October is Depression and Mental Health Screening Month. In Florida, seven in 10 gun deaths are suicides.

October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, when health groups urge people to check on their mental health with a few minutes of questions. Florida's gun death records show what is at stake. Of the 3,191 Florida residents who died from gunshot wounds in 2024, 2,228, or seven in 10, died by suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A shooting Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed three children and a teacher, police said. Shootings like that one draw the most attention, but they are a small share of gun deaths. Since 2006, at least 25 shootings in Florida have killed four or more people, not counting the shooter, a Tampa Journal review of news reports and police records found. Together they killed 169 people, fewer than one-tenth as many as died by gun suicide in the state in 2024 alone.

What a screening is

A depression screening is a short set of questions, often the Patient Health Questionnaire, about mood, sleep, energy and interest in everyday life. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of national experts, recommends screening all adults for depression, including pregnant and postpartum people and older adults, and screening adolescents 12 to 18 for major depression.

A positive screen is not a diagnosis. The task force says it should lead to a fuller assessment to confirm depression and gauge how severe it is. Mental Health America offers free, confidential screenings online; its general screening takes five to 10 minutes. The group calls the results a quick snapshot and says a provider can do a full assessment.

Seven in 10 are suicides

Of Florida's 3,191 gun deaths in 2024, 2,228 were suicides, 70% of the total, compared with 62% nationally. Homicides accounted for 889.

Adjusted for age, Florida's gun suicide rate was 8.2 per 100,000 residents, above the national rate of 7.6 and 33rd among the states. The highest rates were in Wyoming, Alaska and Montana; the lowest were in Hawaii, New Jersey and New York. In all, 32 states had higher rates than Florida; the national rate is lower because some of the most populous states have low ones. California ranked 45th and New York tied for 47th.

Why the method matters

Suicide attempts with a gun are far more likely to end in death than most others. About 85% of attempts with a firearm are fatal, while many of the most common methods are fatal in fewer than 5% of attempts, according to the Means Matter project at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. And about nine in 10 people who survive an attempt do not go on to die by suicide, the project says, citing a review of 90 studies.

That is why suicide prevention researchers and groups urge families to lock up guns, or store them away from home for a while, when someone is struggling. The CDC says keeping a gun out of sight or out of reach is not secure storage; it recommends a gun safe or lock box.

Warning signs

The 988 Lifeline lists these warning signs that someone may be at risk:

• Talking about wanting to die or to kill themselves
• Looking for a way to kill themselves, like searching online or buying a gun
• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
• Talking about being a burden to others
• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
• Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Withdrawing or isolating themselves
• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
• Extreme mood swings

If you see them in yourself or someone else, the Lifeline says to seek help: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

Young people

In 2024, 201 children and teens 19 and younger died from gunshot wounds in Florida, CDC records show. The task force's recommendation for depression screening starts at age 12.

The bigger picture

Counting every intent, 3,191 people in Florida died from gunshot wounds in 2024. Adjusted for age, that is 12.7 deaths per 100,000 residents, almost exactly the national rate of 12.8, and 29th among the 50 states. Florida's rate is not statistically different from those of 10 other states, among them Illinois, Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin.

How we did this

Gun death rates are deaths per 100,000 residents, adjusted for each state's age mix so states with older or younger populations can be compared fairly. Two states' rates are treated as not statistically different when a standard test on their 95% confidence intervals finds no significant difference. Ranks are among the 50 states; the District of Columbia is not ranked. Deaths are counted in the state where the person lived. Gun suicide rates are for deaths whose underlying cause was suicide by firearm.

Gun deaths: CDC, Stats of the States and CDC WONDER (Underlying Cause of Death, 2018-2024 final; 2025 provisional). Screening: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, adults (2023) and children and adolescents (2022); Mental Health America. Suicide prevention: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Means Matter; CDC; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Mass shootings: a Tampa Journal review of news reports and police records, each case confirmed in at least two independent sources.