By the Numbers 1 June 2026
3.3%
The percentage of 7,034 individuals surveyed who "seriously thought about shooting another person in the past 12 months," according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open -- Prevalence of Thoughts of Shooting Others Among US Adults.
The researchers estimated that this equated "to more than 8.5 million US residents; the lifetime prevalence was 7.3%, or more than 19 million people".
This study’s findings suggest that a small but nontrivial percentage of people in the US think about shooting others. The demographic correlates of these thoughts were consistent with those for firearm interpersonal violence, suggesting the existence a high-risk group even in the absence of gun ownership. Limitations included the need for online access and an understanding of English to complete the survey, possible misinterpretations of the questions, and survey weights that adjusted only for measured variables but not for bias in unmeasured differences or for patterns of nonresponse bias.
3.3%
The percentage of 7,034 individuals surveyed who "seriously thought about shooting another person in the past 12 months," according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open -- Prevalence of Thoughts of Shooting Others Among US Adults.
The researchers estimated that this equated "to more than 8.5 million US residents; the lifetime prevalence was 7.3%, or more than 19 million people".
This study’s findings suggest that a small but nontrivial percentage of people in the US think about shooting others. The demographic correlates of these thoughts were consistent with those for firearm interpersonal violence, suggesting the existence a high-risk group even in the absence of gun ownership. Limitations included the need for online access and an understanding of English to complete the survey, possible misinterpretations of the questions, and survey weights that adjusted only for measured variables but not for bias in unmeasured differences or for patterns of nonresponse bias.