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Police cars are parked behind police tape.
A Douglas County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle outside of STEM School Highlands Ranch following a shooting that left one student dead and eight others wounded on May 7, 2019. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

The Colorado Sun analyzed 38 years of state data on gun deaths to learn more about the 20,669 firearm fatalities over that span and how they break down by gender, age group and manner.

Last year, Colorado saw its highest gun-death rate per 100,000 people since 1986 at 15.5.

In 2018, 885 people died by firearm in the state.

Most people who died by a gun in Colorado in the past four decades committed suicide. Others were killed in homicides while a small percentage died in accidental shootings.

The numbers were compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and are based on data collected through death certificates .

Here are five charts looking at gun deaths in Colorado between 1980 and 2018.

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This byline is used for articles and guides written collaboratively by The Colorado Sun reporters, editors and producers.