Mass shootings in the United States

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Total U.S. deaths by year in mass shootings: 1982 to 2016[1]

The United States has more mass shootings than any other country.[2][3][4][5] A mass shooting is usually defined as a shooting resulting in at least four victims, excluding the perpetrator.[6] When the definition is restricted to four or more people dead, data shows 146 mass shootings between 1967 and 2017, with an average of eight people dead including the perpetrator.[7] The perpetrator generally either commits suicide or surrenders when confronted by armed individuals, be they law enforcement or, occasionally, armed citizens.[7]

Frequency[edit]

Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, site of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, resulting in 58 deaths and 546 non-fatal injuries.

The frequency in which mass shootings occur depends upon definition. In recent years, the number of public mass shootings has increased substantially, even though there has been a massive decrease in gun related deaths.[8] Studies indicate that the rate at which public mass shootings occur has tripled since 2011. Between 1982 and 2011, a mass shooting occurred roughly once every 200 days. However, between 2011 and 2014 that rate has accelerated greatly with at least one mass shooting occurring every 64 days in the United States.[9] In "Behind the Bloodshed", a report by USA Today, said that there were mass killings every two weeks and that public mass killings account for 1 in 6 of all mass killings (26 killings annually would thus be equivalent to 26/6, 4 to 5, public killings per year).[10] Mother Jones listed seven mass shootings, defined as indiscriminate rampages in public places resulting in four or more victims killed,[11] in the U.S. for 2015. The average for the period 2011–2015 was about 5 a year.[12] An analysis by Michael Bloomberg's gun violence prevention group, Everytown for Gun Safety, identified 110 mass shootings, defined as shootings in which at least four people were murdered with a firearm, between January 2009 and July 2014; at least 57% were related to domestic or family violence.[13][14] This would imply that not more than 43% of 110 shootings in 5.5 years were non-domestic, though not necessarily public or indiscriminate; this equates to 8.6 per year, broadly in line with the other figures.

Other media outlets have reported that hundreds of mass shootings take place in the United States in a single calendar year, citing a crowd-funded website known as Shooting Tracker which defines a mass shooting as having four or more people injured or killed.[15] In December 2015, The Washington Post reported that there had been 355 mass shootings in the United States so far that year.[16] In August 2015, The Washington Post reported that the United States was averaging one mass shooting per day.[17] An earlier report had indicated that in 2015 alone, there had been 294 mass shootings that killed or injured 1,464 people.[18] However, an article from Russia Today stated that 42 percent of the incidents involved zero deaths, and 29 percent one death.[19] Shooting Tracker and Mass Shooting Tracker, the two sites that the media have been citing, have been criticized for using a criterion much more inclusive than that used by the government—they count four victims injured as a mass shooting—thus producing much higher figures.[20][21]

Contributing factors[edit]

There are several factors that work together to create a fertile environment for mass murder in the United States.[22] Those factors include: failure of government background checks due to incomplete databases and staff shortages,[23][24] relatively high accessibility of guns,[22][25][26] acute copycat phenomenon,[25] desire for fame and notoriety,[22][25] widespread chronic gap between people's expectations for themselves and their actual achievement,[22] and individualistic culture.[27] It is debated whether mental illness is a factor.[28][29][30] Many of the mass shooters in the U.S. suffered from mental illness, but the estimated number of mental illness cases hasn't increased as significantly as the number of mass shootings, which tripled from year 2011 to 2014.[25]

Deadliest shootings[edit]

The following are the top 20 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history (c. 1950 onwards).

