The United States has witnessed a surge of mass shootings in 2023, with at least 630 incidents reported so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks gun-related violence in the country.
A mass shooting is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter. By this definition, at least 38 mass shootings where four or more people were killed have been reported so far this year.
The Gun Violence Archive also reports that as of December 5, at least 1,571 children under the age of 18 have been shot and killed in 2023. This number includes both victims and perpetrators of gun violence, as well as accidental and intentional shootings.
The issue of gun violence in the US has sparked heated debates over the need for stricter gun control laws and the protection of the right to bear arms. The US has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world, with an estimated 393 million firearms in circulation, according to a 2018 study.
Las Vegas was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in US history in October 2017 when a gunman opened fire from his hotel room on the Las Vegas strip during the Harvest Music Festival, killing 59 and injuring more than 500. The motive for the shooting remains unknown, and the FBI closed its investigation in 2019 without finding a clear motive.
The Gun Violence Archive is an independent non-profit organization that provides charts and maps of gun violence to visualize the impact of gun use across the country. The organization relies on media reports, law enforcement sources, and public records to collect and verify its data. The organization’s website states that its mission is “to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States”.