UVA Report Brings Data and Community Voices Together to Understand Gun Violence in Charlottesville and Albemarle

In the wake of fluctuating trends, researchers at the University of Virginia are working with local residents to combine data and lived experience to provide clarity and context to the problem of gun violence in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. 

A new data overview authored by Michele Claibourn, Director of Community-Centered Analysis, and Samantha Toet, Data Management Specialist, both with UVA’s Center for Community Partnerships, draws on years of local data to offer a more comprehensive picture of when, where, and how gun violence occurs in the region. The report, titled “The State of Gun Violence in Charlottesville & Albemarle,” brings together various data sources to help community leaders, organizations, and residents better understand the scope of the issue and develop intentional responses that match its complexity. 

While Charlottesville and Albemarle County do not experience gun violence at the same scale as larger cities, the individual and community impacts are significant. Since the pandemic, gun violence has been increasing in smaller towns. 

In the first half of 2025, Charlottesville and Albemarle police had investigated six deaths from incidents of firearm violence, compared to zero in the first half of 2021. The harm of gun violence takes many forms—deaths and injuries are the most obvious, but the collective trauma of hearing or witnessing gunshots also erodes community safety. 

“The numbers presented in the report each represent part of a story. By bringing them together, and in conversation with our community, we hope to collectively tell a fuller story. Given the wealth of lived experience and the range of perspectives, the voices of our community members must be centered,” said Samantha Toet, Data Specialist at the Center for Community Partnerships. 

The report highlights the full range of harms caused by gun violence, from physical injuries and deaths to the psychological toll of hearing or witnessing gunfire. These experiences can have lasting consequences on how safe individuals feel in their neighborhoods, even when they’re not directly involved. 

The document is part of the University’s Gun Violence Solutions Project, which aims to develop locally grounded approaches to gun violence prevention in partnership with mid-sized communities like Charlottesville. It also builds on the work of UVA’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where students in the Spring 2025 Gun Violence Clinic authored four issue briefs examining specific types of gun violence: community gun violence, unintentional shootings, officer-involved shootings, and intimate partner violence. 

“These components—the data-oriented report, the community-driven partnerships, and the background briefs summarizing research—are intended to work together to support a shared understanding, identify knowledge gaps, and facilitate wider community engagement around the challenges and possibilities in our local community,” said Michele Claibourn. This report pays particular attention to local nuance. For instance, a significant portion of gun deaths in the region are suicides, pointing to the need for increased mental health support, like those offered by the Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition, and intentional community-based interventions, like those offered by the Central Virginia Violence Interrupters. Other sections of the report emphasize the importance of multi-pronged approaches—combining community engagement, policy reform, and data transparency—to address the problem’s many dimensions. 

The authors emphasize that this is a living document, intended to evolve over time through community dialogue, ongoing research, and public input. The data alone can’t capture the full story, but when paired with lived experience, it becomes a tool for shared understanding and stronger decision-making. 

To help spark those conversations, the Center has collaborated with local stakeholders and the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships’ Community Safety Implementation Group through Community Dialogues and interactive Data Walks. The goal of these engagements is to share this information with community members and spark bidirectional conversations, resulting in collaborative next steps. In the spring, the Center hosted a data walk using visualizations from the “State of Gun Violence in Charlottesville and Albemarle” report. 

As the work continues, future briefs will explore additional facets of the issue, map local resources, and amplify the voices of residents who have long been at the forefront of community safety and care. 

For more information or to get involved, please visit https://communitypartnerships.virginia.edu/work-us.