Eye On Boise

Posts tagged: gun deaths

Report: Most Idaho gun deaths self-inflicted

Posted by Betsy

Dec. 31, 2012 9:20 a.m. • 0 comments

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A report from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare shows that 199 Idaho residents died from being shot in 2010, and most of those deaths were self-inflicted. The Times-News (http://bit.ly/TsFl5e) reports that 183 of those deaths were found to be suicides. According to the report, just 12 gun deaths were found to be homicides, three were because of an accidental discharge of a gun and one was of undetermined intent. Ross Edmunds with the department's division of behavioral health said western states tend to have higher suicide rates than other parts of the country, and about 90 percent of people who commit suicide have either a mental health or substance abuse problem.