More Than One Mass Shooting Per Day Has Occurred In 2021 - Forbes

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Topline

The U.S. has averaged more than one mass shooting a day this year, continuing an upward trend since researchers began thoroughly tracking the subject following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Key Facts

There have been 147 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as when four or more people have been shot or killed, not including the shooter.

The U.S. was wracked by a record high 610 mass shootings in 2020, the most of any year since the organization began tracking the number in 2014.

This year, the U.S. is on pace to have 511 mass shootings—more than any year between 2014 and 2019—though mass shootings are historically more likely to occur during the latter half of the year, meaning the rate could increase.

In 2019, there were 417 mass shootings, up from 337 in 2018.

Nearly 20,000 Americans died from gun violence in 2020, more than any year in two decades in what was the highest one-year jump in homicides since the U.S. began keeping records in the 20th century, according to the Washington Post, while about 24,000 died by suicide using a gun.

The U.S. is currently on pace for about as many Americans to die from gun violence as last year, with 5,415 killed so far.

Tangent

On Thursday night, eight people were killed by a gunman at a FedEx facility near Indianapolis International Airport. It was the fifth high-profile mass shooting this year, following shooting sprees in Atlanta; Boulder, Colo.; Orange, Calif. and Rock Hill, S.C.

Key Background

No universally accepted definition for mass shootings currently exists, and the FBI doesn’t track them. It does track mass murders, which it defines as a situation where four or more were killed by gun violence, a bombing or other means. The Gun Violence Archive, like many databases, did not start tracking mass shootings until the increase in high-profile shootings following Sandy Hook. However, other databases, which define “mass shooting” more narrowly, show that the rate has increased in recent years.

What To Watch For

On Friday, President Joe Biden reignited pressure on Congress to pass gun reform. “Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act,” Biden said in a statement Friday. “God bless the eight fellow Americans we lost in Indianapolis and their loved ones, and we pray for the wounded for their recovery.” Last month, the House passed legislation to expand background checks, but the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it will likely need 60 votes to pass. Last week, Biden unveiled a series of executive orders aimed at curbing gun violence, including restrictions on so-called ghost guns.