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List of mass stabbings in the United States

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This is an incomplete list of mass stabbings in the United States. A mass stabbing is a single incident in which multiple victims are harmed or killed in a knife-enabled crime. In such attacks, sharp objects are thrust at the victim, piercing through the skin and harming the victim.[1] Examples of sharp instruments used in mass stabbings may include kitchen knives, utility knives, sheath knives, scissors, Katanas, hammers, screwdrivers, icepicks, bayonets, axes, machetes and glass bottles.[1] Knife crime poses security threats to many countries around the world.[1]

A mass stabbing can be defined from a number of different perspectives. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the verb ‘stab’ as an action that propels a pointed weapon with the intention of harm or murder.[2] A mass stabbing is an incident involving the use of pointed weapons to wound or kill multiple people. Mass stabbings can also be looked at from the scope of knife crime. Based on a publication by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, ‘knife-enabled crime’ is an incident where harm is threatened or caused with the use of bladed weapons.[3] The media also refers to ‘knife crime’ as a stabbing incident or the illegal possession of knives by a person in the public.[3]

From a legal perspective, the phrase mass killing can be used to define a mass stabbing. Based on section 2 of the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012 of the United States of America, which was signed into law and published by the US Congress on 13 January 2013, ‘mass killing’ is an individual occasion with three or more people murdered.[4] Mass stabbings can also be looked at from the perspective of mass murder. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States of America has defined mass murder as an incident where four or more people are killed in a single incident on a continuing basis without any significant time period in between each of the murders.[5]

High-profile crimes in the United States in which multiple people were stabbed are listed here. According to a database published by USA Today, as of March 5, 2024, 44 mass murders in the United States since 2006 involved a knife, and 44 involved another sharp object.[6]

21st century

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2020s

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Date Location Dead Injured Total Description
March 27, 2024 Rockford, Illinois 4 7 11 2024 Rockford stabbings: Four people were killed and seven were injured.[7]
November 13, 2022 Moscow, Idaho 4 0 4 2022 University of Idaho killings: Four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death with a knife or knives in a rented off-campus residence.[8]
October 6, 2022 Las Vegas, Nevada 2 6 8 2022 Las Vegas Strip stabbings: Eight people were stabbed, two fatally, with a chef's knife on a sidewalk in front of the Wynn Casino.[9]
August 22, 2022 Stewartstown, Pennsylvania 2 2 4 A mother and daughter were stabbed to death and two others were injured at a residence in Hopewell Township.[10]
July 30, 2022 Somerset, Wisconsin 1 4 5 One person died and four others were injured after being stabbed in their midsections while tubing on the Apple River.[11]
July 17, 2020 Arvada, Colorado 2[N 1] 3 5 A man entered a strip club with a knife and stabbed four people, killing an employee before an armed security guard shot him to death.[12]
April 7, 2020 Knoxville County, Tennessee 4[N 1] 1 5 2020 Knox County stabbing: A man stabbed four women with a knife, three fatally, at a truck stop before being shot to death by a responding police officer.[13]
January 13, 2020 Colorado Springs, Colorado 0 8 8 The stabber injured two people near the intersection of Tejon and Boulder streets before fleeing on the walking trails of the America the Beautiful Park. As police pursued the suspect, they found several more victims throughout the park. More people were stabbed at a third location before police apprehended a suspect.[14]

