Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Hillary Clinton says 33,000 Americans die each year from guns
Early in the third presidential debate in Las Vegas, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton got into a back and forth over guns. At one point, Clinton said, "We have 33,000 people a year who die from guns."
Is she correct? According to data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, there were 33,599 people who died due to guns in 2014, the most recent year available. And the number has topped 33,000 for three years running. So Clinton has a strong point.
That said, it’s important to note that she is bundling together homicides, suicides and other types of gunfire, including accidental discharges and legally permissible killings such as those by law enforcement.
As the following chart shows, suicides account for the largest share of gun-related deaths -- about two-thirds in recent years. And while gun-related suicides have risen by 10 percent since 2010, the number of non-suicide gun deaths has remained roughly the same.
Year
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Deaths by guns (including suicides)
Suicides alone
Deaths by guns excluding suicides
2014
33,599
21,334
12,265
2013
33,636
21,175
12,461
2012
33,563
20,666
12,897
2011
32,351
Featured Fact-check
19,990
12,361
2010
31,672
19,392
12,280
Average per year, 1999-2014
31,102
18,223
12,879
Clinton phrased her statement carefully -- she referred to people who "die from guns" without specifying the circumstances of how they were shot. Still, the fact that suicides represent such a large share of gun deaths is a detail worth noting.
Our ruling
Clinton said, "We have 33,000 people a year who die from guns." She’s correct that all deaths from guns have exceeded 33,000 during the most recent three years for which we have data. That said, it’s worth noting that roughly two-thirds of these were suicides. We rate her claim Mostly True.
https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/9a3e1667-84ed-4192-ab02-8c907f1714a0
Our Sources
Hillary Clinton, remarks at the third presidential debate in Las Vegas, Oct. 19, 2016
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Fatal Injury Reports, National and Regional, 1999 - 2014," accessed Oct. 19, 2016
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Louis Jacobson
Hillary Clinton says 33,000 Americans die each year from guns
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.