GUN DEATHS BY INTENT, 2018
More than 35 Rhode Islanders died by gun violence in 2018, an average of one person ten days. Suicides were 62% of gun deaths and homicides were 35%.
TRENDS OVER TIME
Over the last 10 years (2009-2018), the overall gun death rate in Rhode Island decreased 35%. Decreases in the suicide rate contributed to the overall change over the course of the decade; in that time period the firearm suicide rate decreased 42%.
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000
Note: The CDC considers firearm homicide rates based on fewer than 20 deaths “statistically unreliable.” There were fewer than 20 firearm homicides reported from 2009-2018, therefore these data points are omitted from the graph above.
County Variations
Age-adjusted gun death rate per 100,000
- 3.46 to 3.66
- 3.67 to 3.87
- 3.88 to 4.08
- 4.09 to 4.31
- Suppressed /
Unreliable

Among the counties in Rhode Island, Providence County had the highest gun death rate, followed by Kent County.

Conversely, Newport County had the lowest gun death rate, followed by Washington County.
FIREARM HOMICIDES
Gun Deaths by Intent
Homicide by Method
FIREARM SUICIDES
Gun Deaths by Intent
Suicide by Method
RESOURCES
Additional Information
- Prevent Firearm Suicide - Rhode Island
- Disarm Domestic Violence - Rhode Island
- Implement ERPO - Rhode Island
Notes
- All rates listed are age-adjusted in order to allow for accurate comparisons between populations with different age distributions.
- All data is from 2018, the most recent year of data available, unless otherwise indicated.
- Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. WONDER Online Database, 1999-2018. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.
Last updated September 2020