Residents in Boulder County had one of the lowest death rates from guns among the state’s most populous counties during the 12 years between the Columbine High School and Aurora theater massacres.
And almost nine out of every 10 deaths by guns were suicides, according to an I-News analysis of health data.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 275 gun deaths in the county. Of those, 240 or 87 percent were suicides and 24 were homicides. The county had one of the lowest gun death rates in the state – 8 per 100,000 residents over the 12 years and one of the lowest rates for homicides – 0.7 per 100,000 among counties with 40,000 or more residents. Statewide, the overall death rate from guns was 11 per 100,000 people.
However, the percentage of Boulder County residents who shot themselves was higher than the state rate of 76 percent.
County-by-county Gun Deaths in Colorado
Four neighborhoods had 10 or more deaths during the 12 years, while seven of the county’s 68 census tracts or neighborhoods had no deaths.
The neighborhood split by Highway 287 just north ofLafayette on the eastern edge of the county between Lookout and Arapahoe roads had the most gun deaths – 12. It was followed by the large area in the foothills west of Boulder on either side of Highway 119 with 11 deaths.
El Paso County had the second highest number of gun deaths in the state and was home to the neighborhood that saw the most residents die from guns in the years between the Columbine High School and Aurora theater shootings.
Between 2000 and 2011, El Paso County recorded 804 gun deaths, second only to Denver’s 831, according to the analysis by I-News.
Suicides accounted for 596, or 74 percent of total gun deaths. That is slightly lower than the state average of 76 percent.
There were 180 homicides – second only to Denver in the state.
The overall deaths equates to a rate of 11.6 per 100,000 over the 12 years, slightly higher than the state rate of 11 per 100,000.
The county had 20 census tracts or neighborhoods with 10 or more deaths. That included tract 54.00 in southeast Colorado Springs with 24 deaths – the most in the state during the 12 years.
The large tract of unincorporated El Paso County in the county’s northeast quadrant had 16 deaths during that time. The neighborhood just west of Cimarron Hills between Powers and Murray boulevards north of Palmer Park Boulevard had 15 deaths.
Five of the county’s 130 tracts or neighborhoods had no deaths during the 12 years.
Almost one in 10 gun deaths in La Plata County over the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings were suicides.
Between 2000 and 2011, 69 people in La Plata County died from guns. Of those, 59, or 86 percent, were suicides and six were homicides. Statewide, 76 percent of gun deaths were suicides.
Total gun deaths equated to a rate of 11.9 per 100,000 over the 12 years, slightly higher than the state rate of 11 per 100,000. That ranks in the middle of the state’s counties.
Two census tracts or neighborhoods had 10 or more deaths during the 12 years. The area that encompasses the southeast corner of the county had 14 deaths while the area next to it that includes the southwest corner of the county had 10 deaths. Both are south of Durango. All 11 census tracts in the county had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
In the 12 years, between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres, more than 300 people in Larimer County died from gunshots.
But almost nine out of every 10 deaths were suicides, according to the analysis of health data by I-News.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 302 gun deaths in the county. Of those, 261, or 86 percent, were suicides and 29 were homicides. Statewide, 76 percent of all gun deaths were suicides.
Overall, the county’s death rate was among the lowest in the state among the state’s most populous counties.
About nine people per 100,000 died from guns compared with 11 per 100,000 statewide.
Three neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more gun deaths over the 12 years. The large tract of an unincorporated part of the county east of Loveland and split by Highway 34 and I-25 had 13 deaths.
The tract next to it on the east side of Loveland east of Highway 287 had 10 deaths.
Another large unincorporated area in the far northeast part of the county on either side of I-25 had 12 deaths.
Only three of the county’s 73 census tracts had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
Mesa County had three of the four neighborhoods with the most gun suicides in Colorado between 2000 and 2011.
Countywide over those 12 years, there were 250 gun deaths, of which 218, or 87 percent, were suicides.
That ranked the county with the second highest rate of gun suicides in the state among counties with more than 40,000 residents. Mesa’s rate of 13.6 per 100,000 people was more than 50 percent higher than the state rate of 8.4 gun suicides per 100,000.
The gun suicides were concentrated in several neighborhoods or census tracts in and around Grand Junction.
