Most veterans and service members who die by firearm suicide never disclose their intent

Article excerpt

Most veterans and U.S. military service members who die by firearm suicide don't disclose their suicidal intentions in the month before their death, according to Rutgers researchers. Their study, published in The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, examined the patterns of 28,600 individuals with a history of military service who died by firearm suicide between 2013 and 2021. Using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, researchers sought to understand how often service members and veterans communicated suicidal thoughts before their deaths, and when they did, whom they chose to tell.