You asked
Please provide data on gun deaths from 1980 to present, separating out homicide, suicide, unknown and totals.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
Underlying cause of death is coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). From 1979 to 2000, version 9 of the ICD (ICD-9) was used to code cause of death, whilst from 2001 onwards, version 10 (ICD-10) has been used. Cause of death is not directly comparable across different versions of the ICD.
For 1901 to 2000 the number of deaths by underlying cause are available from the 20th Century Mortality Files, 1901-2000: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/the21stcenturymortalityfilesdeathsdataset
The following ICD-9 codes would be used for gun deaths between 1980 and 2000:
| Accidental fire arm deaths | |
|---|---|
| E922 | Accident caused by firearm missile |
| E922.0 | Accident caused by hand gun |
| 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 |
| Suicide related firearm deaths | |
| E955 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by firearms and explosives |
| E955.0 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by hand gun |
| E955.1 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by shotgun |
| E955.2 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by hunting rifle |
| E955.3 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by military firearms |
| E955.4 | Suicide and self-inflicted injury by other and unspecified firearm |
| 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 |
| Undetermined intent related firearm deaths | |
| E985 | Injury by firearms and explosives, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted |
| E985.0 | Injury by hand gun, 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 |
| Legal intervention involving firearm discharge | |
| E970 | Injury due to legal intervention by firearms |
| E977 | Late effects of injuries due to legal intervention |
For 2001-2016 the number of deaths by underlying cause are available from the 21st century mortality files - deaths dataset, England and Wales: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/the21stcenturymortalityfilesdeathsdataset
The following ICD-10 codes would be used for gun deaths for 2001 onwards:
| Accidental fire arm deaths | |
|---|---|
| W32 | Handgun discharge |
| W33 | Rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge |
| W34 | Discharge from other and unspecified firearms |
| Suicide related firearm deaths | |
| X72 | Intentional self-harm by handgun discharge |
| X73 | Intentional self-harm by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge |
| X74 | Intentional self-harm by other and unspecified firearm discharge |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Legal intervention involving firearm discharge | |
| Y35.0 | Legal intervention involving firearm discharge |
Other special extracts and tabulations of deaths data for England and Wales are available (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreement of costs, where appropriate). If you require any further information, you can contact the team directly at: vsob@ons.gov.uk
As part of our regular Crime Statistics outputs, we also publish an article entitled Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2017, which contains analyses of homicide offences held within the Home Office Homicide Index.
Appendix table 5a, published alongside these tables, specifically shows a breakdown of numbers of homicide offences by apparent method of killing and does include shooting as a method. Links to these tables and the publication are below: