Data reported to police and data from crime victimization surveys showed that about one-third of victims of police-reported violent crime in 1996 were victimized by strangers while two- thirds involved perpetrators known to victims. Robbery was the only violent offense typically committed by strangers; in 1996, more than 8 in 10 robberies were committed by strangers. Overall, violence committed by strangers was less likely than other types of violence to result in physical injury, 41 percent for strangers compared to 52 percent for non-strangers. Cases of stranger violence were more likely to involve weapons. In 1996, weapons were present in 39 percent of violent crimes in which a stranger was involved and in 28 percent of cases in which the accused knew the victim. In addition, 12 percent of all cases involving strangers had a firearm present, compared to only 1 percent for other types of violent crime. Males between 15 and 24 years of age comprised the largest proportion of those victimized by strangers (24 percent). Men between 25 and 34 years of age represented the next largest group (17 percent), followed by young women between 15 and 24 years of age (11 percent). Male- against-female violence was the most common type of violence but the least likely to involve strangers. In 87 percent of these cases, assailants knew their victims and 46 percent were spouses. The type of incident most likely to involve strangers was male against male violence, and about 4 in 10 of these cases involved strangers. Like most violent crimes, homicides were more likely to be committed by someone known to the victim than by a stranger. In 1996, only 14 percent of homicide victims were killed by strangers. 16 references, 8 tables, and 5 figures