Firearm violence and the 'reopening phenomenon' in Turkey

Abstract

Aim

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many habits and social reactions. During the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown measures in the USA, there was a notable surge in firearm violence, which became known as “the reopening phenomenon”. This study evaluated the impact of a similarly proposed phenomenon on individuals living in a center of Türkiye.

Method

This retrospective observational study involved the evaluation of firearm injuries in three periods of 455 days each surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic: the pre-pandemic period (January 1, 2018-April 1, 2019) the pandemic lockdown period (March 2, 2020-May 31, 2021), and the reopening period (June 4, 2021-September 2, 2022).

Results

The incidents analyzed predominantly involved the use of pistols (n = 371, 96 %). Long-barreled pistols caused injury in only 16 (4.1 %) cases. Most injuries (n = 275, 71 %) were located in the lower extremity. The comparison of the pre-pandemic, Pandemic lockdown and Reopening periods did not reveal a significant difference in the rate of firearm violence (p = 0.266, x² goodness of fit)

Conclusion

We did not observe the reopening phenomena around the COVID-19 pandemic period in a center of Türkiye. However, firearm violence remains a significant societal issue for both Türkiye and the world.