Interpersonal Firearm Injury and Death in Portland, Oregon: 2018 through 2021

Abstract

Firearm related injuries and deaths have been increasing across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In Portland, Oregon non-fatal and fatal injuries from firearms have been higher since 2020 than at any year in the city’s history. This descriptive study analyzed data from Gun Violence Archives from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021. It shows that incidents of firearm-related assault began to rise three months after the first COVID-19 case in Portland, with July 2020 having the most injuries from assault in the four-year study. Black men had the highest rate of fatalities, with more than ten-fold higher rate of firearm-associated injury than White men in the four years studied. Portland had a higher rate of total injuries and a markedly higher rate of fatalities from 2018 through 2021 compared with similar cities. Neighborhoods near Downtown and those on the Eastside of the city had the highest rates of interpersonal injuries and deaths from firearms. This study will help develop hypotheses for future public health research and interventions targeted at curbing this alarming rise in interpersonal firearm-associated injuries.