First-Ever National State-by-State Study of Drive-By Shootings Reveals Data on Victims, Time, Location

Washington, D.C.--The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Drive-By America, a first-of-its kind national analysis of drive-by shootings. The study tallied news stories from the 50 states and the District of Columbia from July through December 2006 to identify data and trends associated with drive-by shootings, including the number of incidents by state, the number of victims killed and injured, as well as time of day and location. Findings of the study include:

• During the six-month period covered in the report, 549 drive-by shooting incidents were reported, claiming 156 lives and injuring 465 individuals.
  
  
• California led the nation in the number of drive-by shootings with 115 shootings, killing 51 and injuring 123. Following California were: Florida, 57 drive-by shootings, killing 18 and injuring 47; Texas, 56 drive-by shootings, killing seven and injuring 41; Illinois, 24 drive-by shootings, killing 11 and injuring 29; and, Ohio, 20 drive-by shootings, killing three and injuring 20.
  
  
• Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of those killed or injured were under the age of 18.
  
  
• In more than half (55 percent) of the incidents, the victims were at a residence (either indoors or outdoors);
  
  
• More than one out of five (22 percent) incidents involved shooting at another vehicle;
  
  
• Nearly half (47 percent) of all drive-by shootings occurred between the hours of 7:00 PM and midnight. More than a quarter (27 percent) were between midnight and 7:00 AM.
  
  
• Drive-by shootings peaked in the month of July and continued to decline as the months turned colder.

VPC Executive Director and study co-author Josh Sugarmann states, �Drive-by gunfire is devastating families and neighborhoods. The fact that the total number of drive-by shootings that occur each day in America is most likely far higher than our report found only adds to the despair.�

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.