Mass Casualty Shootings

Did You Know?

In 2012, less than 1% of gun murder victims were 

killed in a mass shooting.C

71% of mass shooting incidents occur in a residence.

C

Mass casualty shootings are rare compared to other forms of homicide; however, due to extensive media and policy 

attention, as well as the number of people affected by each event, they are an important subset of crime.* Measuring 

mass casualty shootings is complicated by the absence of a commonly recognized definition. Federal agencies define a 

mass casualty shooting as the murder of three or more individuals. Due to the rarity of these events, federal agencies do 

not collect data on mass shootings, but they do collect data on “active shooters.” Active shooter incidents are defined 

as incidents where “one or more individuals actively engage in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”A

This definition does not include gang- or drug-related incidents, the accidental discharge of a firearm, or family- and 

intimate partner-related shootings. A majority of mass casualty research only accounts for people physically injured 

or killed, and discounts individuals who witnessed the shooting or were threatened by the shooter, even though they 

often experience psychological trauma as well.

Active Shooter Trends

The number of annual active shooter incidents has increased dramatically over the past 15 years, from 1 incident in 2000 

to 20 in 2015. In addition, the number of people killed or injured annually in active shooter incidents has increased by more 

than 100%, from 7 in 2000 to 134 in 2015.A,B

2017 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Resource Guide: Crime and Victimization Fact Sheets 

The largest proportion of active shooter incidents (44%) 

occurs in areas of commerce, including businesses both 

open and closed to the public. Generally, 23% of active 

shooter incidents occur at schools, including colleges and 

universities; and 11% of active shooter incidents occur in 

open spaces, including public streets, open parking lots, 

and parks.A,B

Active Shooter Incidents and Total Killed or Injured A,B

2000

7

Victims injured or killed

Incidents

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

250

0

50

100

150

200

250

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Active Shooter Incidents and Casualties

Incidents Casualties

2014

134

1

20

Number of Active Shooter IncidentsA,B

by type of location from 2000–2015

Commerce

Residence

School 

property

Open space

Gov’t property, 

non-military

House of 

worship

Military 

property

Healthcare 

facility 100

88

45

21

15

10

8

7

6

2000

78

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

125

2014

56

Active Shooter Incidents A,B

by number killed or wounded

Wounded

Killed

0

7

0

25

50

75

100

125
*NOTE: While mass casualty events besides shootings do occur, they are 

even more rare than mass shootings and are not consistently counted by a 

majority of tracking agencies. 

SOURCES 

A J. Pete Blair and Katherine W. Schweit, A Study of Active Shooter Incidents, 

2000-2013, (Texas State University, FBI, 2014), https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-2000-2013-1.pdf/view

B Katherine W. Schweit, Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2014 

and 2015, (FBI, 2016), https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooterincidentsus_2014-2015.pdf/view

C Everytown for Gun Safety, Analysis of Recent Mass Shootings, (2016), 

https://everytownresearch.org/documents/2015/09/analysismass-shootings.pdf; Appendix, http://everytownresearch.org/

documents/2015/10/mass-shootings-analysis-appendix.pdf

D Mother Jones, “U.S. Mass Shootings, 1982-2016,” (2016), www.

motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data

E Melissa Jeltsen, “We’re Missing the Big Picture on Mass Shootings.” 

Huffington Post (Sept. 15, 2015), www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/massshootings-domestic-violence-women_us_55d3806ce4b07addcb44542a

Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that works around the United States to prevent gun violence, defines a mass 

shooting as an incident where four or more people (excluding the shooter) are murdered with a firearm, including incidents 

where the perpetrator shot an intimate partner or a family member.C More than half of mass shootings between January 

2009 and July 2015 involved a shooter who killed a current or former intimate partner or another family member. Adult 

women and children under the age of 17 are the most frequent victims of intimate partner or family shooting incidents, 

though men and women are equally victimized when accounting for all mass shootings.E

Current Data on Mass Casualty Shootings

Mother Jones, a nonprofit investigative news organization, 

defines a mass shooting as any incident in which three 

or more people (besides the shooter) are killed, excluding 

shootings originating with armed robbery, gang violence, 

and intimate partner or family violence. As of November, 

there were 6 mass shooting incidents in 2016, resulting in 

the deaths of 71 people and injuring 83. On June 12, 2016, 

49 people were killed and 53 people were injured at the 

Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the largest mass shooting 

in United States history. Many of those present inside the 

nightclub were part of the LGBT community, and many were 

Latinx, highlighting the need for culturally specific services 

following mass casualty shooting incidents.D

Excel Industries mass shooting (17)

Dallas Police shooting (16)

Kalamazoo shooting (8)

Baton Rouge Police shooting (5)

2016 Mass Shooting IncidentsD

by total people killed or injured

Orlando nightclub shooting (102)

Cascade Mall shooting (5)

Intimate partner or family All mass incidents

Gender and Age of VictimsE

mass shooting events 2009–July 2015

Children 

(17 or younger)

Men

Women

50%

37

36

27

39

19

42

Mass Shooting FatalitiesC,E

by type of shooting event

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (until July)

100

Family

Intimate partner

Other

0

20

40

60

80

100

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (until

July)

Mass Shooting Fataities, by type

Family Violence IPV Other

12

29

21

16

91

36

48

19

5

39

24

19

15

39

18

71

57

23

32

61

0

Persons Killed or Injured in a Mass Shooting IncidentD

by 2016 incident

64

7 8 4 4 7

69 Injuries

100% Fatalities

Cascade Mall 

shooting

Baton Rouge 

Police shooting

Dallas Police 

shooting

Orlando 

nightclub 

shooting

Excel Industries 

shooting

Kalamazoo 

shooting

4

13 17

0 2