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Untold Story of Murder-Suicide in the US
Champaign County Health Care Consumers and the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence Release Study:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- At least 662 Americans died in murder-suicides during the first half of 2001, and almost all (94.5 percent) were killed with firearms, according to American Roulette: The Untold Story of Murder-Suicide in the United States, a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) released in Illinois. During this same six-month period, 21 Illinois citizens died in murder-suicides. Just recently on April 10th, 2002, a father in Glendale Heights shot three of his kids, killing one and seriously injuring two, before turning the gun on himself.
The VPC study, based on news clips collected nationwide, is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies ever conducted on murder-suicide. Using the VPC figures, it is projected that more than 1,300 Americans may die each year in murder-suicides. The study notes that murder-suicides range from high profile mass shootings like the April 20th, 1999, Columbine massacre to shootings among families and friends that often claim the lives of spouses and children.
"Immediately, families can remove the gun from the home for their own safety and the safety of their children to protect them from murder-suicides," said Brooke Anderson of Champaign County Health Care Consumers. "Consumers have been lied to by the gun industry. We have been told a gun in the home will protect us, but the study American Roulette shows that is the worst thing families and consumers could do."
"Although the Navistar shooting received a lot of attention during the shooting period, many other murder-suicides dot the state of Illinois," said Catherine Griffiths, Midwest Regional Director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. "The study American Roulette shows that murder-suicides can happen anywhere in our state, and no community is immune from this kind of tragedy."
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Karen Brock, MPH, VPC Health Policy Analyst and study author states, "The enduring legacy of the Columbine tragedy must be the strong and clear message that guns are the catalytic component in murder-suicide. Just as important, it must be understood that the emotional factors that drive suicide can be all too easily turned outward on friends, family, co-workers and complete strangers because of the unmatched lethality of firearms. Every major murder- suicide study ever conducted has shown that a firearm -- with its unmatched combination of lethality and availability -- is the weapon most often used to murder the victims, with the offenders then turning the gun on themselves."
For the study, the VPC used a national clipping service to collect every reported murder-suicide in the United States from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001. Currently there is no national tracking system for these incidents. As a result, the VPC study provides the most accurate portrait of murder-suicides in America possible.
The VPC study found that the most common type of murder-suicides was between two intimate partners, 73.7 percent of all murder suicides involving an intimate partner. Of these, 93.5 percent were females killed by their intimate partners.
Anderson states, "One of the most tragic aspects of murder-suicides is that they are preventable. Ironically, firearms are one of the most lethal consumer products in America, yet the least regulated for health and safety. It's time to broaden our focus to a comprehensive solution that includes federal oversight of the gun industry."
Contact: Brooke Anderson for Champaign County Health Care Consumers, +1-217-493-2637
COPYRIGHT 2002 PR Newswire Association, Inc. in association with The Gale Group and LookSmart. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group
http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_
m4PRN/is_2002_April_19/ai_85897194
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