A structured autopsy-based audit of 370 firearm fatalities: Contribution to inform policy decisions and the probability of the injured arriving alive at a hospital and receiving definitive care

► Suicides (47%) and assaults (45.1%) accounted for 92.1% of all firearm-related fatalities. ► The most seriously injured anatomic regions were: head (44.5%), thorax (25.7%), abdomen (10.7%) and spine (5.7%). ► Of the 370 total subjects, 4.9% had an Injury Severity Score (ISS) < 16 and 59.5% had an ISS ≤ 74. ► The majority (84%) died at the scene, and only 9.8% died in a hospital. ► ISS (independent factor), distance, injured anatomic region, and toxicology status predict the location of death.