Firearms deaths pass fatal crashes as top nonmedical killer in Missouri

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/feb/08/firearms-deaths-pass-fatal-crashes-top-nonmedical-/

Firearms deaths pass fatal crashes as top nonmedical killer in Missouri
By Associated Press
February 8, 2015

Firearms deaths have surpassed motor vehicle fatalities as the leading nonmedical cause of deaths in Missouri, and some experts predict that for the first time in decades that will be the case nationwide.

In 2013, according to the most recent federal data available, firearms killed 880 people in Missouri while car crashes killed 781. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 759 people lost their lives on Missouri roads last year, which is the lowest number in the state since the 1940s.

A combination of effective safe-driving campaigns and a rise in gun-related suicides is credited for pushing the firearms death count higher than auto fatalities, The Kansas City Star reported.

From 2003 through 2012, homicides dropped by 17 percent nationally, but firearm fatalities rose by nearly 14 percent from 2004 to 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.