Homicide by firearms in two Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen areas, 83 homicides by firearms were registered in the 10-year period 1985 to 1994, accounting for 19.3% of all homicides i n that period. The majority of the victims were between 20 and 50 years old , and 58% were male, 42% female. The yearly number of firearm homicides var ied between 4 and 15, with neither an increase nor decrease throughout the period. Most of the victims had no detectable blood alcohol at autopsy. Fem ale victims were typically shot in their own domicile with a shotgun by the ir spouse, mostly because of jealousy or in a family argument, whereas male victims were shot on different locations, predominantly with a handgun, fo r many different reasons. Most victims were shot in the head, and few had e ntrance wounds in more than one anatomic region.