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KBIA’s Health & Wealth Desk covers the economy and health of rural and underserved communities in Missouri and beyond. The team produces a weekly radio segment, as well as in-depth features and regular blog posts. The reporting desk is funded by a grant from the University of Missouri, and the Missouri Foundation for Health.Contact the Health & Wealth desk.

Missouri has the worst Black homicide rate – for the 10th year in a row

Two black handguns sit on a table.
Photo by Thomas Tucker
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A new report from the Violence Policy Center has found that Black Missourians are seven times more likely than their white counterparts to die by homicide.

This year’s analysis of 2022 data found that Missouri’s rate of 65.7 deaths per 100,000 Black residents is more than double the national average.

The Violence Policy Center, a national nonprofit focused on gun violence, has been releasing the annual report for 18 years, and Missouri has been at the top of this list for the past 10 years.

“Since 2014, the state has had the highest Black homicide victimization rate in the nation,” Executive Director Josh Sugarmann said. “If you go back a few additional years, this is the 16th year that Missouri has been either the first or second nation for Black homicide victimization.”

The report also found that the rate of Black homicide victimization in Missouri has more than doubled in the last decade – from 30.7 per 100,000 in 2013 to 65.7 per 100,000 in 2022.

"Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: Continued Spotlight on Missouri"
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Violence Policy Center

More than 90% of the deaths in Missouri were caused by firearms, largely due to a lack of gun control.

"In Missouri, not only do the state laws offer little beyond federal law, the few laws that have been on the books have been repealed," Sugarmann said. "It's basically a wide-open state, as far as firearm purchase and possession."

He added that this level of gun violence has a widespread impact on overall community health.

“The trauma that arises from violence and gun violence, in particular, not only impacts those who die from gun violence, those who are injured from gun violence, not just their families, their friends – but whole communities,” Sugarmann said.

Sugarmann said some recent changes in the way the national data was collected in 2022 has let to some limitations – the analysis can no longer provide a state-by-state view of information such as circumstances related to the homicide or relationship between perpetrator and victim.

“Recognizing the role that we hope to study plays – giving people information to better understand what type of violence is taking place in their state – that's a critical shortcoming,” Sugarmann said, “So, unfortunately, a lot of that data is not in the study this year. We hope in the future, we can bring it back.”

"Black Homicide Victimization in the United States"
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Violence Policy Center

Rebecca Smith is an award-winning reporter and producer for the KBIA Health & Wealth Desk. Born and raised outside of Rolla, Missouri, she has a passion for diving into often overlooked issues that affect the rural populations of her state – especially stories that broaden people’s perception of “rural” life.
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