One Grand Junction neighborhood between I-70 and Unaweep Avenue east of Highway 50 had the most suicide deaths of any in the state, 17 over the 12 years,
Two other neighborhoods ranked in the top four statewide.
The neighborhood south of I-70 on the east side of Grand Junction had 16 suicide deaths, ranking second statewide. A large tract in the northwest corner of the county outside Grand Junction had 14 residents kill themselves with guns. All 29 census tracts or neighborhoods in the county had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
Pueblo County had the second highest rate of gun homicides among the most populous counties in the state in the 12 year periods between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
Between 2000 and 2011, the county had 265 overall gun deaths of which 61 were homicides and 194 were suicides. The homicide rate of 3.4 per 100,000 people ranked only behind Denver’s at 5 per 100,000 among counties with 40,000 or more residents.
The statewide gun homicide rate was 2.2 per 100,000 over the 12 years.
Overall, the county’s gun death rate including suicides was 14.6 per 100,000 people, higher than the state average of 11.
Two neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more deaths over the 12 years. The northeast quadrant of the county north of the city and west of I-25 had 12 residents who died from gunshots, while the northeast Pueblo city neighborhood east of I-25 and north of Highway 50 had 10 deaths.
Only three of the 55 census neighborhoods in the county had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
Routt County had only one homicide using a gun in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
But another 39 residents killed themselves with guns between 2000 and 2011, according to the analysis by I-News.
As a result, the total gun deaths per capita were above the state average. The 40 gun deaths translated to 15.3 per 100,000 residents compared to 11 per 100,000 statewide during the 12 years. The suicide rate was 14.9 per 100,000 compared to 8.4 per 100,000 statewide.
Two census tracts side-by-side had 8 deaths each. They included the west and north parts of Steamboat Springs and the area north and south of Highway 40, as it swings west through the county.
All eight census tracts or neighborhoods had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
Weld County had one of the lowest per capita rates of gun deaths among the most populous counties in Colorado during the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings. Between 2000 and 2011, there were 217 people in the county killed with guns, of which 160, or 74 percent, were suicides.
That equaled eight overall deaths per 100,000 people during the 12 years, well below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Two census tracts had 9 deaths each in the county over the 12 years. They included one large tract on the west side of the county on either side of I-25, north of Highway 119 and another large tract north of Greeley on either side of Highway 85.
However, 17 of the county’s 77 tracts or neighborhoods did not have anyone killed by a gun during the 12 years. That is the highest number along the Front Range.
Metro Area
More than 500 people in Adams County died from gunshots during the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
A disproportionate number of the deaths, 149, were homicides, according to the I-News analysis.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 503 people in the county killed by guns, including 341, or 68 percent, who committed suicide. Statewide, 76 percent of gun deaths were suicides.
Overall, there were 10.4 gun deaths per 100,000 people. That was slightly below the state average of 11 per 100,000. However, the 149 homicide gun victims, or 3.1 per 100,000, were above the state average of 2.2 per 100,000.
Nine census tracts or neighborhoods in the county had 10 or more gun deaths during the 10 years. A northeast Aurora neighborhood north of Colfax had 16 deaths, the highest in the county. They included 10 homicides, the fifth highest total among all census tracts in Colorado. Another northwest Aurora neighborhood had 12 residents die by guns.
Seven of the county’s 97 tracts did not have any gun deaths during the 12 years.
Almost 700 people in Arapahoe County died from gunshots in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings.
The vast majority of the deaths were suicides.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 679 gun deaths in the county, the third highest number in the state behind Denver and El Paso counties. Of those, 498, or 73 percent, were suicides. The rate of all gun deaths was 10.6 per 100,000, slightly below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Eleven neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more deaths by guns during the 12 years. A neighborhood just south of East Colfax Avenue and east of Interstate 25 had the most gun deaths in the county with 15. Another tract, also just south of Colfax near the Denver city limits, had 13 deaths.
Eight of the county’s 147 census tracts had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
More than eight out of 10 Broomfield residents who died from gunshots between 2000 and 2011 were suicide victims.
An I-News analysis found that the county reported 58 gun deaths between 2000 and 2011. Of those, 48, or 83 percent, were suicides.
Overall, there were 10 deaths per 100,000 people during the 12 years, slightly lower than the statewide rate of 11 per 100,000.
