87% of Idaho’s Gun Deaths are Suicide

A shocking statistic on mental health here in the Gem State. The majority of gun-related deaths are the result of suicide. 

According to a report by the Idaho Press, between 2011 and 2017 there were 1,600 gun-related deaths in Idaho. 1,399 of those deaths were suicide. 131 deaths were assault-related. In 2017, 3 people died from gunshots that involved legal intervention.

Idaho had the 5th highest suicide rate in the country when studies were conducted back in 2017.

A new Violent Death Reporting System should help us understand why our suicide rate is so high.

According to an article on KTVB, this could lead to policy and law changes. A good example of this is that in Colorado they discovered that most first responders who died of suicide were likely to be veterans.

Interestingly and fortunately, Idaho is only one of 11 states that have not had a mass shooting in 2019.

Suicide is currently the big problem here. It's the third leading cause of injury-related mortality for Idaho, followed by car wrecks and falls.

The new system, which should shed some light on the problem will track general circumstances, mental health diagnoses, intimate partner problems, and homicide-specific circumstances, like drugs and hate crimes.

Hopefully with this system, which will track date in 2020 but won't be available until 2022, will help us take some preventative measures to save lives. Those numbers are way too high.