An investigation of the impact of the pandemic era on shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan

ABSTRACT Despite the devastating effects of firearm violence on individuals, families, and communities, research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firearm violence remains at a minimum. Our study contributes to this body of research by estimating the impact of two critical pandemic era timeframes on fatal and nonfatal shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan, using an innovative Bayesian Structural Time Series methodology. For each timeframe, we consider the impact of the pandemic era on total shooting victimizations, shooting victimizations that occurred at a residence (or at home), and shooting victimizations that occurred elsewhere. Our findings suggest that the pandemic era contributed to all three types of shooting victimizations in Detroit. We discuss the limitations of our study, along with directions for future research. Overall, we believe that our study underscores the importance of adopting a comprehensive and evidence-based strategy to prevent firearm-related fatalities and injuries.