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The new FBI report said there were 16,914 homicides nationwide in 1998, of which 10,975 were committed with guns, down from a total of 18,210 in 1997 of which 12,346 involved guns. The reduction by 1,371 in murders involving a firearm was greater than the drop of 1,296 in overall murders.
Similarly, the report said that robberies committed with guns fell to 38 percent of all robberies in 1998 from 40 percent in 1997.
Handguns were by far the most common weapons in killings, accounting for 52 percent, while rifles and shotguns each accounted for only 4 percent of all homicides, the report said.
(NOTE: Meaning that the remaining -- obviously omitted from this report for "some" reason -- 44% of the killings were committed with... What? -- Phil)
The predominant role played by handguns in homicide underscores the belief, held by officials in the 28 ciies and counties that have filed lawsuits against the firearms industry, that America's gun violence problem is largely a handgun problem.
As has been true for as long as crime statistics have been kept, the FBI report found that the South had the highest homicide rate, 8 per 100,000, compared to 6 per 100,000 for the Midwest and West and only 4 per 100,000 for the Northeast.