The latest mass killing in the United States occurred Saturday night when three children ages 8, 9, and 14, and a 21-year-old adult were killed in a shooting at a child’s birthday party in California. Eleven people were also wounded at a Stockton banquet hall.
This is the country’s 17th mass killing this year. The killings are tracked in a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At least 81 people have died this year in U.S. mass killings, which are defined as cases in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
So far this year, 14 of 17 recorded mass killings (82%) have involved a firearm. Shooting victims make up 81% of the 3,234 victims of mass killings since 2006.
Last year ended with at least 165 deaths from at least 38 mass killings.
A shooting following a high school football game in Leland, Mississippi, left another seven people dead, underscoring the pervasive issue of gun violence. The FBI is investigating the motive, which is believed to be rooted in a disagreement among several individuals, with at least nine arrests made so far.
Other recent mass shootings, including an incident at a Michigan church that left four dead, demonstrate the alarming frequency of these tragic events in America.