One census tract or neighborhood had more than 10. The area between I-25 and the Boulder Turnpike and north of Highway 128 had 13 gun deaths.
Three of the county’s 18 census tracts had no deaths over the 12 years.
Denver led the state with more than 800 residents killed by guns in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
The city also had the highest rate of homicide deaths from guns among the state’s largest counties, according to the I-News analysis.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 831 gun deaths in Denver. A disproportionate number of the deaths, 342, or 41 percent, were homicides. That’s more than double the statewide average of 20 percent.
Per capita, the 831 deaths equaled 12.1 per 100,000 over the 12 years, above the state rate of 11 per 100,000. However, for homicides, the rate was 5 per 100,000, the highest among counties with 40,000 or more residents.
There were 21 census tracts or neighborhoods with 10 or more gun deaths during the 12 years. The highest number, 19, took place in the Platte Park neighborhood in south Denver. The next highest was 17 in a Montbello neighborhood. That area plus another Montbello neighborhood each had 12 homicides over the 12 years, tied for the most in the state with a Colorado Springs neighborhood.
Only seven of the 144 tracts or neighborhoods in Denver did not have any residents die from guns.
Douglas County had one of the lowest rates of gun deaths among the state’s largest counties in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater shootings.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 207 gun deaths in Douglas County. Of those, 170, or 82 percent, were suicides.
The overall death rate from guns was 7 per 100,000, well below the state average of 11 per 100,000 and one of the lowest in the state among counties with 40,000 or more people.
Two neighborhoods had the highest number of gun deaths in the county – nine each. One area was south of Parker, mostly east of Highway 83 and the other was in south Highlands Ranch.
Only one of the county’s 61 census defined neighborhoods had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
More than 8 out of every 10 gun deaths in Jefferson County between 2000 and 2011 were suicides.
Overall there were 624 residents killed by guns in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres. Of those, 526, or 84 percent, were suicides. That was higher than the statewide average of 76 percent suicides.
Even though total deaths ranked fourth highest in the state, the death rate was 9.9 per 100,000 people, below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Five neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more gun deaths during the 12 years.
The neighborhood between West Colfax and West Sixth avenues, west of Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood, had 12 deaths over the 12 years.
Another neighborhood north of West 26th Avenue and east of Wadsworth had 11 deaths.
Five of the county’s 138 neighborhoods or census tracts did not have any residents killed by guns over the 12 years.
Four neighborhoods had 10 or more deaths during the 12 years, while seven of the county’s 68 census tracts or neighborhoods had no deaths.
The neighborhood split by Highway 287 just north of Lafayette on the eastern edge of the county between Lookout and Arapahoe roads had the most gun deaths – 12. It was followed by the large area in the foothills west of Boulder on either side of Highway 119 with 11 deaths.
El Paso County had the second highest number of gun deaths in the state and was home to the neighborhood that saw the most residents die from guns in the years between the Columbine High School and Aurora theater shootings.
Between 2000 and 2011, El Paso County recorded 804 gun deaths, second only to Denver’s 831, according to the analysis by I-News.
Suicides accounted for 596, or 74 percent of total gun deaths. That is slightly lower than the state average of 76 percent.
There were 180 homicides – second only to Denver in the state.
The overall deaths equates to a rate of 11.6 per 100,000 over the 12 years, slightly higher than the state rate of 11 per 100,000.
The county had 20 census tracts or neighborhoods with 10 or more deaths. That included tract 54.00 in southeast Colorado Springs with 24 deaths – the most in the state during the 12 years.
The large tract of unincorporated El Paso County in the county’s northeast quadrant had 16 deaths during that time. The neighborhood just west of Cimarron Hills between Powers and Murray boulevards north of Palmer Park Boulevard had 15 deaths.
Five of the county’s 130 tracts or neighborhoods had no deaths during the 12 years.
Almost one in 10 gun deaths in La Plata County over the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings were suicides.
Between 2000 and 2011, 69 people in La Plata County died from guns. Of those, 59, or 86 percent, were suicides and six were homicides. Statewide, 76 percent of gun deaths were suicides.
Total gun deaths equated to a rate of 11.9 per 100,000 over the 12 years, slightly higher than the state rate of 11 per 100,000. That ranks in the middle of the state’s counties.
