While mass shootings and homicides dominate public conversation, most gun deaths are intentionally self-inflicted, experts say. Rutgers University researchers are working to prevent those tragedies.
“Firearm suicide makes up the majority of suicide deaths in the United States — but it gets very little attention,” said Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers University.
Suicide is a top cause of death nationwide, with firearms accounting for roughly 60% of all gun deaths. In 2023, someone died a firearm suicide every 19 minutes. Only 27% had sought mental health care, according to the Rutgers center.
At the same time, gun ownership is changing. From 2019-21, about half of all new gun owners were female, 20% were Black and 20% were Hispanic, according to the National Library of Medicine.
A 2023 analysis of federal data led to a startling conclusion by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University: From 2019-23, gun suicides by Black women increased by 65%, while for Hispanic women the increase was 25%. Such deaths were escalating, too, among Black and Hispanic youth.
At Rutgers, Anestis and his colleague Allison Bond are working to shift the narrative through the Firearm Suicide Prevention Fellowship, a program designed to train early-career researchers in prevention, policy and public communication.
“What we are really trying to do is draw attention around the scope of the issue,” Anestis said. “We want to build a community of researchers who can spend decades working on this and training the next generation, so progress continues regardless of politics or funding shifts.”
The 21 fellows this year are a mix of researchers, practitioners and scholars. They’ll swap best practices and learn from each other’s unique perspectives, organizers said. Along the way, participants plan to dig into the latest data trends, explore what works in the field and gain tools for community engagement and culturally responsive research.
The fellowship is designed to spark collaboration across public health, psychology and criminal justice professionals. It’s open to post-baccalaureate researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Participants need not have experience in the subject area.
Colleen Walsh, who participated in the 2025 Rutgers suicide fellowship during her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University, studies firearm violence among young people in low-income settings.
“My work has expanded to examine the overlap between young people’s experiences with violence and suicide, an area that remains significantly under-examined despite its critical importance for prevention,” Walsh said. “Understanding this intersection is essential if we are to develop effective, tailored approaches that address the full scope of risk facing our nation’s young people and their families.”
Walsh says the fellowship connected her with “a community of scholars who have been deeply supportive of my research.”
“These collaborations have already led to several empirical articles and grant submissions, underscoring the lasting impact of this opportunity for learning and collaboration on my career and on the field more broadly,” Walsh said.
The fellows’ work comes as data show troubling trends across multiple communities. From 2019-21, firearm suicide rates increased by 42% among Black individuals and 28% among Hispanic individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“When someone purchases a firearm, you do see the risk of suicide peak a bit in that first year,” said Bond, an assistant professor at the Rutgers center. “But then the risk really peaks again around 10 years later.”
Firearms used in suicides are owned for a decade on average, Bond said.
“That means when we see increases in gun purchases, like we saw in 2020, we may not fully see the impact of that risk for years,” Bond said.
Firearms are often purchased for reasons unrelated to mental health crises, such as personal protection or recreation. Their presence in a home, though, can increase risk, particularly during periods of stress or life changes, researchers say.
“Having a firearm in the home is associated with a significantly higher risk of suicide for everyone living there,” Bond said. “We don’t want to be in a position years from now where we realize we missed the opportunity to intervene. This is the time to act.”
Complicating prevention efforts: Only about 27% of gun suicide victims had sought mental health care. That highlights the need for broader prevention strategies, beyond traditional therapy and similar treatment, experts say.
“Mental health can play a preventive role,” Anestis said. “It’s not just about identifying someone in crisis, it’s about helping people plan ahead, including safe storage practices, so that if a crisis does happen, the most lethal means aren’t easily accessible.”
Suicide’s effects demand a more widespread prevention approach, researchers say.
“When someone dies of suicide, the number of people impacted is huge,” Anestis said. “It creates a ripple effect across families and communities.”
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
