Minnesota on Wednesday launched one of the first U.S. state databases to help people think about the unthinkable — the causes of homicides, suicides and other violent deaths.
Sorting out the means used in suicides and who commits homicides can help communities prevent them and help individuals protect themselves and their loved ones, said Dr. Brooke Cunningham, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
"We can better understand where and why these deaths are happening and work with our partners to develop tailored strategies to protect Minnesotans," she said.
The dashboard breaks new ground by pairing available demographic data on homicides, suicides and other violent deaths with details from law enforcement and coroner reports. The result is a composite look at when and where deaths commonly occur, and what types of events and problems precede them.
Random killings were fairly uncommon, for example, according to the dashboard. Victims were strangers to perpetrators in only 16% of homicides from 2015 through 2020 in which the relationships were known.
"I think that will surprise people because we hear often the stories of random violence and [people's concerns] that someone is just going to come down the street and attack them," said Stefan Gingerich, an MDH epidemiologist for violent deaths and suicides. "What we found, in the majority of cases, is that the victim and the offender had some sort of relationship."
The dashboard accentuates differences in the 4,515 suicides in Minnesota from 2015 to 2020, including that 78% involved men — who were far more likely to use firearms compared with women.
Health officials said the demographic differences don't imply cause and effect but could tailor prevention efforts toward people at elevated risk. The dashboard for example showed that almost 30% of women who died by suicide had recently taken antidepressants, compared with 12% of men. Among women, 39% had prior histories of suicide attempts, compared with 20% of men who died from self-harm.
