You asked
Under the Freedom of Information act I would like to request the following information:
a) The number of reported accidents involving Firearms in the United Kingdom.
b) The number of reported accidents involving Air Weapons in the United Kingdom.
c) To include in a) and b) damage to People (personal injury and fatalities), Animals (not on the legal hunting Quarry list) and Property (including vehicles).
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
All of our mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. We do not have access to the following information you have requested.
Accidents reported involving firearm
Accidents reports involving Air weapons
Statistics on damage or personal injury to humans
Statistics relating to animal injuries or fatalities
Statistics relating to damage to property.
However, we can provide the following:
For 1901 to 2000 the number of deaths by underlying cause are available from The 20th Century Mortality Files, 1901-2000.
The following ICD-9 codes would be used for gun deaths between 1980 and 2000:
| Accidental firearm deaths | |
|---|---|
| E922 | Accident caused by firearm missile |
| E922.0 | Accident caused by handgun |
| E922.1 | Accident caused by shotgun (automatic) |
| E922.2 | Accident caused by hunting rifle |
| E922.3 | Accident caused by military firearms |
| E922.8 | Accident caused by other specified firearm missile |
| E922.9 | Accident caused by unspecified firearm missile |
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.xls .csv
| Assault related firearm deaths | |
|---|---|
| E965 | Assault by firearms and explosives |
| E965.0 | Assault by hand gun |
| E965.1 | Assault by shotgun |
| E965.2 | Assault by hunting rifle |
| E965.3 | Assault by military firearms |
| E965.4 | Assault by other and unspecified firearm |
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.xls .csv
| Undetermined intent related firearm deaths | |
|---|---|
| E985 | Injury by firearms and explosives, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.0 | Injury by handgun, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.1 | Injury by shotgun, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.2 | Injury by hunting rifle, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.3 | Injury by military firearms, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.4 | Injury by other and unspecified firearm, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
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.xls .csv
| Legal intervention involving firearm discharge | |
|---|---|
| E970 | Injury due to legal intervention by firearms |
| E977 | Late effects of injuries due to legal intervention |
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.xls .csv
For 2001 to 2016, the number of deaths by underlying cause are available from the Deaths registered in England and Wales – 21st century mortality: 2018 dataset.
The following ICD-10 codes would be used for gun deaths for 2001 onwards:
| W32 | Handgun discharge |
| W33 | Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge |
| W34 | Discharge from other and unspecified firearms |
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.xls .csv
| Assault related firearm deaths | |
|---|---|
| X93 | Assault by handgun discharge |
| X94 | Assault by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge |
| X95 | Assault by other and unspecified firearm discharge |
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.xls .csv
| Undetermined intent related firearm deaths | |
|---|---|
| Y22 | Handgun discharge, undetermined intent |
| Y23 | Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge, undetermined intent |
| Y24 | Other and unspecified firearm discharge, undetermined intent |
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.xls .csv
| Legal intervention involving firearm discharge | |
|---|---|
| Y35.0 | Legal intervention involving firearm discharge |
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.xls .csv
For firearm related fatalities from 2013 to 2018 you can use our NOMIS webservice. All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
We have provided details below for England and Wales; however, this information is available at a regional level. It is also available with a further breakdown of age and sex.
| Mortality statistics - underlying cause, sex and age | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cause of death | W33 Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge | ||||
| gender | Total | ||||
| age | total (all ages) | ||||
| measure | Deaths | ||||
| Date | Total mortality | England | Wales | England and Wales | Resident outside England and Wales |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Download this table
.xls .csv
| Mortality statistics - underlying cause, sex and age | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cause of death | X94 Assault by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge | ||||
| gender | Total | ||||
| age | total (all ages) | ||||
| measure | Deaths | ||||
| Date | Total mortality | England | Wales | England and Wales | Resident outside England and Wales |
| 2013 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Download this table
.xls .csv
| Mortality statistics - underlying cause, sex and age | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cause of death | Y23 Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge, undetermined intent | ||||
| gender | Total | ||||
| age | total (all ages) | ||||
| measure | Deaths | ||||
| Total mortality | England | Wales | England and Wales | Resident outside England and Wales | |
| Date | |||||
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Download this table
.xls .csv
2019 data will be available from 1 July 2020.
Further information, such as historical geographical breakdown, may be available as a bespoke request. Such services would fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreement of costs where appropriate.
If you would like to discuss your requirements further, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.