Help Us Investigate Domestic Violence Shootings

Nationwide, the number of people shot to death by their intimate partners increased more than 20% from 2010 through 2019. Many of the shooters had prior convictions that made it illegal for them to possess a firearm. Yet no one took away their guns or stopped them from obtaining another one.  

The federal government doesn’t track the number of people who are shot and killed by intimate partners prohibited from having firearms. Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found more than 110 victims over a four-year period who were gunned down by abusers barred from having weapons under federal law. That number is almost certainly a vast undercount. 

Reveal would like to get a more accurate picture of how many people have been shot by offenders illegally possessing firearms. We want to determine what procedures could be put in place to prevent more killings. Do you know of someone who was shot by a domestic violence offender who was prohibited from having a gun? If so, please share your story.

Are you a policymaker, federal or state official, prosecutor, judge, or someone else with information we should know? Please email Reveal reporter Jennifer Gollan at jgollan@revealnews.org.

If you or someone you know are in danger or need help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence at http://www.ncdsv.org/

Help us investigate domestic violence shootings

Jennifer Gollan can be reached at jgollan@revealnews.org, and Byard Duncan can be reached at bduncan@revealnews.org. Follow them on Twitter: @jennifergollan and @ByardDuncan.

Illustration by Molly Mendoza.

Help Us Investigate Domestic Violence Shootings is a story from Reveal. Reveal is a registered trademark of The Center for Investigative Reporting and is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.