MOSCOW, September 25 (RIA Novosti) - The FBI has published "A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013," a paper reviewing 160 cases of incidents involving an active shooter.
Released on Wednesday, the 47-page report provides an analysis of cases of public shooting, including the notorious incidents at Sandy Hook Elementary and Washington Navy Yard. The bureau stressed that the research potentially benefits not only law enforcers, but anyone, who might find themselves in a shooting.
"[The study] demonstrates the need not only for enhanced preparation on the part of law enforcement and other first responders, but also for civilians to be engaged in discussions and training on decisions they'd have to make in an active shooter situation," the chief FBU Active Shooter Initiative Special Agent Katherine Schweit was quoted as saying in an FBI press release.
The total death toll of the 160 shooting incidents stands at 486, with another 557 people wounded, excluding the shooters themselves, who committed suicide in 40 percent of the cases. The 2007 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shootings are considered the most serious ones, together leaving 57 dead.
According to the research, American educational facilities carry the highest casualty counts of all shooting sites. However, almost a half of the incidents took place in commercial environment.
In addition, one of the report's most crucial findings is the fact that active shooting in the United States has become more frequent. The 2007-2013 period accounts for an average of 16.4 cases annually, while the same annual rate of the previous seven years stands at 6.4.
The vast majority of deadly incidents have been carried out by single male shooters.
The GunPolicy.org project, run by the University of Sydney, estimates that American civilians possess from 270 million to 310 million firearms, with national annual firearm homicide numbers almost reaching 9,000 in 2012.
