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To inform future intervention efforts, investigators quantified the rate and risk factors of firearm possession among assault-injured youth (age 14 to 24) presenting to a level I trauma emergency department (ED) in Flint, Michigan. Of 689 assault-injured youth who completed a confidential survey during an 18-month period, 61% were African American, and 73% received public assistance.
Overall, 23% reported firearm possession in the past 6 months. Among the findings for those with firearms:
18% possessed semiautomatic or automatic weapons
42% carried the weapon outside the home
17% purchased a handgun from a potentially legal source
67% presented for peer-related violence and 15% for intimate partner violence
32% had children
Youth with firearms had…