisconsin, I pulled this from Wiki I found this [Interactive map: Dane County homicides since 2004](http://host.madison.com/wsj/interactive-map-dane-county-homicides-since/html_bedc43ac-cd31-11e2-9452-0019bb2963f4.html). Oh for the peaceful times of 2008, when there were 4 homicides reported for the whole county. > [@control-z](#): > > According to [page 84 of this PDF from the CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf) found on [this site](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm), in 2013 the 33,636 firearms deaths broke down like this: > > Unintentional: 505 > Suicide: 21,175 > Homicide: 11,208 > Undetermined: 281 > Legal Intervention/War: 467 > > So unintentional firearm deaths are extremely low. And if we delve deeper into the homicide statistics, I would be a lot would be criminal-on-criminal activity. Get along with your neighbors and don’t hang out with criminals and your chance of getting shot is exceedingly low. But Madison’s homicide rate is also exceedingly low, which maybe muddies the water a bit for the specific answer to my question. Also, was there an explanation of the “Legal Intervention/War” category? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/9 "2016-06-10T16:06:12Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > [snip] … So unintentional firearm deaths are extremely low. And if we delve deeper into the homicide statistics, I would be a lot would be criminal-on-criminal activity. Get along with your neighbors and don’t hang out with criminals and your chance of getting shot is exceedingly low. I think this is a bit misleading … shooting someone with intent is more likely to kill, one would be actually aiming the gun … unintentional shootings are not aimed and stand a far better chance of just wounding, which isn’t included in the data you presented. The OP asks about being injured and from the other posts I suspect he would most likely be injured by a stray bullet during hunting season, or perhaps the upstairs neighbor dropping his gun off the balcony. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/10 "2016-06-10T16:12:54Z")
And I’m not only asking about death here, but about wounding, whether intentional or not. I imagine the number of non-fatal shootings is substantially higher than fatal ones. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/11 "2016-06-10T16:15:36Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > It is impossible to know your personal statistics but it is likely that the answer is a criminal. According to the gun violence archive there have been 23,000 incidents of gun violence in the USA this year. Of that total only a little over 1,000 were accidental shootings. I have read that about half of accidental shooting are self inflicted. I am not sure if the 23K number involves suicides as well but even if it did it seems like accidental shootings are way outnumbered by intentional shootings. I agree that accidental killings are far outnumbered by intentional ones, but I don’t have any idea whether that applies to woundings. Shit, I sure wouldn’t go hunting with Dick Cheney! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/12 "2016-06-10T18:19:49Z")
You may want to add to your list of possible events: egotistical, self-centered people, mostly men. I am referring to vehicle drivers with a grudge (who carry firearms), those you accidentally bump into on the street or elsewhere (who carry firearms), etc. Gone are the days someone cuts you off in traffic and your response is to flip them the bird and leave it at that. It’s not uncommon the jerk who cut you off is now offended by your expressive finger and decides [to retaliate with waving the gun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_r37sYhXsM) he has on the seat, [pointing it at you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hwsXzPUuk), or maybe even firing it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/13 "2016-06-10T18:29:23Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You may want to add to your list of possible events: egotistical, self-centered people, mostly men. > > I am referring to vehicle drivers with a grudge (who carry firearms), those you accidentally bump into on the street or elsewhere (who carry firearms), etc. Gone are the days someone cuts you off in traffic and your response is to flip them the bird and leave it at that. It’s not uncommon the jerk who cut you off is now offended by your expressive finger and decides [to retaliate with waving the gun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_r37sYhXsM) he has on the seat, [pointing it at you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hwsXzPUuk), or maybe even firing it. How often does this actually result in a shooting? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![DudeManBro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@DudeManBro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudeManBro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/14 "2016-06-10T18:34:18Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You may want to add to your list of possible events: egotistical, self-centered people, mostly men. > > I am referring to vehicle drivers with a grudge (who carry firearms), those you accidentally bump into on the street or elsewhere (who carry firearms), etc. Gone are the days someone cuts you off in traffic and your response is to flip them the bird and leave it at that. It’s not uncommon the jerk who cut you off is now offended by your expressive finger and decides [to retaliate with waving the gun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_r37sYhXsM) he has on the seat, [pointing it at you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hwsXzPUuk), or maybe even firing it. What are the chances of a gat being waved vs. nothing happening? How many cases of this happening? Seems an insignificant factor. Of course, one can roll up in somebody’s hood and commence flipping if you wanna improve your odds… ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/15 "2016-06-10T18:34:55Z")
Maybe the OP’s girlfriend owns a gun … if so then she’d be high on the list of those most likely to shoot the OP. A few years ago we had a Californian come up for bear hunting season and he thought it was a good idea to dress up in a bear suit so he could get closer to the bears … the day ended tragically I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/16 "2016-06-10T18:45:39Z")
Obviously when assessing your chance of being shot by a criminal, your own behavior is key. Are you yourself a rival criminal? 😛 Do you resist when mugged, or politely hand over your wallet? Do you date the girlfriends of dangerous men? (Or date dangerous women?) I’d guess carrying a weapon increases your chance of being shot — are there stats for that? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/17 "2016-06-10T18:50:41Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > A few years ago we had a Californian come up for bear hunting season and he thought it was a good idea to dress up in a bear suit so he could get closer to the bears … When you dress as a bear during bear season, it’s kind of a toss-up whether the bears or the hunters get you. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/18 "2016-06-10T19:58:50Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > A few years ago we had a Californian come up for bear hunting season and he thought it was a good idea to dress up in a bear suit so he could get closer to the bears … the day ended tragically I’m afraid. On the other hand, we really don’t want those in the gene pool. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/19 "2016-06-10T20:13:09Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > When you dress as a bear during bear season, it’s kind of a toss-up whether the bears or the hunters get you. While the hunters might shoot you, the bears will, er, get you in the end. So to speak… ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021/20 "2016-06-10T20:25:29Z")
This would, as has been mentioned, depend entirely on where you live and how you live your life there. General statistical cites are only the vaguest indication. This is an extension of the usual discussion or implication that murder rates in different localities, or countries, quantitatively indicate the risk of particular individuals in them, which they just don’t. The risk is extremely skewed toward certain types of people and patterns of behavior and away from others. General stats can put an upper limit on things which people might fear but turn out to be extremely rare overall, but aren’t much help in judging the personal likelihood of things which aren’t so extremely rare. For example for road rage shootings, very rare to begin with, but surely highly skewed by whether the victim shouted or made obscene gestures to the shooter. I don’t give people the finger if they cut me off, and only honk to alert someone of danger. Personally I would induce, living in the same place in the US, NY area, for 20+ years, that my chance of being shot is so tiny that it’s useless to try to quantify it by sub category. Whatever the national stat is for each possibility, mine is far lower because there’s no hunting anywhere near, nobody shooting off guns for fun, much lower than average crime rate, I’m not involved in any aspect of the illegal drug trade even as retail customer, I don’t know any angry people with guns, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-more-likely-to-injure-me-with-a-gun/757021.md?page=2)