North Carolina’s gun deaths are falling — so why is one category quietly surging?

A new report indicates firearm homicides and violent crimes committed with firearms are down overall, but firearm suicides are increasing across the state.

The report, “Firearm Violence Across North Carolina,” was published this month by the N.C. Criminal Justice Analysis Center and looks at data from 2020 through the first half of 2025, the latest available data.

“This was the first time, but it won’t be the last time” the center publishes such a study, said Caroline Farmer, executive director of the Governor’s Crime Commission. The report was presented to the commission to help support its grant decisions in the coming months, Farmer said.

Here’s what the study found.

Firearm homicides down

Firearm homicides in North Carolina peaked between 2019 and 2021, then decreased 29% from 2021 to June 2025, according to the report.

“We are, of course, pleased that homicides are decreasing in North Carolina,” said Becky Ceartas, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence. “However, this does not diminish the urgency of the issue.”

From 2020 to 2024, there were 3,393 firearm homicides in North Carolina — a rate of 6.3 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents, slightly above the national average, the report says. More than 75% of homicides in the state during that time involved firearms.

Black, non-Hispanic victims were disproportionately impacted by these homicides, with rates 10 times higher than white, non-Hispanic victims, according to the report. Black, non-Hispanic residents accounted for 69% of all firearm homicides from 2020 to 2024 despite only making up 20% of the state’s population.

American Indian and Alaska Native residents were also disproportionately impacted by firearm homicide, the report says.

Data for 2025 is still preliminary, but the first six months of last year saw a 12% decrease in firearm homicides, which tracks with a national trend, according to the report.

Firearm suicides up

Suicides using firearms are on the rise in North Carolina, with white people and adults 65 and up at highest risk, the report says. Such deaths have increased every year since 2014, with the most recent data available dating to 2023.

North Carolina saw 4,628 firearm suicides from 2019 to 2023. Although white men were at the highest risk, Black youth face increasing suicide rates. The state published a Black Youth Suicide Prevention Plan last year to address that concern, The News & Observer previously reported.

Ceartas attributes the increase in suicides to North Carolina’s gun laws.

“We don’t have an extreme risk protection order law or a red flag law,” she said. “That’s a problem for suicides, and for mass shootings.”

An Extreme Risk Protection Order temporarily prohibits people who pose a danger to themselves or others from buying and possessing firearms. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have ERPO laws, according to the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention at the University of Michigan.

Secure storage is also an issue, Ceartas said.

“We’re really fortunate that we have NC S.A.F.E, which stands for Secure All Firearms Effectively,” she said. “They’ve given out over 150,000 gun locks, which is really important.”

Paul Valone, the president of Grass Roots North Carolina, a volunteer group advocating for gun rights, said firearm accessibility isn’t to blame.

“In other words, if they can’t kill themselves by firearm, they find another way to do it,” Valone said. “That’s why Japan, with the strictest firearms laws in the world, has some of the highest suicide rates.”

The BBC reported in 2015 that Japan’s suicide rate was “far, far higher than virtually all other wealthy countries.” That number has fallen since, with last year marking the lowest number of suicides in Japan since 1978, according to Nippon.com.

Risk in rural counties

The report also found that rural counties saw more firearm violence than any other type of county (urban or suburban) in North Carolina from 2020 to 2024.

“Rural counties had the highest rates of firearm homicide, non-fatal shootings, firearm suicide, unintentional firearm deaths, and legal intervention firearm deaths between 2020 and 2024,” the report states.

Urban counties had the highest firearm homicide rate in 2020, but rural counties took over after that, according to the report.

That’s in line with regional trends throughout the South, according to Karima Modjadidi, policy analyst at the Criminal Justice Analysis Center.

Check rates for your county

The report included a breakdown of key firearm violence statistics for every county in the state from 2020 through the first six months of 2025. For The N&O’s coverage area, that included:

• Chatham County —
• 18 firearm homicides; no data available on firearm homicide rate or the average age of firearm homicide victims.
• 312 other firearm crimes; 77.9 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 28 non-fatal shootings; seven non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 39 firearm suicides; 10 firearm suicides per 100,00 residents; average age 45.6 years old.
• Durham County —
• 194 firearm homicides; 11.7 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents; average age 30.9 years old.
• 7,306 other firearm crimes; 439.7 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 680 non-fatal shootings; 40.9 non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 76 firearm suicides; 4.6 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents; average age 46.2 years old.
• Johnston County —
• 22 firearm homicides; 1.9 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents; average age 25.1 years old.
• 646 other firearm crimes; 55.2 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 134 non-fatal shootings; 11.4 non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 82 firearm suicides; 7.3 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents; average age 47.6 years old.
• Orange County —
• 25 firearm homicides; 3.3 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents; no average age data available.
• 687 other firearm crimes; 91.8 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 73 non-fatal shootings; 9.8 non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 30 firearm suicides; 4 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents; average age 53.9 years old.
• Wake County —
• 164 firearm homicides; 2.8 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents; average age 40.9 years old.
• 8,216 other firearm crimes; 139.4 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 533 non-fatal shootings; nine non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 268 firearm suicides; 4.6 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents; average age 45 years old.
• Mecklenburg County —
• 453 firearm homicides; 7.8 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents; average age 29.4 years old.
• 29,054 other firearm crimes; 503.2 other firearm crimes per 100,000 residents.
• 2,073 non-fatal shootings; 35.9 non-fatal shootings per 100,000 residents.
• 292 firearm suicides; 5.1 firearm suicides per 100,000 residents; average age 43.3 years old.

This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:30 AM.

Lexi Solomon

The News & Observer

Lexi Solomon joined The News & Observer in August 2024 as the emerging news reporter. She previously worked in Fayetteville at The Fayetteville Observer and CityView, reporting on crime, education and local government. She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.