On April 20, 1999, people across the country and the world were shocked by the news that two gunmen had opened fire in Columbine High School in Colorado, killing 15 and injuring two dozen more. This was one of the first times many Americans heard the phrase “mass shooting.”
The Congressional Research Service defines mass shootings as incidents in which at least five people are killed with a firearm “within one event, and in one or more locations in close proximity.”
Since Columbine, mass shootings “continue to increase in both number and scope,” according to The National Criminal Justice Reference Service. From 1998-2007, there were 21 recorded mass shootings. From 2008-2017, that number jumped to 51 shootings — including the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, in which 58 people were killed at a Las Vegas music festival on Oct. 1, 2017.
Many of the deadliest mass shootings have been perpetrated by people who obtained their guns illegally — whether they bought them on the black market or took them from someone they knew who had legally purchased the weapons. This may explain why many of these shootings took place in the states with the strictest gun laws.
Mass shootings account for just a small fraction of the number of Americans killed by guns each year, whether it is a homicide or a suicide. In 2017, there were 12 firearm-related deaths for every 100,000 people in the United States. In the cities with the most gun violence, that rate was over 20 per 100,000.
There has been relatively little legislative action taken at the federal level in response to mass shootings over the past 20 years. Most recently, the Trump Administration’s Justice Department ruled in 2018 that an existing ban on fully automatic rifles extends to bump stocks — an attachment used by the Las Vegas shooter that makes semi-automatic rifles function like automatic ones.
To identify the deadliest mass shootings since Columbine, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the number of fatalities from mass shootings that occurred after April 20, 1999 recorded by the Congressional Research Service, the FBI, the Washington Post, and other sources. Shooters who were killed as a result of suicide or in shootouts with police were not included in the fatality count. Spree shootings that take place in multiple locations with four or fewer people killed in a single location were not considered. Shootings that were a single domestic incident were also not considered.
These are the deadliest shootings since Columbine.
Source: Bob Levey / Getty Images
18. Santa Fe High School shooting
> Victims: 9 fatalities, 5 injuries
> Date and place: March 21, 2015 in Santa Fe, Texas
> Weapon(s) used: Shotgun, .38 pistol (all weapons illegally obtained)
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images
17. Umpqua Community College shooting
> Victims: 9 fatalities, 7 injuries
> Date and place: Oct. 1, 2015 in Roseburg, Oregon
> Weapon(s) used: 5 pistols, 5.56mm rifle (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images
16. Red Lake, Minnesota shooting
> Victims: 10 fatalities, 10 injuries
> Date and place: May 18, 2018 in Red Lake indian reservation
> Weapon(s) used: .22 pistol, .40 pistol, 12-Gauge Shotgun (all weapons illegally obtained)
Source: Jeff Swensen / Getty Images
15. Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
> Victims: 11 fatalities, 6 injuries
> Date and place: Oct. 27, 2018 at Tree of Life synagogue
> Weapon(s) used: 3 .357 pistols, semi-automatic rifle (all weapons legally obtained)
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
14. Aurora, Colorado shooting
> Victims: 12 fatalities, 58 injuries
> Date and place: July 20, 2012 at Century Aurora 16 Multiplex Theater
> Weapon(s) used: 12-gauge shotgun, .223 semi-automatic rifle, .40 pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
13. Washington Navy Yard shooting
> Victims: 12 fatalities, 8 injuries
> Date and place: Sept. 16, 2013 at Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters
> Weapon(s) used: 12-gauge shotgun, Beretta pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
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Source: Barbara Davidson / Getty Images
12. Thousand Oaks, CA shooting
> Victims: 12 fatalities, 11 injuries
> Date and place: Nov. 7, 2018, at Borderline Bar and Grill
> Weapon(s) used: .45 pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
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Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images
11. Atlanta shooting
> Victims: 12 fatalities, 13 injuries
> Date and place: July 27-29, 1999 in Stockbridge and Atlanta, Georgia
> Weapon(s) used: .22 pistol, .25 pistol, .45 pistol, 9mm pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
10. Binghamton, New York shooting
> Victims: 13 fatalities, 4 injuries
> Date and place: Apr. 3, 2009 at American Civic Association immigration center
> Weapon(s) used: 9mm pistol, .45 pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
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Source: soldiersmediacenter / Flickr
9. Fort Hood shooting
> Victims: 13 fatalities, 30 injuries
> Date and place: Nov. 5, 2009 in Fort Hood
> Weapon(s) used: Five-seven pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Marc Piscotty / Getty Images
8. Columbine shooting
> Victims: 13 fatalities, 24 injuries
> Date and place: Apr. 20, 1999 at Columbine High School
> Weapon(s) used: 2 12-gauge shotguns, 9mm machine gun, 9mm semi-automatic rifle (all weapons illegally obtained)
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Source: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
7. San Bernardino shooting
> Victims: 14 fatalities, 21 injuries
> Date and place: Dec. 2, 2015 at Inland Regional Center
> Weapon(s) used: 2 semi-automatic rifles, 2 9mm pistols (pistols obtained legally, rifles were illegally obtained)
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
6. Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
> Victims: 17 fatalities, 17 injuries
> Date and place: Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, FL
> Weapon(s) used: .223 semi-automatic rifle (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Erich Schlegel / Getty Images
5. Sutherland Springs shooting
> Victims: 26 fatalities, 20 injuries
> Date and place: Nov. 5, 2017 at Sutherland First Baptist Church
> Weapon(s) used: Semi-automatic rifle, 9mm pistol, .22 pistol (all weapons illegally obtained)
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Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images
4. Sandy Hook shooting
> Victims: 27 fatalities, 2 injuries
> Date and place: Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut
> Weapon(s) used: .223 semi-automatic rifle, 9mm pistol, 10mm pistol (Weapons legally obtained, but not by the shooter)
Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images
3. Virginia Tech shooting
> Victims: 32 fatalities, 23 injuries
> Date and place: Apr. 16, 2007 in Blacksburg, VA
> Weapon(s) used: 9mm pistol, .22 pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
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Source: Monika Graff / Getty Images
2. Pulse Nightclub shooting
> Victims: 49 fatalities, 53 injuries
> Date and place: June 12, 2016 in Orlando, FL
> Weapon(s) used: Semi-automatic rifle, 9mm pistol (all weapons legally obtained)
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
1. Las Vegas shooting
> Victims: 58 fatalities, 851 injuries
> Date and place: Oct. 1, 2017 at the Route 91 Music Festival
> Weapon(s) used: 22 semi-automatic rifles, .308 Bolt Action rifle, .38 Revolver (all weapons legally obtained)
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