| Table 4: Murder with Firearms Types of Firearms Used 1998 |
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| TYPES OF FIREARM USED | NUMBER | % OF ALL FIREARMS USED |
| Handguns Pistols and Revolvers | 7 057 | 57.4 |
| Commercial Rifle or Shotgun | 3 048 | 24.8 |
| Military Firearm | 345 | 2.8 |
| Unknown Firearm | 1 848 | 15.0 |
| TOTAL | 12 298 | 100% |
| SOURCE CIAC. SAPS | ||
More than half of all murders committed with firearms during 1998 were committed with handguns.
A third (33.5%) of all firearm murders reported in 1998 took place in Gauteng, it. under a third (31%) occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and 11 .4% in the Eastern Cape Seen as a rate, Gauteng still leads in firearm murders with 54 per 100 000 of population, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 43.7 and the Western Cape with 25 The Northern Province has the lowest figure in this category, viz. 6.9 per 100 000.
The table below provides a breakdown of murders with firearms by province a firearm type for 1998:
| Table 5: Murder with Firearms Types of Firearms Used, by Province (%) 1998 |
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| Handguns | Commercial Rifle or Shotgun |
Military Firearm |
Unknown Firearm |
PROVINCE TOTALS |
|
| Gauteng | 31.3 | 43.2 | 19.4 | 28.4 | 33.5 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 29.2 | 31.1 | 45.2 | 35.4 | 31.0 |
| Eastern Cape | 13.1 | 5.5 | 19.4 | 13.3 | 11.4 |
| Western Cape | 9.7 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| Mpumalanga | 4.1 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 |
| North West | 5.9 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.5 |
| Northern Prove. | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.9 |
| Free State | 2.7 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Northern Cape | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| TOTAL PER TYPE OF FIREARM | 100% (n=7057) |
100% (n=3048) |
100% (n=345) |
100% (n=1848 |
100% (n=12298) |
| SOURCE: CIAC, SAPS | |||||
In all provinces, handguns were the most common type of firearm used in the commission of murder. The provinces with the highest and lowest overall number of firearm licences, Gauteng and the Northern Cape respectively, also had the highest and lowest overall numbers of murders with firearms in 1998.
The table below contrasts firearms with other weapons used in murder by province for 1998:
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