2010s

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Date Location Dead Injured Total Description
December 28, 2019 Ramapo, New York 1 4 5 Monsey Hanukkah stabbing: A masked man broke into a home of a Hasidic Rabbi where a Hanukkah party was being held and stabbed five guests, mortally wounding one.[15]
June 30, 2018 Boise, Idaho 1 8 9 A homeless man stabbed nine people at a birthday party outside of an apartment complex, killing a 3-year-old girl and injuring eight others. The perpetrator was sentenced to two life prison terms plus 120 years for the attack.[16]
May 26, 2017 Portland, Oregon 2 1 3 2017 Portland train attack: A man stabbed two people to death and injured a third on a MAX Light Rail train after being confronted for shouting anti-Muslim remarks.[17]
November 28, 2016 Columbus, Ohio 1[N 1] 13 14 Ohio State University attack: After driving into a crowd of pedestrians in his car, a lone-wolf Islamic terrorist grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed several people before being shot and killed by a police officer.[18]
September 16, 2016 St. Cloud, Minnesota 1[N 1] 10 11 2016 St. Cloud, Minnesota knife attack: A man armed with two steak knives stabbed ten people at the Crossroads Center shopping mall before he was shot to death by an off-duty police officer.
June 26, 2016 Sacramento, California 0 10[N 2] 10 2016 Sacramento riot: Members of the Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP) and Golden State Skinheads rallied outside of the California State Capitol. Counter-protesters from Antifa and BAMN – armed with wooden bats, sticks, fireworks, and other weapons – confronted the other protesters. Violence ensued, resulting in ten people being hospitalized for stabbing and laceration wounds. Four people, three Antifa members and one TWP member, were arrested in connection to the riot.[19]
May 10, 2016 Taunton, Massachusetts 3[N 1] 2 5 2016 Silver City Galleria attack: A mentally ill man broke into a house and stabbed two people, killing one. He then stole a car and crashed it into the Silver City Galleria mall, where he proceeded to stab two more people at a Bertucci's restaurant, one fatally, and assaulted three more people before being shot to death by an off-duty sheriff's deputy.[20]
February 11, 2016 Columbus, Ohio 1[N 1] 4 5 2016 Ohio restaurant machete attack: A man stabbed four people at a restaurant with a machete. After fleeing the scene in a car, police officers performed a PIT maneuver, causing him to crash. He was then shot dead by police officers after lunging at them with the machete and a filet knife.[21]
February 2, 2016 Chicago, Illinois 6[N 3] 0 6 Gage Park murders: Five family members were stabbed and a sixth was shot at their home by a man and his girlfriend during a botched robbery.[22]
November 4, 2015 Merced, California 1[N 1] 4 5 University of California, Merced stabbing attack: A lone-wolf Islamic terrorist stabbed four people with a hunting knife before being shot to death by two police officers.[23]
July 22, 2015 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 5 1 6 Broken Arrow killings: Two brothers stabbed five members of their family to death with knives at their house and attempted to kill their younger sister.[24]
May 23, 2014 Isla Vista, California 7[N 4] 14[N 5] 21 2014 Isla Vista killings: A misogynistic man fatally stabbed three men in his apartment before he shot 11 people, four fatally, and struck seven others with his car before shooting himself to death.[25]
April 9, 2014 Murrysville, Pennsylvania 0 22[N 1] 22 Franklin Regional High School stabbing: A 16-year-old student stabbed 20 students and a security guard in a hallway before classes began.[26]
October 26, 2013 Brooklyn, New York 5 0 5 Murder of the Zhuo family: A man murdered his cousin and her children at their home by stabbing them in their necks with a butcher knife.[27]
September 4, 2013 Spring, Texas 1 3 4 Spring High School stabbing: A 17-year-old student stabbed four people, one fatally, with a pocket knife during a fight in one of the school's hallways before being arrested.[28]
April 9, 2013 Cypress, Texas 0 14 14 Lone Star College–CyFair stabbings: A 20-year-old student entered multiple classrooms and stabbed 14 people with an x-acto knife and scalpel before he was incapacitated by multiple students.[29]
February 11–12, 2011 New York City, New York 4 5 9 Maksim Gelman stabbing spree: A man stabbed his step-father to death following an argument before fleeing in his step fathers vehicle. He proceeded to stab eight more people until he was incapacitated by a would-be victim and arrested once police arrived.[30]

2000s

[edit]
Date Location Dead Injured Total Description
August 23, 2002 Warsaw, Kentucky 2 2 4 Marco Allen Chapman murders: A man entered a woman's home in Warsaw, Kentucky after asking to use the telephone, before raping and stabbing her, and stabbing three of her children, two of whom died.[31]
May 7, 2001 Anchorage, Alaska 0 4 4 A man stabbed and wounded four students at an elementary school before being subdued by police.[32]
February 2, 2001 Red Lion, Pennsylvania 0 14 14 Red Lion school stabbing: A man slashed fourteen people at an elementary school with a machete before being disarmed by an injured administrator.[33]

20th century

[edit]

1960s

[edit]
Date Location Dead Injured Total Description
July 13–14, 1966 Chicago, Illinois 8 0 8 Richard Speck murders: A man broke into a dormitory for student nurses and stabbed eight of them to death.[34]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Including the perpetrator
  2. ^ Seven from stabbing
  3. ^ One by gunfire
  4. ^ Three by stabbing; four by gunfire, including the perpetrator
  5. ^ Seven by gunfire, seven by vehicular assault

