KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a recent mass shooting that resulted in the death of one woman and left more than 20 people injured, President Joe Biden made a poignant statement about the pervasive issue of gun violence in American communities. On the sixth anniversary of the tragic Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, Biden highlighted a series of recent shootings, underscoring the alarming frequency of such incidents.
Biden’s statement, which coincided with Valentine’s Day, shed light on the concerning trend of mass shootings in the United States. He pointed out that the year 2024 had already seen more mass shootings than there were days in the year, a disheartening revelation that underscored the urgency of addressing gun violence in the country.
This assertion, however, raises questions about the definition of a “mass shooting.” With different organizations using varying criteria to track these incidents, the lack of a universal definition complicates the issue. While some groups define mass shootings based on the number of people injured or killed, others exclude certain types of violence, such as gang-related incidents or domestic violence, to focus solely on indiscriminate public shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive, a prominent source for tracking mass shootings, defines these incidents as those in which at least four people are injured or killed, excluding the shooter. However, other databases, such as those maintained by USA Today, The Associated Press, and Northeastern University, have different parameters for what constitutes a mass killing. Moreover, the federal government itself uses varying thresholds for defining mass killings, further muddying the waters.
Despite the discrepancies in defining and tracking mass shootings, one fact remains clear: the number of these incidents has been steadily rising in recent years. While mass shootings garner significant public attention, it’s important to note that they represent only a fraction of gun-related deaths in the country. Gun violence researchers emphasize the need for context when citing statistics on mass shootings and stress the importance of understanding the broader landscape of gun violence, which includes homicides, suicides, and other forms of gun-related deaths.
The issue of mass shootings has generated significant public concern, with polls indicating that a substantial percentage of individuals have altered their behavior due to fears of gun violence. However, experts urge the public to view mass shootings as just one piece of the larger problem of gun violence, emphasizing the need for evidence-based measures to address the multifaceted issue.