ATLANTA, May 12 (UPI) -- Firearm homicides are generally higher among residents of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, but suicide rates are lower, federal health officials say.
The rates of firearm homicide among teens ages 10-19 often exceeded rates for people of all ages in these areas, but firearm suicides often occurred at lower rates among residents in the nation's largest metropolitan areas and central cities than for the nation overall, the report released Thursday and published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found.
The study used data from the CDC's National Vital Statistics System for 2006 and 2007.
"Firearm homicide rates tended to be higher for metro areas in the Midwest and South than in the Northeast and West," the report says.
"Firearm suicide rates tended to be higher for metro areas in the South than in other regions, however, some of the highest rates were in the West. Youth in central cities are disproportionately impacted by gun violence."
