US mass shootings this year: no reprieve from the epidemic

In the early months of 2023, the United States has had no reprieve from its epidemic of mass shootings.

Some happen in public places, bringing terror to the spaces Americans pass through every day, while others happen behind the closed doors of a home. Some are motivated by personal grievances, while others are terrifyingly random. Some capture widespread attention, while others are barely noticed outside the local area.

There is no consensus on what constitutes a mass shooting; different groups define it differently, depending on circumstances including the number of victims, whether the victims are killed or wounded, and whether the shooting occurs in a public place. The Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research group that tracks US gun violence using police reports, news coverage and other public sources, defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people were killed or injured.

The Violence Project, another non-profit research centre dedicated to reducing violence in US society, follows a narrower definition established by the Congressional Research Service, in which a shooting results in the deaths of four or more victims. The definition also focuses on public attacks and excludes domestic shootings and those attributable to “underlying criminal activity.” The Violence Project has said: “Any cut point is arbitrary, but this remains a widely agreed-upon standard.”

Trump verdict is like ‘pouring gasoline on a fire that’s already burning’

---

Trump verdict a stunning end to a quintessentially New York legal tale

---

Robert De Niro’s raging at Trump outside courthouse was an extraordinary moment in American public life

---

Israel’s continuing war in Gaza complicates Egyptian balancing act

---

CNN and other news outlets have defined a mass shooting as one with four or more injuries or deaths.

As of early May, the Gun Violence Archive has counted more than 200 mass shootings in the United States this year.

Last year, the group counted 647 mass shootings. Of those, 21 involved five or more fatalities.

Here is a small slice of the year’s shootings.

May 6th: Allen, Texas

A gunman opened fire at a crowded mall outside Dallas, killing at least eight people and injuring at least seven before a police officer killed him, the authorities said.

May 3rd: Atlanta

A gunman opened fire in a waiting room at a medical office building in Midtown Atlanta, killing one and injuring four others. The suspect was apprehended after a manhunt that lasted several hours, the authorities said.

May 1st: Henryetta, Oklahoma

A registered sex offender fatally shot six people, including his wife and three of her children, before turning the gun on himself at his ranch in Henryetta, a small town south of Tulsa, the authorities said.

April 28th: Cleveland, Texas

A man fatally shot five people after he was asked by a neighbour to stop firing a gun in his yard, the authorities said. The man was found after a days-long search involving state and federal officers.

April 15th: Dadeville, Alabama

Four people were killed and 32 others were injured in a shooting at a birthday party at a dance studio in the Alabama city, officials said. Days later, the authorities said five people had been charged in connection with the attack.

April 10th: Louisville, Kentucky

A 25-year-old man shot and killed five colleagues at the downtown bank where he worked, the police said. Eight others were wounded in the attack. The suspect was killed by the police after exchanging fire with them.

March 27th: Nashville

A heavily armed assailant shot and killed three children and three adults at a private Christian elementary school. The gunman, who the authorities said was a former student at the school, was shot and killed by the police.

February 19th: Memphis, Tennessee

Eleven people were shot, one fatally, at two separate crime scenes that the authorities said they believed were connected. Investigators said they had identified three people of interest who they believed could be involved in the shootings. Their names were not made public.

February 17th: Tate County, Mississippi

A 52-year-old man went on a shooting rampage at multiple locations in rural Mississippi, killing six people, including his ex-wife and two siblings who were both in their 70s, the authorities said.

The gunman, who was taken into custody, began his killing spree at a convenience store in his hometown, Arkabutla, Mississippi, where he fatally shot a man who appeared to have no connection to him, the police said. Arkabutla is an unincorporated community about 45 miles south of Memphis.

February 13th: East Lansing, Michigan

Three students were killed and five others were wounded in shootings at two buildings on the Michigan State University campus. The gunman, a 43-year-old, had no known connection to the university. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the police said.

February 1st: Washington, DC

A gunman attacked people on a bus and inside a Metro station in southeast Washington before bystanders tackled him and officers took him into custody. A transit employee who tried to intervene was killed, and three other people were injured.

January 23rd Half Moon Bay, California

Seven people were fatally shot and one was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after a gunman opened fire at two separate farms. A 67-year-old man who lived and worked at one of the farms, and previously worked at the other, was arrested; the authorities believe he intentionally targeted his victims.

January 21st Monterey Park, California

A 72-year-old gunman killed 11 people and wounded at least nine others at a dance hall in a predominantly Asian American community as they celebrated the Lunar New Year. The police were investigating the motives of the gunman, who the police said was found dead a day later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

January 16th: Goshen, California

Four generations of a single family were fatally shot by two intruders inside a home in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The dead included a 72-year-old woman who was asleep in bed; a teenage mother and her infant; and a 19-year-old man. Although some members of the family had been involved in gangs, the police said, the nature of the attack appeared to be a calling card of Mexican drug cartels.

January 4th Enoch, Utah

Eight people, all in the same family, were killed inside a home in what the police said was a murder-suicide. The victims included five children, ranging in age from 4 to 17.

– This article originally appeared in the New York Times