Economy
The Geography of U.S. Gun Violence
What we can say for sure based on recent data.
Editor's note Dec. 14, 2012: With today's horrific elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, we're re-posting our December 3 story on the geographic and demographic factors associated with gun violence in American cities and metro areas. For continuous news updates on the Sandy Hook shooting, please follow our colleagues at The Atlantic Wire.
Gun violence in America has reached epidemic proportions — over 30,000 people died by gun in 2011, according to preliminary data [PDF]. This past summer, dubbed the summer of the gun, these numbers felt all too close and all too random, with shootings near the Empire State Building and in an office in D.C. closely following mass killings in Aurora, Colorado and Oak Creek, Wisconsin.