The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its Uniform Crime Report for 2018 on Monday, and the numbers indicate that more people were killed by knives than rifles.
The annual report touts an overall drop in violent crime for the second consecutive year, according to the Bureau’s news release on the numbers. However, the numbers specifically on homicides in the United States offer some insight into America’s ongoing gun control debate.
Due to multiple shooting massacres that took place in August, gun control proponents have once again turned their animus toward semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15. Perhaps the most salient example of this is 2020 Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke’s pledge, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”
From handyman to House history: HVAC mogul Joe Strada pushes trade schools, business mindset in Florida race
They’ll Never Learn: As Crime Sprees Plague Seattle, It’s Socialist Mayor Introduces Soft-on-Crime ‘Connection Court’
Ilhan Omar should be jailed, deported if citizenship fraud proven, Top House Republican says
They May Come to Your State Too: Flood of West Nile Fever Cases Hits LA Thanks to Mosquito Swarms
Detective suspected in girl’s murder may have killed others, former investigator fears
Serial killer’s ex-wife slept beside murderer for 8 years, never suspected his deadly double life
Ilhan Omar’s turbulent week explained: The dueling probes that threw the Somali-born progressive into chaos
Income inequality at Obama Foundation, as brass thrives and rank and file seeks union
Pentagon Sends 600 Soldiers Into Latin America as Trump Turns Up Heat on Cartels
Josh Shapiro moves into the starting blocks for 2028 with new PAC
Noem reassignment caps tumultuous week of terminations and reshuffling at State Department
Russia ‘exploiting’ midterm elections to position US against Ukraine: ‘We fully agree with President Trump’
Ilhan Omar raid sparks ominous prediction from watchdog: ‘They probably got the goods’
Army expo attendees skeptical of Trump’s Iran peace deal hopes: ‘Beat ’em into submission’
Chinese National Arrested at US University for Poisoning Classmate Engaged in Cutting Edge Cancer Research
However, as has been the case in previous years, the numbers show that rifles in general — including semi-automatics as well as others — only account for a fraction of a percent of the total homicide rate in the United States.
Here’s what the FBI’s 2018 homicide numbers show us:
- Overall, the number of homicides dropped from 15,195 in 2017 to 14,123 in 2018. The overall number of people murdered with guns dropped as well.
- 10,265 were committed with firearms, out of which handguns accounted for 6,603.
- Rifles were used in 297 homicides, shotguns in 235, and “other guns” in 167.
- 2,963 homicides were listed as “firearms, type not stated.”
What does this show us? According to the available information, rifles accounted for just 2.1 percent of total homicides last year — and 2.9 percent of gun homicides.
From handyman to House history: HVAC mogul Joe Strada pushes trade schools, business mindset in Florida race
They’ll Never Learn: As Crime Sprees Plague Seattle, It’s Socialist Mayor Introduces Soft-on-Crime ‘Connection Court’
Ilhan Omar should be jailed, deported if citizenship fraud proven, Top House Republican says
They May Come to Your State Too: Flood of West Nile Fever Cases Hits LA Thanks to Mosquito Swarms
Detective suspected in girl’s murder may have killed others, former investigator fears
Serial killer’s ex-wife slept beside murderer for 8 years, never suspected his deadly double life
Ilhan Omar’s turbulent week explained: The dueling probes that threw the Somali-born progressive into chaos
Income inequality at Obama Foundation, as brass thrives and rank and file seeks union
Pentagon Sends 600 Soldiers Into Latin America as Trump Turns Up Heat on Cartels
Josh Shapiro moves into the starting blocks for 2028 with new PAC
Noem reassignment caps tumultuous week of terminations and reshuffling at State Department
Russia ‘exploiting’ midterm elections to position US against Ukraine: ‘We fully agree with President Trump’
Ilhan Omar raid sparks ominous prediction from watchdog: ‘They probably got the goods’
Army expo attendees skeptical of Trump’s Iran peace deal hopes: ‘Beat ’em into submission’
Chinese National Arrested at US University for Poisoning Classmate Engaged in Cutting Edge Cancer Research
Once again, deaths from knives and “personal weapons” like hands, fists, and feet were higher than the number of homicides committed with rifles. More than five times as many murders were committed with knives (1,515) as with rifles, and more than twice as many people were killed with “personal weapons” (672). Other years included in the FBI report’s table — which spans 2014-2018 — show similar disparities between the same weapon types.
Again, these numbers are just for rifles as a whole. There’s no further breakdown for what kind of action or cosmetic features the rifles had.
But despite the facts, the question of what to do about the AR-15 and other widely used semi-automatic rifles — sometimes referred to as “assault weapons” — will likely remain as one of the main focus points in America’s ongoing debate about guns and the Second Amendment.
Story cited here.
