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Statistics show steady drop in gun violence and murder

Posted at 12:26 AM, Dec 18, 2012
and last updated 2012-12-18 00:26:01-05

Each year, roughly 31,000 Americans die from guns.

CBS 6 news took a closer look at FBI statistics on gun violence.

The stats show some categories have declined by nearly 50 percent in the last 20 years.

As for the number of murders, they have dropped steadily from just under 15,000 in 2007 to under 12,700 in 2011.

The number of murders by firearms overall and the number of murders by handguns has followed a similar decline.

Weapons

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Total

14,916 14,224 13,752 13,164 12,664

Total firearms:

10,129 9,528 9,199 8,874 8,583

Handguns

7,398 6,800 6,501 6,115 6,220

Rifles

453 380 351 367 323

Shotguns

457 442 423 366 356

Other guns

116 81 96 93 97

Firearms, type not stated

1,705 1,825 1,828 1,933 1,587