Study Details Injuries Caused by Violence

One in every 38 black male teenagers in Boston was shot or stabbed in 1994, according to a new study that provides the most detailed snapshot yet of one state’s violence-related injuries. Some of the state’s residents “are living in a virtual war zone, while others are quite removed from dangers,” says the study, based on statistics from a new surveillance system established by the state Department of Public Health. Massachusetts had the second-lowest rate of firearm deaths in the U.S.--only Hawaii was lower. The Bay State is the first to formally monitor both fatal and nonfatal weapon injuries.