I think it’s important to put the gun violence in Lewiston in perspective. The type of gun violence matters if we’re talking about the safety of college students. I can’t find data for Lewiston specifically, but in the entire state of Maine, 166 people die of gunshots annually and 126 are wounded. Of those who are killed, 89% are suicides and 8% are homicides. This compares to 57% and 40% nationally. In 2023, for example, Maine ranked 17th nationally in gun suicide rate.
Obviously suicides and other incidents of domestic violence involving guns are not a threat to college students. When assessing the safety of college students in a town or city, it’s important to look past the raw numbers of gun violence incidents.