Mass shootings in the United States

Mass shootings are events where there are many victims of firearm-related violence. There is no exact definition for a "mass shooting". One definition is that a mass shooting is an act of public firearm violence in which a shooter kills at least four victims. Gang killings, domestic violence, or terrorist acts by an organization are not included. With this definition, one study found that about one-third of the world's public mass shootings between 1966 and 2012 (90 of 292 events) happened in the United States. _The Washington Post_ recorded 163 mass shootings in the United States between 1967 and June 2019.

## Statistics

The United States has had more mass shootings than any other country. Shooters generally either die by suicide afterward, are arrested, or are killed by police officers or civilians.

Mass shootings are responsible for under 0.2% of homicides in the country between 2000 and 2016.

According to a March 2022 report, over mass shootings in the last 40 years, in 52% of mass shootings in the United States the shooter was white, 16% were African American, and 8% were Latino. In 96% of mass shootings the shooter was male, in 2% they were female, and in 2% there were both male and female shooters.

## Weapons used

Many types of guns have been used in mass shootings in the United States, including semi-automatic handguns, semi-automatic rifles, revolvers, and shotguns. Of the 172 events from 1966 to 2019 that are seen as mass public shootings in the U.S., handguns were used in 77.2% of cases and semi-automatic rifles in 25.1% of cases. From 1966 to 2019, about 77% of mass shooters in the U.S. legally bought the weapons used in the attacks.

## Mental health

In a study, experts said that roughly one-third of acts of mass shootings since the 1990s were committed by people with a "serious mental illness". However, the study also said that people with a serious mental illness are responsible for less than 4% of all the violent acts in the United States. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) said that gun violence is a public health crisis and that a majority of people with mental illness are not violent and "are far more likely to be victims of violent crime."

In February 2021, a survey published by psychiatrists at Columbia University found that in 1,315 out of 14,785 mass murders around the world, personal motives were the main cause. In only 11% of these 1,315 murders and 8% of these shootings, the murderer had a serious mental illness.

## List of deadliest mass shootings since 1949

|Rank|Incident|Year|Location|Deaths|Injuries|Type of firearm(s) used|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|Las Vegas shooting|2017|Paradise, Nevada|60 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|867 approx. <small>(413+ from gunfire or shrapnel)</small>|Semi-automatic rifles (some outfitted with bump stocks), bolt-action rifle, and revolver|||
|2|Orlando nightclub shooting|2016|Orlando, Florida|49 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|58 <small>(53 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic rifle and pistol|||
|3|Virginia Tech shooting|2007|Blacksburg, Virginia|32 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|23 <small>(17 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic pistols|||
|4|Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting|2012|Newtown, Connecticut|27 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|2|Semi-automatic rifle, bolt-action rifle, and pistol|||
|5|Sutherland Springs church shooting|2017|Sutherland Springs, Texas|26 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|22|Semi-automatic rifle|||
|rowspan="2"|6|Luby's shooting|1991|Killeen, Texas|23 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|27|Semi-automatic pistols||
|El Paso Walmart shooting|2019|El Paso, Texas|23|23|Semi-automatic rifle||||
|8|San Ysidro McDonald's massacre|1984|San Diego, California|22 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|19|Semi-automatic carbine, pistol, and shotgun|||
|9|Robb Elementary School shooting|2022|Uvalde, Texas|21 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|18|Semi-automatic rifle|||
|10|Lewiston shootings|2023|Lewiston, Maine|18|13|Unknown|||
|rowspan="2"|11|University of Texas tower shooting|1966|Austin, Texas|17 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|31|Bolt-action rifle, semi-automatic carbine, revolver, semi-automatic pistols, and pump-action shotgun||
|Parkland high school shooting|2018|Parkland, Florida|17|17|Semi-automatic rifle||||
|rowspan="3"|13|Fort Hood shooting|2009|Killeen, Texas|14|32 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|Semi-automatic pistol and revolver||
|San Bernardino attack|2015|San Bernardino, California|14 <small>(plus both perps.)</small>|24|Semi-automatic rifles||||
|Edmond post office shooting|1986|Edmond, Oklahoma|14 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|6|Semi-automatic pistols||||
|rowspan="5"|16|Columbine High School massacre|1999|Columbine, Colorado|13 <small>(plus both perps.)</small>|24 <small>(21 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic carbine, semi-automatic pistol, and shotguns||
|Binghamton shooting|2009|Binghamton, New York|13 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|4|Semi-automatic pistols||||
|Camden shootings|1949|Camden, New Jersey|13|3 <small>(2 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic pistol||||
|Wilkes-Barre shootings|1982|Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|13|1|Semi-automatic rifle||||
|Wah Mee massacre|1983|Seattle, Washington|13|1|Semi-automatic pistol(s) and/or revolver(s)||||
|rowspan="4"|21|Aurora theater shooting|2012|Aurora, Colorado|12|70 <small>(58 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic rifle, pistol, and shotgun||
|Thousand Oaks shooting|2018|Thousand Oaks, California|12 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|16 <small>(1 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic pistol||||
|Washington Navy Yard shooting|2013|Washington, D.C.|12 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|8 <small>(3 from gunfire)</small>|Semi-automatic pistol and shotgun||||
|Virginia Beach shooting|2019|Virginia Beach, Virginia|12 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|4|Semi-automatic pistols||||
|rowspan="4"|25|Monterey Park shooting|2023|Monterey Park, California|11 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|9|Semi-automatic pistol||
|Jacksonville shooting|1990|Jacksonville, Florida|11 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|6|Semi-automatic carbine and revolver||||
|Pittsburgh synagogue shooting|2018|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|11|6 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|Semi-automatic rifle and pistols||||
|Easter Sunday Massacre|1975|Hamilton, Ohio|11|0|Semi-automatic pistols and revolver||||
|rowspan="5"|29|Santa Fe High School shooting|2018|Santa Fe, Texas|10|13 <small>(plus the accused)</small>|Shotgun and revolver||
|Geneva County shootings|2009|Geneva County, Alabama|10 <small>(plus the perp.)</small>|6|Semi-automatic rifles, revolver, and shotgun||||
|Buffalo supermarket shooting|2022|Buffalo, New York|10|3|Semi-automatic rifle||||
|Boulder shooting|2021|Boulder, Colorado|10|1 <small>(plus the accused)</small>|Semi-automatic pistols||||
|Palm Sunday massacre|1984|Brooklyn, New York|10|0|Semi-automatic pistols||||

## Mass shootings in 2024

|2024 date|Location|State or territory|Dead|Injured|.|Description|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|November 10|Atlanta (the 6th mass shooting in Atlanta, in 2024)|Georgia|0|4||It happened on the southeast side of the city.|
|November 10|Tuskegee (the 2nd mass shooting in Tuskegee, in 2024)|Alabama|1|12||Tuskegee University shooting.|