Two census tracts or neighborhoods had 10 or more deaths during the 12 years. The area that encompasses the southeast corner of the county had 14 deaths while the area next to it that includes the southwest corner of the county had 10 deaths. Both are south of Durango. All 11 census tracts in the county had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
In the 12 years, between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres, more than 300 people in Larimer County died from gunshots.
But almost nine out of every 10 deaths were suicides, according to the analysis of health data by I-News.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 302 gun deaths in the county. Of those, 261, or 86 percent, were suicides and 29 were homicides. Statewide, 76 percent of all gun deaths were suicides.
Overall, the county’s death rate was among the lowest in the state among the state’s most populous counties.
About nine people per 100,000 died from guns compared with 11 per 100,000 statewide.
Three neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more gun deaths over the 12 years. The large tract of an unincorporated part of the county east of Loveland and split by Highway 34 and I-25 had 13 deaths.
The tract next to it on the east side of Loveland east of Highway 287 had 10 deaths.
Another large unincorporated area in the far northeast part of the county on either side of I-25 had 12 deaths.
Only three of the county’s 73 census tracts had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
Mesa County had three of the four neighborhoods with the most gun suicides in Colorado between 2000 and 2011.
Countywide over those 12 years, there were 250 gun deaths, of which 218, or 87 percent, were suicides.
That ranked the county with the second highest rate of gun suicides in the state among counties with more than 40,000 residents. Mesa’s rate of 13.6 per 100,000 people was more than 50 percent higher than the state rate of 8.4 gun suicides per 100,000.
The gun suicides were concentrated in several neighborhoods or census tracts in and around Grand Junction.
One Grand Junction neighborhood between I-70 and Unaweep Avenue east of Highway 50 had the most suicide deaths of any in the state, 17 over the 12 years,
Two other neighborhoods ranked in the top four statewide.
The neighborhood south of I-70 on the east side of Grand Junction had 16 suicide deaths, ranking second statewide. A large tract in the northwest corner of the county outside Grand Junction had 14 residents kill themselves with guns. All 29 census tracts or neighborhoods in the county had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
Pueblo County had the second highest rate of gun homicides among the most populous counties in the state in the 12 year periods between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
Between 2000 and 2011, the county had 265 overall gun deaths of which 61 were homicides and 194 were suicides. The homicide rate of 3.4 per 100,000 people ranked only behind Denver’s at 5 per 100,000 among counties with 40,000 or more residents.
The statewide gun homicide rate was 2.2 per 100,000 over the 12 years.
Overall, the county’s gun death rate including suicides was 14.6 per 100,000 people, higher than the state average of 11.
Two neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more deaths over the 12 years. The northeast quadrant of the county north of the city and west of I-25 had 12 residents who died from gunshots, while the northeast Pueblo city neighborhood east of I-25 and north of Highway 50 had 10 deaths.
Only three of the 55 census neighborhoods in the county had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
Routt County had only one homicide using a gun in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
But another 39 residents killed themselves with guns between 2000 and 2011, according to the analysis by I-News.
As a result, the total gun deaths per capita were above the state average. The 40 gun deaths translated to 15.3 per 100,000 residents compared to 11 per 100,000 statewide during the 12 years. The suicide rate was 14.9 per 100,000 compared to 8.4 per 100,000 statewide.
Two census tracts side-by-side had 8 deaths each. They included the west and north parts of Steamboat Springs and the area north and south of Highway 40, as it swings west through the county.
All eight census tracts or neighborhoods had at least one gun death during the 12 years.
Weld County had one of the lowest per capita rates of gun deaths among the most populous counties in Colorado during the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings. Between 2000 and 2011, there were 217 people in the county killed with guns, of which 160, or 74 percent, were suicides.
That equaled eight overall deaths per 100,000 people during the 12 years, well below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Two census tracts had 9 deaths each in the county over the 12 years. They included one large tract on the west side of the county on either side of I-25, north of Highway 119 and another large tract north of Greeley on either side of Highway 85.
However, 17 of the county’s 77 tracts or neighborhoods did not have anyone killed by a gun during the 12 years. That is the highest number along the Front Range.
Metro Area
More than 500 people in Adams County died from gunshots during the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
A disproportionate number of the deaths, 149, were homicides, according to the I-News analysis.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 503 people in the county killed by guns, including 341, or 68 percent, who committed suicide. Statewide, 76 percent of gun deaths were suicides.
