Information about circumstances is important to help inform prevention activities and is gathered from witnesses, family, friends, and other informants by death investigators. See below for a more detailed list of the circumstance information that is included.
Circumstances preceding fatal injury, by manner of death — National Violent Death Reporting System, 2022
*Indicates Crisis Information Collected
Suicide/undetermined intent
- History of suicidal thoughts or plans.
- History of suicide attempts.
- History of Traumatic Brain Injury.
- Recent disclosed suicidal thoughts or intent.
- Disclosed suicidal intent to whom.
- Person left a suicide note.
- Contributing criminal legal problem.*
- Civil legal problems.*
- Physical health problem.*
- Job problem.*
- Financial problem.*
- School problem.*
- Eviction/loss of home.*
- Suicide of a friend or family member.*
- Other death of friend or family.
- Anniversary of traumatic event.
- Intimate partner problem.*
- Caregiver burden.
- History of non-suicidal self-injury/self-harm.
Homicide/legal intervention
- Intimate partner violence related.
- Stalking.*
- Prostitution or sex trafficking.*
- Gang related.
- Justifiable self-defense/law enforcement.
- Victim was a police officer on duty.
- Victim was a bystander.
- Random violence.
- Victim was intervener assisting crime victim.
- Victim used a weapon.
- Mercy killing.
- Hate crime.
- Jealousy (lover’s triangle).*
- Brawl.
- Walk-by assault.
- Drive-by shooting (homicide only).
- Drug Involvement.
- Caregiver use of corporal punishment contributed to the death of the child victim.
All manners of death (except unintentional firearm deaths)
- Current depressed mood.
- Current diagnosed mental health problem.*
- Type of first mental illness diagnosed.
- Type of second metal illness diagnosed.
- Other mental health diagnosis.
- Current treatment for mental illness/ substance abuse.
- Ever treated for mental illness.
- Alcohol problem.*
- Other substance problem.*
- Other addiction.*
- Terrorist attack.
- Family relationship problem.*
- Family stressor.
- Other relationship problem.*
- Abuse and neglect led to death.
- History of abuse as a child.
- Perpetrator of violence in the past month.
- Victim of violence in the past month.
- Prior Child Protective Services report on the child victim’s household.
- Substance abuse in child victim’s household.
- Living transition/loss of independent living.
- Household known to local authorities.
- Victim known to authorities.
- Non-adherence to mental health/substance abuse treatment.
- Physical fight (mutual between two people).
- Argument.
- Timing of the most recent argument.
- Precipitated by another crime.
- Nature of first other crime.
- Nature of second other crime.
- First other crime in progress.
- Circumstances known.
- Other circumstance.
- Crisis in past two weeks.
- Disaster exposure.*
Unintentional firearm death
- Hunting.
- Target shooting.
- Self-defensive shooting.
- Celebratory firing.
- Loading/ unloading gun.
- Cleaning gun.
- Showing gun to others.
- Playing with gun.
- Other context of injury.
- Thought safety was engaged.
- Thought unloaded, magazine disengaged.
- Thought gun was unloaded, other.
- Unintentionally pulled trigger.
- Bullet ricochet.
- Gun defect or malfunction.
- Fired while holstering/un-holstering.
- Dropped gun.
- Fired while operating safety/lock.
- Gun mistaken for a toy.
- Other mechanism of injury.
