Kansas has the fourth-highest per capita rate of black homicide victims in the country, according to an analysis of FBI data by a national gun-control advocacy group. It’s the first time in the three years the Washington, D.C.-based Violence Policy Center has released the study that Kansas has been in the top five, reports the Wichita Eagle. Pennsylvania has the highest rate, with Michigan, Indiana and Nevada rounding out the top five.
“This is a crisis that is devastating black teens and adults across our nation,” said Josh Sugarmann, the center’s executive director. “The key role played by guns in black homicide victimization cannot be denied and must be addressed.” The study, which analyzed unpublished FBI homicide data from 2006, also found that firearms are used in the majority of homicides. The study calculated black homicide victimization rates by dividing the number of black homicides by the number of black residents in the state using U.S. Census Bureau population statistics.