Overall, there were 10.4 gun deaths per 100,000 people. That was slightly below the state average of 11 per 100,000. However, the 149 homicide gun victims, or 3.1 per 100,000, were above the state average of 2.2 per 100,000.
Nine census tracts or neighborhoods in the county had 10 or more gun deaths during the 10 years. A northeast Aurora neighborhood north of Colfax had 16 deaths, the highest in the county. They included 10 homicides, the fifth highest total among all census tracts in Colorado. Another northwest Aurora neighborhood had 12 residents die by guns.
Seven of the county’s 97 tracts did not have any gun deaths during the 12 years.
Almost 700 people in Arapahoe County died from gunshots in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater mass shootings.
The vast majority of the deaths were suicides.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 679 gun deaths in the county, the third highest number in the state behind Denver and El Paso counties. Of those, 498, or 73 percent, were suicides. The rate of all gun deaths was 10.6 per 100,000, slightly below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Eleven neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more deaths by guns during the 12 years. A neighborhood just south of East Colfax Avenue and east of Interstate 25 had the most gun deaths in the county with 15. Another tract, also just south of Colfax near the Denver city limits, had 13 deaths.
Eight of the county’s 147 census tracts had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
More than eight out of 10 Broomfield residents who died from gunshots between 2000 and 2011 were suicide victims.
An I-News analysis found that the county reported 58 gun deaths between 2000 and 2011. Of those, 48, or 83 percent, were suicides.
Overall, there were 10 deaths per 100,000 people during the 12 years, slightly lower than the statewide rate of 11 per 100,000.
One census tract or neighborhood had more than 10. The area between I-25 and the Boulder Turnpike and north of Highway 128 had 13 gun deaths.
Three of the county’s 18 census tracts had no deaths over the 12 years.
Denver led the state with more than 800 residents killed by guns in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres.
The city also had the highest rate of homicide deaths from guns among the state’s largest counties, according to the I-News analysis.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 831 gun deaths in Denver. A disproportionate number of the deaths, 342, or 41 percent, were homicides. That’s more than double the statewide average of 20 percent.
Per capita, the 831 deaths equaled 12.1 per 100,000 over the 12 years, above the state rate of 11 per 100,000. However, for homicides, the rate was 5 per 100,000, the highest among counties with 40,000 or more residents.
There were 21 census tracts or neighborhoods with 10 or more gun deaths during the 12 years. The highest number, 19, took place in the Platte Park neighborhood in south Denver. The next highest was 17 in a Montbello neighborhood. That area plus another Montbello neighborhood each had 12 homicides over the 12 years, tied for the most in the state with a Colorado Springs neighborhood.
Only seven of the 144 tracts or neighborhoods in Denver did not have any residents die from guns.
Douglas County had one of the lowest rates of gun deaths among the state’s largest counties in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater shootings.
Between 2000 and 2011, there were 207 gun deaths in Douglas County. Of those, 170, or 82 percent, were suicides.
The overall death rate from guns was 7 per 100,000, well below the state average of 11 per 100,000 and one of the lowest in the state among counties with 40,000 or more people.
Two neighborhoods had the highest number of gun deaths in the county – nine each. One area was south of Parker, mostly east of Highway 83 and the other was in south Highlands Ranch.
Only one of the county’s 61 census defined neighborhoods had no gun deaths during the 12 years.
More than 8 out of every 10 gun deaths in Jefferson County between 2000 and 2011 were suicides.
Overall there were 624 residents killed by guns in the 12 years between the Columbine High and Aurora theater massacres. Of those, 526, or 84 percent, were suicides. That was higher than the statewide average of 76 percent suicides.
Even though total deaths ranked fourth highest in the state, the death rate was 9.9 per 100,000 people, below the state average of 11 per 100,000.
Five neighborhoods or census tracts had 10 or more gun deaths during the 12 years.
The neighborhood between West Colfax and West Sixth avenues, west of Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood, had 12 deaths over the 12 years.
Another neighborhood north of West 26th Avenue and east of Wadsworth had 11 deaths.
Five of the county’s 138 neighborhoods or census tracts did not have any residents killed by guns over the 12 years.