References

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  1. ^ a b c Nolan, Gary; Hainsworth, Sarah V.; Rutty, Guy N. (2018). "Forces generated in stabbing attacks: an evaluation of the utility of the mild, moderate and severe scale". International Journal of Legal Medicine. 132 (1): 229–236. doi:10.1007/s00414-017-1702-7. ISSN 0937-9827. PMC 5748396. PMID 29038886.
  2. ^ "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". www.oed.com. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  3. ^ a b "House of Commons - Knife Crime - Home Affairs Committee". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  4. ^ "Public Law 112-265 - Jan.14, 2013" (PDF). US Congress. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  5. ^ "Serial Murder". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  6. ^ "Mass killing database: Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006". USA TODAY. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  7. ^ "Stabbing Attack in Illinois Leaves 4 Dead and 5 Injured". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Baker, Mike (2022-12-01). "Latest on Idaho Killings: Police Now Don't Know if Attack Was Targeted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  9. ^ "Man held in Las Vegas Strip stabbings found unfit for trial". Associated Press. December 2, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-04 – via Fox 5 Vegas.
  10. ^ "Suspect says 'something took control of him' before stabbing 5-year-old in York County". ABC27. 2022-08-23. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  11. ^ Patel, Vimal (2022-07-31). "A 17-Year-Old Is Killed and 4 Are Hospitalized in River Tubing Stabbing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  12. ^ "Shotgun Willie's Stabbings: Suspect Identified As Kyle Swai". CBS Colorado. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  13. ^ Hickman, Hayes (June 22, 2020). "DA: Pilot stabbing suspect acted alone and was 'angry at all people in general'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  14. ^ Toropin, Eric Levenson,Konstantin (2020-01-13). "Stabbing spree in Colorado Springs leaves 8 injured". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Monsey attack victim Josef Neumann succumbs to injuries". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. March 30, 2020. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  16. ^ "Man behind brutal mass stabbing at toddler's party to spend life in Idaho prison". East Idaho News. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  17. ^ Bernstein, Maxine (2017-07-18). "MAX attack suspect back in court for scheduling of bail hearing". Oregonlive. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  18. ^ Smith, Mitch; Pérez-Peña, Richard; Goldman, Adam (2016-11-28). "Suspect Is Killed in Attack at Ohio State University That Injured 11". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  19. ^ Stanton, Sam (July 19, 2017). "One suspected neo-Nazi and three counter-demonstrators charged in Capitol riot". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  20. ^ Mele, Christopher (2016-05-11). "Two Fatally Stabbed; Attacker Is Killed at Mall in Massachusetts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  21. ^ Chiaramonte, Perry (2016-05-10). "Ohio restaurant owner says he was machete-wielding terrorist's target". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  22. ^ Main, Frank; Grimm, Andy; Sneed, Michael (2016-05-20). "DNA, phone records lead to charges in Gage Park massacre: police". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  23. ^ Savransky, Rebecca (2016-03-18). "Student in campus stabbing inspired by 'terrorist propaganda'". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  24. ^ Wagner, Meg (July 29, 2015). "Oklahoma teens accused of killing parents, siblings wanted to be more famous than Columbine shooters: report". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  25. ^ Lloyd, Jonathan; Yamamoto, Jane (May 24, 2014). "Witness: Gunman Fired Into Deli Crowd in Drive-By Rampage". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  26. ^ Fitzsimmons, Emma G.; Williams, Timothy (2014-04-09). "Student Stabs 21 People at a High School Outside Pittsburgh". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  27. ^ Jiang, Hezi (October 21, 2015). "Chinese immigrant sentenced for killing cousin's family". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  28. ^ Baldacci, Marlena; Hanna, Jason (2013-09-04). "Texas high school stabbings: Teen charged with murder". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  29. ^ Sutton, Catherine E.; Shoichet, Joe (2013-04-09). "Sheriff: Student plotted TX college attack, fantasized about stabbings". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  30. ^ Robbins, Liz (2011-02-14). "Before Deadly Rampage, Some Saw Warning Signs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  31. ^ "Death row inmate: 'I'm ready and I'm sorry'". NBC News. 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  32. ^ "Four kids stabbed at Alaska school". The Record. 2001-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  33. ^ Halpin, Jim (2023-11-27). "Notorious school machete attacker William Stankewicz dies in prison". York Daily Record. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  34. ^ Fornek, Scott. "'They're all dead!': 40 years ago this week, Richard Speck killed 8". Chicago Sun-Times. July 9, 2006.