California saw its lowest number of firearm-related deaths in more than half a century in 2024, the fewest since 1968, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday. The drop also pushed the statewide homicide rate down toward historic lows, a shift Bonta cast as a major public-safety win even as he warned that the trend could reverse without steady investment in prevention.
At a press briefing, Bonta said "California has achieved something historic with the lowest rates of firearm deaths, suicides and homicides on record," according to ABC7 Los Angeles. He urged lawmakers to protect funding for violence-prevention programs and education, arguing that pulling back now would risk erasing the gains.
State reports show steep declines
State data back up Bonta’s claim. The California Department of Justice's "Homicide in California 2024" report shows 1,666 homicides in 2024, an 11.9% drop from 2023, which translates to a homicide rate of 4.3 per 100,000, a 10.4% decline. The report notes that not every agency submitted a full year of data, but the decrease shows up across multiple measures and tables. Those figures appear in the DOJ's annual statistical releases and the department's OpenJustice data portal.
Why the numbers fell and where
Analysts say the decline looks widespread but uneven. The Public Policy Institute of California found a roughly 13.5% drop in homicides statewide in 2024 and reported that 12 of the 15 largest counties saw decreases. PPIC describes much of the shift as a move back toward pre-pandemic levels that tracks with improving clearance rates, restored services and targeted local interventions. Experts caution that several forces, from policing practices to federal and state funding flows, shape local trends and that the exact drivers are still being studied.
Crime-gun tracing still a challenge
At the same time, the DOJ's AB 1191 "Crime Guns" report underscores lingering problems. The department recorded 46,996 crime guns recovered in 2024 and found that roughly 65% of crime guns entered between 2022 and 2024 had no prior sale recorded in the state's Automated Firearms System. That gap, driven in part by unserialized "ghost" guns and out-of-state sourcing, highlights enforcement and tracing challenges that officials say must be tackled to keep the declines going. The AB 1191 report and related OpenJustice tables break down recoveries by manufacturer, dealer and county.
What officials say and what to watch next
Bonta warned that the progress is fragile and again pressed policymakers to maintain funding for prevention, education and enforcement efforts, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. State officials point to the DOJ reports and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention as guides for where money and programs should go, while advocates argue that the latest data should be used to target interventions in communities that still face the highest risks.
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