The US officially surpassed 500 mass shooting cases for 2023 this past weekend, data collected by the Gun Violence Archive has revealed.
As of Sunday, the Archive's records paint a somber picture of 2023, with 501 reported shooting incidents. The 500-mark was reached after a shooting took place in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday night. The Denver Police Department detailed the incident resulted in four individuals being hospitalized, with a fifth victim subsequently found.
In an official statement released on X, formerly known as Twitter, law enforcement authorities assured that each individual involved in the incident is anticipated to recover fully. Also, no arrests have been made as of Sunday morning.
US 2023 Mass Shooting Interactive Map
© Photo : Gun Violence Archive / US 2023 Mass Shooting Interactive Map
The watchdog officially marked 501 mass shootings for the year with a Sunday incident that claimed the life of a 19-year-old man and left five others injured in El Paso, Texas. Per local media, one of the wounded victims is in critical condition.
January witnessed a devastating event in Monterey Park, California, marking this year's most tragic shooting. Following a Lunar New Year celebration, a dance studio turned into a scene of tragedy after 11 individuals were killed and 10 others were left wounded.
Nevertheless, it is imperative to underscore that this year's figures already surpassed those recorded in 2019, which documented a staggering 414 incidents, and in 2018, which reported 335 such occurrences.
The year 2021 etched the grimmest record in US history, with 689 reported incidents, marking an unprecedented surge in such events. The year 2022 witnessed a dip in occurrences, with 645 recorded. However, data from the FBI indicates an uptick in the overall count of Americans injured in these incidents, when comparing data from 2021 and 2022.
Mass Shootings in the US 2003
© Photo : US Gun Violence Archive / Mass Shootings in the US 2003
The FBI defines a mass shooting as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area,” which deviates from metrics that primarily consider the total victim count in evaluating an incident.
Despite the decline witnessed in the preceding year, FBI officials contend the overarching pattern spanning the past two decades demonstrates an ongoing increase in these events. The progression persists irrespective of the particular criteria applied to evaluate them.