Research shows that surprisingly often gun deaths are self-inflicted.

In 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicides accounted for 55% of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths.

In the same year, 40% of deaths were homicides, 3% were accidents and the remaining 2% were "legal killings", such as when police officers do the shooting in the course of duty.

Nor was there anything unique about that particular year. Gun-related have suicides outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years, according to CDC statistics.

Last week, opponents of the Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling on gun ownership had used these statistics and others in an attempt to block the ruling, but were unsuccessful.

Supermodel Ruslana Korshunova fell to her death from her Manhattan apartment building on Saturday, prompting speculation that it had been a suicide.

The 20-year-old cover model died around 2:30 p.m. in a fall from a building on Water Street, in Manhattan's Financial District, The New York Post reported.

Originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, Korshunova had modeled for such designers as Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci and DKNY. British Vogue called her as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.