Weapon-carrying among high school students--United States, 1990.

From 1980 through 1989, more than 11,000 persons died in the United States as a result of homicides committed by high school-aged youth using firearms, cutting instruments, or blunt objects (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports, Supplementary Homicide Report Files, unpublished data, 1980-1989). Firearm-related homicides accounted for more than 65% of these fatalities. Immediate access to a potentially lethal weapon, especially a firearm, may increase the likelihood that a lethal event would result from a violent altercation. This article presents the prevalence and incidence of self-reported weapon-carrying among high school students in grades 9-12 in the United States during 1990.