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Suicide rates in Cuyahoga County (metropolitan Cleveland) rose from 10.2 in 1958 to 12.5 per 100,000 population in 1974 (23 per cent increase) with the greatest rise among nonwhite males (from 5.9 to 13.1, or 122 per cent). Increased rates were observed in both the city (19 per cent increase) and suburbs (35 per cent increase). Rates increased among young nonwhite and white adults of both sexes aged 15-34 years, but decreased slightly among adults aged 65 years and older. These findings are consistent with national trends.Alcohol was present in the blood of one-fourth of the individuals who were "dead on arrival," and at intoxicating levels in 20 per cent. There were increasing percentages of victims with positive blood alcohol

A study of accidental firearm fatalities in Cuyahoga Count, Ohio, (Metropolitan Cleveland) from 1958-1973, inclusive, has shown a threefold increase in the rate of such deaths since1967. They are more frequent in the central city than in the suburbs, show a male preponderance, are more common in nonwhites, have a peak prevalence in the 25-34-year age range and usually happen in the home. Approximately half of the adult victims had been drinking alcoholic beverages when shot. It is hypothesized that the frequency of accidental firearm fatalities is primarily related to the number of guns, particulary handguns, in civilian possession. The data indicate that a loaded firearm in the home is more likely to cause an accidental death than to be used as a lethal weapon against and intruder.