April-June 2024 Quarterly Armed Violence Monitor: Decline in Incidents but Rise in Domestic Violence Cases involving Firearms

SEESAC has released its latest Quarterly Regional Armed Violence Monitor, providing a comprehensive overview of firearm incident trends in South East Europe (SEE) from April to June 2024.

The second quarter of 2024 recorded 759 firearm incidents in SEE, revealing a 10% decrease from the first quarter of 2024. Despite the overall decline in incidents, weapon seizures remain the most frequently reported type of incident, accounting for 53% of all cases, with 401 seizures recorded.

Undetermined shootings, the second most reported type of incident, were reported in 89 cases, a 17% increase from the previous quarter with 76 cases.

There were 87 incidents in the criminal context, showing a significant 42% drop compared to the previous quarter. Of these, 47 were linked to organized crime, and 37 were armed robberies.

The report also underscores the severe impact of firearm incidents, with 21 fatalities. Injuries caused by firearms decreased by 37%, with 67 people injured, while threats using firearms fell by 10% affecting 98 people. However, 16 firearm-related suicides were recorded, a rise of 16% compared to the previous quarter.

Men continue to constitute the majority of perpetrators, accounting for 99% of all perpetrators whose sex was indicated.

For more details, download the full report here.

More data on firearms incidents in South East Europe is available on the Armed Violence Monitoring Platform.

About the Armed Violence Monitoring Platform (AVMP)

The AVMP monitors firearms-related incidents happening in South East Europe. Established in 2014, it collects detailed data from media reports and reports of public institutions where available, covering the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova.

The collected data ranges from the type of incident, firearms used, age and gender of the victim and the perpetrator, outcome of the incident, etc.

The AVMP aims to make essential data available to all interested parties and serve as an informative tool for interventions with the overarching goal of a more effective arms control framework and reducing their negative impact on civilians.

The AVMP is supported with funding from the EU Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/2111 to support SEESAC disarmament and arms control activities in South-East Europe, reducing the threat of illicit small arms and light weapons and their ammunition.