Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

July 6, 2020

Firearm Purchasing and Firearm Violence in the First Months of the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States

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  • [Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Tomsich et al. conducted a cross-sectional time series study to estimate changes in firearm purchasing and relationships with interpersonal firearm violence in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. They estimate 2.1 million excess firearm purchases between March-May 2020, representing a 64% increase over the expected volume. The estimated relative rate of death and injury from firearm violence was 1.015 (95%CI 1.005-1.025) for every 100 excess purchases per 100,000, adjusting for variation in purchasing across states.  

Tomsich et al. (July 4, 2020). Firearm Purchasing and Firearm Violence in the First Months of the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States. Pre-print downloaded July 6 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.02.20145508