NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A study found the majority of firearm deaths in 2021 across Tennessee were between people ages 19 years old and 64 years old. Despite ages younger than that making up 8% of the total deaths, it said gunfire was the leading cause of death for minors.
Around 52% of gun-related deaths in Tennessee were also suicides, according to the Sycamore Institute. The organization works to help Tennessee policymakers create effective legislation by providing research into complex issues and breaking down data to make it easier to understand.
They said in 2021, gunfire was the tenth-leading cause of death in Tennessee killing 1,569 residents, or around 22 out of every 100,000 people. While suicides were the most common cause of death overall, they said homicides were the most common for Tennesseans up to 35 years old.
Comparatively, they said the number-one cause of death in 2021 was cardiovascular disease and killed more than 18,000 Tennesseans. According to the data, all crime rates other than gun-related offenses also dropped over the last decade.
"Shooting deaths in Tennessee have been rising for about a decade and reached an all-time high in 2021," the study said.
Gun-related deaths were highest among white people and men, according to the data. It said 82% were male and 61% were white. Suicides also accounted for most firearm deaths among white Tennesseans and homicides accounted for the most deaths among Black Tennesseans, the data said.
The Sycamore Institute also said that over the past decades, gun-related suicide and homicide death rates in Tennessee have been rising. They said the number of homicide deaths rose quickly in 2020 and 2021 for most age groups, after several years of slower growth.
The rate of gun-related homicide and suicide deaths rose especially quickly for minors, according to the data. A similar spike was seen for people between 19 years old and 34 years old. However, they said homicide deaths quickly rose for people between 35 years old and 64 years old, while the suicide rate did not change much for the same age range.
While there were rises in suicide rates, homicide rates grew more quickly across age groups.
"The annual rate of homicides with guns more than doubled between 2011 and 2021 — growing by 5.4 deaths per 100,000 people. These rates also more than doubled for all individual age groups except for those over 65," the study said.
The study also found that guns were involved in more of Tennessee's homicides and suicides than a decade prior. They said in 2021, around 88% of homicides involved guns. In 2011 though, that number was around 70%.
Guns were used in around 67% of suicides in 2021, compared to 62% in 2011.
The study said most gun-related deaths were in Shelby County over the last decade, followed by Davidson County and Knox County ranking third. Other counties in the Nashville area also saw relatively high rates of gun-related deaths.
While the number of gun-related deaths was higher in denser counties, shooting death rates spiked in other areas of the state. The study said Stewart County had the highest shooting death rate over the last decade, and Williamson County had the lowest.
The study also said Tennessee's overall firearm death rate was 53% higher than the national rate, and the 11th highest in the country. Mississippi had the highest rate of gun deaths. Tennessee also tied for the seventh-highest rate of gun homicides.
