Firearms responsible for 76% of killings in Brazil

More than 76% of killings in the country in 2014 were in possession of firearms. There were 44,861 deaths. The ratio declined after the Disarmament Statute was sanctioned in 2003, when the rate reached 77%.

Lethal gun violence in Brazil reaches levels comparable to few countries in Latin America, and is well above the 21% of the average calculated for European countries, as indicates the 2016 Atlas of Violence, released today (Mar. 22) by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP).

From 2003 to 2014, six of the 27 states reported an increase of less than 50%; in three of them there were rises from 50% to 100%, while a sharp increase of over 100% was reported during the period in nine states, all located in the North and Northeast regions. Nine states decreased the rate.

After constructing a scenario without the Disarmament Statute, the survey claims that the killings would be an even worse social tragedy. Had the statute not been sanctioned in 2003, from 2011 to 2013, at least 77,889 killings, or 41% more homicides would be reported in Brazil on average, compared with the rate disclosed by the survey.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta