The extensive dataset on fatal police shootings compiled by the Washington Post provides an opportunity for in-depth analysis of victim demographics and how they may relate to these incidents. In this blog post, I’ll demonstrate exploring the distributions of age and race among those killed by police shootings. To start, I generate summary statistics and histograms to examine the age distribution. The histogram shows a right-skewed distribution, with most victims in their 20s to 40s and relatively few elderly. The mean and median ages are in the 30s, suggesting many victims are young adults. Comparing the overall age distribution to census data indicates younger individuals are clearly overrepresented among those killed. Further analyzing age by race reveals notable differences. The average age of Black victims is nearly 5 years lower than White victims. Fitting kernel density curves by race highlights the discrepancy in age makeup. Black victims cluster in their 20s, while White victims peak in their 30s. Statistical tests for difference in means could formally assess the significance of this gap. For race, the data show nearly a quarter of victims are Black, despite Black Americans comprising just 13% of the overall population. Additionally, over 50% of unarmed victims are Black. This highlights a racial disparity that requires more rigorous statistical testing, but is concerning based on descriptive data alone. In-depth exploration of the Washington Post variables provides insights into demographic patterns and surface-level relationships. Descriptive analysis sets the foundation for more complex analytics using statistical tools like regression, predictive modeling, and hypothesis testing to formally assess interactions and causal factors.