By the end of June, 28 mass killings had taken place – roughly once a week.
In the United States, there have been the most mass killings in almost 20 years in six months.
By the end of June, 28 mass killings had taken place – roughly once a week. In the first half of the year, 140 people died in mass killings.
Information emerge from the database maintained by the news agency AP, the newspaper USA Today and Northeastern University, which has recorded mass killings since 2006. Mass deaths are defined here as deaths in which at least four people die within a day.
The previous half-year record in the number of mass killings was in the second half of 2022.
Professor of Criminology at Northeastern University James Alan Fox has been responsible for the database for five years. He tells the news agency AP that he would not have expected such records.
– We used to say that there are about 20-30 mass killings per year. The fact that there have now been 28 in six months is shocking, says Fox.
The darkest year in the US in terms of mass killings was 2019, when there were some 46 throughout the year.
Mass murders are only a small part of gun violence
Psychiatrist Amy Barnhorst tells the news agency AP that the end of the year will show whether it is a growing trend or a statistical spike. Barnhorst works as the associate director of the Violence Prevention Research Center at the University of California.
There have been more acts of violence in July, especially on the 4th of July independence day around.
As of Thursday, July 13, there have been 30 mass shootings since the beginning of the year and 149 deaths.
According to Fox and Barnhorst, the reason behind the high number of mass killings is that Americans own more and more guns. All but one of the mass killings in the first half of this year were by firearms.
Fox points out, however, that mass killings are only a small part of the total number of gun violence in the United States. This year, more than 23,000 people have died as a result of gun violence. Almost 13,000 of these have been suicides.
Source: AP