VIOLENT DEATH IN NORTH CAROLINA:
DURHAM COUNTY INCIDENTS: 2004-2009
The North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC‐VDRS) is a CDC‐funded state‐wide surveillance system
that collects detailed information on deaths that occur in North Carolina resulting from violence: homicide,
suicide, unintentional firearm deaths, legal intervention, and deaths for which intent could not be determined.
NC‐VDRS is a multi‐source system that gathers information from death certificates, medical examiner reports,
and law enforcement reports. The goal of this system is to aid researchers, legislators, and community interest
groups in the development of public health prevention strategies to reduce violent deaths. All deaths reported in
this document are based on location of occurrence rather than residence and, instead of a rate, the ocurrent
ratio is reported. This statistic is derived from the total number of violent deaths resulting from injuries in a
specified geographic region divided by the number of residents in this region. This document summarizes all fatal
injuries from violence that occurred in Durham County for the years 2004 through 2009.
• For the years 2004‐2009, there were 301 violent
deaths from injuries sustained in Durham County. Of
these 301 deaths, 297 were N.C. residents (99%) and
272 were Durham County residents (90%).
• There were 170 homicides (56 %), 117 suicides
(39 %), seven deaths from legal interventions (2%), six
deaths of undetermined intent (2 %), and one
unintentional firearm death (<1 %).
• In Durham County, the suicide ratio was 3.3 times greater for males than females, and the homicide ratio was
5.9 times greater for males than females.
• Patterns of suicide and homicide differed by race. Suicide victims were more likely to be white than black or
another racial group. Whites had 11.0 suicides per 100,000 population versus 6.2 suicides per 100,000 population
for blacks. The 'Other Race' category had 4 deaths.
• In contrast, blacks had 21.7 homicides per 100,000 population as opposed to whites who had 4.6 homicides per
100,000 population.
Manner of Death: Durham County, N.C.,
2004‐2009*
Suicide
39%
Homicide
56%
Unintentional
Firearm
<1%
Legal
Intervention
2%
Undetermined
Intent
2%
*Based on the county of injury occurrence.
†Other race refers to American Indians, Asians, and other races. Rates might beunstable due to the small number of deaths.
Manner of Death by Sex: Durham County, N.C.:
NC‐VDRS, 2004‐2009*
4.3 3.3
7.4
14.0
19.5
33.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Suicide Homicide All Violent
Deaths
Manner of Death
# of Occurrent Injuries
Resulting in Death
per 100,000 Population
Female
Male
Manner of Death by Race: Durham County, N.C.:
NC‐VDRS, 2004‐2009*
4.6
14.8
21.7
28.2
11.0
6.2
12.0
6.4 5.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Suicide Homicide All Violent
Deaths
Manner of Death
# of Occurrent Injuries
Resulting in Death
per 100,000 Population
White
Black
Other Race†
*Based on the county of injury occurrence.