Some time back I posted that although gun deaths are down gun wounds are, at best, level if not rising. Here we have clear evidence that it isn't a lack of crime but a better health care system for trauma victims.

increased 47% since 2001 (as of 2011) and most likely more than that now.

fully supported by the right-wing gun lobby and other despicable gun-violence-for-profit asshats like Larry Pratt of GOA.

The “WIRE” article is dated Dec 17,2012, the WSJ article precedes it but the date isn’t known. Point being, more recent data demonstrates an even more significant increase in attacks by shooters. Statistics used in the WIRE article were available thru 2011 and showed a 47% increase from 2001. The same statistic in 2012 increased to 33,766 representing an increase from 2001 of 62%. That same statistic, gun assault victims wounded seriously enough to require a hospital stay for 2013 increased again by 3,545 to 37,311 meaning that; Since 2001 the number of people intentionally shot with firearms injured seriously enough to be hospitalized, and didn’t die because hospitals have gotten better at treating traumatic wounds has increased by 79%.
SEVENTY NINE PERCENT!

For those that want make the argument that those are only numbers and question: What has the rate done? The answer is the (crude) rate has increased by 61% over that same time frame.

Restricting the victimisation numbers to just those wounded “seriously enough to require a hospital stay” is just one of the unique aspects of this article. Even without a paid subscription it can be determined that the wording in the linked Wall St Journal article is “the number of people treated for gunshot ATTACKS from 2001 to 2011 has grown by nearly half.” In my effort to locate and corroborate that statistic it became clear that the Journal article was also taking another perspective seldom seen in this discussion. The author was using only those ‘attacks” categorized as assaults, meaning suicides, accidents, legal intervention, and even the undetermined were NOT included in their figures. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html

The gun violence trend is, and has been, moving upwards at an alarming rate for the past several years. The NRA/ALEC right-wing gun lobby suppressed funding for legitimate research on gun violence just so the public wouldn't see these increasing numbers.