High caliber firearms more likely to kill

People shot with higher caliber guns are more likely to die than those shot with small caliber weapons, according to a new study.

Using data from the Boston Police Department from 2010 through 2014, researchers found that gunshot victims were nearly five times as likely to die when a large caliber gun was used versus a small caliber gun, and more than twice as likely to die if a medium caliber versus small caliber weapon was used.

David Hemenway, professor of health policy and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, called the new study, which he was not involved in, “very compelling,” in a July 27, 2018 Reuters Health article.

“If you give terrorists nuclear weapons, they will be able to kill more people than they would if they just had traditional explosives,” he said. “And if you’re shot with a big bullet you’re more likely to die than if you were shot with a BB.”

Read the Reuters Health article: High caliber guns more deadly

Learn more

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