This study investigates the impact of weapon usage on the lethality of violent interpersonal encounters. Additionally, key situational and contextual factors from the criminal events perspective are controlled. Data were collected from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the effects of firearm subtypes, as well as effects of automatic vs. semiautomatic firearms on lethality. All basic weapon types significantly increased lethality. Various situational and contextual variables such as incident circumstance and victim-offender relationship affected chances of death as well. Automatic weapons were not found to significantly increase lethality when compared to their semiautomatic counterparts.
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