Mass Shootings Have Killed 934 People Since 2006

But most are smaller killings than you're imagining
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2013 7:43 AM CST
Mass Shootings Have Killed 934 People Since 2006
Crosses bearing the names of the Newtown shooting victims are displayed in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn., Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The US has seen 934 people killed in 146 mass shootings since 2006, a USA Today analysis of FBI records has found—a number that represents less than 1% of all gun-related homicides. Few of those shootings were the kind of Newtown-esque massacres you might be imagining, however. The paper was using the FBI's definition of a mass shooting, which is one in which four or more people were killed; in most cases, the gunmen knew their victims.

"Mass shootings … are the tragedies that capture the public's attention," says the director of the Mayors Against Illegal Gun Violence campaign, which reached similar results in its own research. "But every day, 33 Americans are being killed, mostly with handguns and distressingly often, by a family member or intimate partner." Still, mass shootings aren't exactly uncommon either, occurring roughly once every two weeks. (More mass shootings stories.)

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