A report yesterday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included these statistics/facts on death by murder.

1) An estimated 50,000 persons die annually in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries.

2) The CDC classifies suicide as murder. And a majority -- 58.7% -- of deaths were suicides, followed by "homicides and deaths involving legal intervention (i.e. deaths caused by police and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions) -- 26.4% -- and then deaths of undetermined intent -- 14.5% -- and unintentional firearm deaths -- 0.4 percent.

3) Firearms were used in the majority --51.5% -- of suicide deaths, followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation (23.1%) and poisoning (18.1%). The most common method used by male suicides was a firearm (57.1%), followed by hanging/strangulation/suffocation (24.2%). Among females, poisons were used most often (40.7%) followed by firearms (31.3%).

4) The homicide rate was three times higher for males compared to females. The highest rates were among black non-Hispanic males and males aged 20--24 years.

5) Among homicide deaths, firearms were used as weapons in approximately two thirds of the incidents. Firearms were used in approximately 75% of homicide incidents that involved multiple victims and 80% of homicide-suicide incidents. Firearms also were commonly used to commit suicide.

I was surprised that suicide is considered murder. Anyone else?

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