Mass Shootings Hit 417 Last Year

Mass shootings reached 417 last year as day after day Americans lost their lives to guns. By the end of 2019, deaths caused by guns reached 39,296.

The carefully followed Gun Violence Archive tracks and confirms each incident. It posts them by state, city, and address. Its researchers also show the source of the information about the incident. The Gun Violence Archive has kept these statistics since 2013. All shootings get divided into two basic categories. One is deaths which involve homicides, murders, unintentional shoots, and defensive shootings. The other is suicides, based on CDC Suicide Data.

In 2019, there were 417 mass shootings and 31 mass murders. Mass murder is defined as “FOUR or more killed in a single event [incident], at the same general time and location.” A mass shooting is defined as “FOUR or more shot and/or killed in a single event [incident], at the same general time and location not including the shooter.”

Mass shootings rose from 337 last year according to the Gun Violence Archive. The figure has been above 300 every year since 2015.

In 2019, suicides made up 24,090 of the total or about 75% of gun violence deaths. According to the CDC, suicides are the 10th leading cause of death in America, based on 2017 figures. It is the second leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 34. Proposed solutions include more access to suicide prevention measures. more education about the behavior of suicidal individuals, and teaching coping mechanisms for people who are at risk.

There were 71 “officer-involved” incidents last year. There were 300 incidents in which an officer was killed or injured.

There have been a number of proposals about how gun violence deaths and injuries could be lowered, particularly those which involve multiple people These include a ban on assault rifles, regulation of high-capacity magazines, universal background checks, and controversial solutions which include armed guards at public locations and arming teachers. None has been adopted on a national level. Most have not been addressed at the state level either, although nine states have banned high capacity magazines. Gun violence varies by state and city. These are the cities with the most gun violence.

While there have been a large number of solutions offered to cut down gun violence deaths of all sorts, it is fair to say that the effects of these solutions are limited, because the violence figures keep rising year after year. These are the deadliest shootings since the Columbine High School incident in Colorado which happened April 10,1999.