1,270
gun deaths in Tennessee, including
103
children and teens
(ages 0-19)
37%
Homicides comprised nearly 2/5 of gun deaths
59%
Suicides comprised nearly 3/5 of gun deaths
83%
of gun death victims were male
12th
highest gun death rate in the country in 2019

GUN DEATHS BY INTENT, 2019

More than 1,200 Tennesseans died by gun violence in 2019, an average of more than three people every day. Suicides were 59% of the gun deaths and homicides were 37%.

Number of deaths

County Variations

Age-adjusted gun death rate per 100,000

  • 8.50 to 14.20
  • 14.21 to 19.91
  • 19.92 to 25.62
  • 25.63 to 31.33
  • Suppressed /
    Unreliable

Among the counties in Tennessee, Clay County had the highest gun death rate, followed by Lewis County and Stewart County.

Conversely, Williamson County had the lowest gun death rate, followed by Loudon County and Jefferson County.

FIREARM HOMICIDES

504
firearm homicides in 2019, including
94
children and teens
7th
highest firearm homicide rate in the U.S.

Gun Deaths by Intent

Nearly 2/5 of gun deaths were homicides in 2019.

Homicide by Method

4/5 of homicides were committed with firearms in 2019.

FIREARM SUICIDES

746
firearm suicides in 2019, including
29
children and teens
16th
highest firearm suicide rate in the U.S.

Gun Deaths by Intent

Nearly 3/5 of all gun deaths were suicides in 2019.

Suicide by Method

3/5 of suicides were by firearm in 2019.

Resources

Additional Information

Notes

  • All rates listed are age-adjusted in order to allow for accurate comparisons between populations with different age distributions.
  • All data is from 2019, 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, 1999-2019. Available: http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html.

Last updated February 2021