  Currently the deadliest mass shooting.
  Was previously the deadliest mass shooting.
Incident Year Deaths Type of weapon(s) used Reference(s)
1 Las Vegas shooting 2017 59 (including the perpetrator) Multiple semi-automatic rifles [31][32]
2 Orlando nightclub shooting 2016 50 (including the perpetrator) Semi-automatic rifle [31][32]
3 Virginia Tech shooting 2007 33 (including the perpetrator) Handguns [31]
4 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting 2012 28 (including the perpetrator) Semi-automatic rifle and bolt-action rifle [31]
5 Sutherland Springs church shooting 2017 27 (including the perpetrator) Semi-automatic rifle [33][32]
6 Luby's shooting 1991 24 (including the perpetrator) Handguns [31]
7 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre 1984 22 (including the perpetrator) Multiple weapons [31]
8 University of Texas tower shooting 1966 18 (including the perpetrator) Multiple weapons [31]
9 San Bernardino attack 2015 16 (including both perpetrators) Semi-automatic rifles [31][32]
10 Edmond post office shooting 1986 15 (including the perpetrator) Handguns [31]
Columbine High School massacre 1999 15 (including both perpetrators) Multiple weapons [34]
12 Binghamton shootings 2009 14 (including the perpetrator) Handguns [34]
13 Camden shootings 1949 13 Handgun [34]
Wilkes-Barre shootings 1982 13 Semi-automatic rifle [34]
Fort Hood shooting 2009 13 Handguns [34]
Washington Navy Yard shooting 2013 13 (including the perpetrator) Shotgun and handgun [34]
17 Aurora shooting 2012 12 Multiple weapons [34][32]
18 Geneva County massacre 2009 11 (including the perpetrator) Multiple weapons [34]
19 GMAC shootings 1990 10 (including the perpetrator) Semi-automatic rifle [31]
Umpqua Community College shooting 2015 10 (including the perpetrator) Handguns [34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "US Mass Shootings, 1982–2017: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation". 
  2. ^ U.S. Leads World in Mass Shootings. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: October 2, 2017.
  3. ^ Why the US has the most mass shootings. CNN. Retrieved: October 2, 2017.
  4. ^ Why the U.S. is No. 1 – in mass shootings. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved: October 2, 2017.
  5. ^ The United States Has Had More Mass Shootings Than Any Other Country. Mother Jones. Retrieved: October 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Ingraham, Christopher (3 December 2015). "What makes a 'mass shooting' in America". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2017. 
  7. ^ a b Berkowitz, Bonnie; Gamio, Lazaro; Lu, Denise; Uhrmacher, Kevin; Lindeman, Todd (5 October 2017). "50 years of U.S. mass shootings: The victims, sites, killers and weapons". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2017. 
  8. ^ Ehrenfreund, Max (2015-12-03). "We've had a massive decline in gun violence in the United States. Here's why". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-12-13. 
  9. ^ "Rate of mass shootings has tripled since 2011, new research from Harvard shows". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2017-12-13. 
  10. ^ "Behind the Bloodshed". USA Today. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  11. ^ Mark Follman; Gavin Aronsen; Deanna Pan (12 June 2016). "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America". Motherjones.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016. 
  12. ^ Mark Follman; Gavin Aronsen; Deanna Pan. "US Mass Shootings, 1982–2016: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation". Motherjones.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.  Original date 28 December 2012 ; list updated every 5 minutes. Figures for years 2011–2015: 3, 7, 5, 4, 7.
  13. ^ Melissa Jeltsen (18 July 2014). "Mass Shooting Analysis Finds Strong Domestic Violence Connection". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 June 2016. 
  14. ^ "Analysis of Mass Shootings". Everytownresearch.org. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.  This analysis has later figures than reported in the article
  15. ^ "About the Mass Shooting Tracker". Mass Shooting Tracker. Retrieved 13 June 2016. 
  16. ^ "The San Bernardino shooting is the second mass shooting today and the 355th this year". Washington Post. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015. 
  17. ^ Ingraham, Christopher (August 26, 2015). "We're now averaging more than one mass shooting per day in 2015". Washington Post. Retrieved September 6, 2015. 
  18. ^ "More than one mass shooting happens per day in the U.S., data shows". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2015-10-08. 
  19. ^ "More than 1 mass shooting per day in 2015? Reddit group keeping count". RT. December 1, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015. 
  20. ^ Follman, Mark (December 3, 2015). "How Many Mass Shootings Are There, Really?". New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2015. 
  21. ^ Stuart, Elizabeth (December 7, 2015). "Number of U.S. Mass Shootings Greatly Exaggerated in Media, Acclaimed Researcher States". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved December 10, 2015. 
  22. ^ a b c d Healy, Melissa (24 August 2015). "Why the U.S. is No. 1 – in mass shootings". LA Times. Retrieved 6 November 2017. 
  23. ^ Johnson, Kevin. “Texas Church Shooting Background Check Failure.” USA Today. November 9, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2017. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/09/texas-church-shooting-background-check-breakdown-highlights-federal-gun-record-problems/847947001/.
  24. ^ Barrett, Devlin. “FBI's Gun Background Check Database Missing Records.” Chicago Tribune. November 10, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2017. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-fbi-gun-background-check-system-missing-records-20171110-story.html.
  25. ^ a b c d Christensen, Jen (5 October 2017). "Why the US has the most mass shootings". CNN. Retrieved 6 November 2017. 
  26. ^ The United States Has Had More Mass Shootings Than Any Other Country. Mother Jones. Retrieved: October 2, 2017.
  27. ^ Dorell, Oren (December 18, 2012). "In Europe, fewer mass killings due to culture not guns". USA Today. Retrieved August 11, 2015. 
  28. ^ "The real mental health issue behind gun violence". CNN. January 25, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2017. 
  29. ^ Campbell, Holly (December 2, 2015). "Inside the mind of a mass murderer". WANE.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. 
  30. ^ Fox, James Alan (January 16, 2011). "The real causes of mass murder". Boston.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017. 
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Deadliest Mass Shootings in Modern US History Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2017. 
  32. ^ a b c d e "Texas gunman used same rifle as Las Vegas, Newtown mass shooters". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-11-07. 
  33. ^ Carissimo, Justin (6 November 2017). "26 dead in shooting at church in Sutherland Springs, Texas". CBS News. Retrieved 6 November 2017. 
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Terrorist attacks and related incidents in the United States". johnstonarchive.net. Retrieved 6 November 2017. 
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