Rural communities are experiencing high rates of gun violence
From 2016 to 2020, the two U.S. counties to experience the most gun homicides per capita were rural:* (see Figure 1)
Phillips County, Arkansas: 55.45 age-adjusted homicides per 100,000 people
Lowndes County, Alabama: 48.36 age-adjusted homicides per 100,000 people**
From 2016 to 2020, 13 of the 20 U.S. counties with the most gun homicides per capita were rural: (see Figure 1)
80 percent of these 20 counties are in states that received an “F” grade for their weak gun laws, according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s 2021 annual state scorecard rankings.
In 2020, the total gun death rate for rural communities—when age-adjusted per 100,000 people—was 40 percent higher than it was for large metropolitan areas.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/gun-violence-in-rural-america/