Mass Shooting Deaths At 12-Year Low

Forbes

a day ago

The number of mass shootings across the country, which spiked during the pandemic, has plummeted 44% from a high in 2023 to a seven-year low so far this year.
Police tape on June 15, 2025 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Getty Images
Nationwide, 195 mass shootings have been reported through July 2, a 25% decrease from the 262 shootings reported in the same time period last year, and a 44% decrease from the 12-year high of 342 in the first six months of 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooter.
The first six months of 2025 have seen the lowest rate of mass shootings through July 2 since 2018, when 159 incidents were recorded.
So far in 2025, 165 people have been killed in mass shootings and 897 injured, 40% and 21% lower, respectively, than the 274 deaths and 1,139 injuries reported through July 2, 2024.
Through July 2, fewer people had died by mass shooting than in any year since 2014, when 107 people were killed, and fewer people were injured than any year since 2019 (784).
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to [phone] or sign up here : joinsubtext.com/forbes.
4. That's how many people were killed in each of the six deadliest shootings so far this year. Those incidents took place in Chicago; St. Louis; Minneapolis; Hallandale, Florida; Lake Station, Indiana; and Byron, Wyoming. Key Background
Mass shootings spiked in the United States in 2023 when a total of 659 took place, including 338 in the first six months of the year. It was the deadliest year of the last decade, 402 people died by the end of June and 723 by the end of the year. Even before 2023, the U.S. experienced a significant uptick in shootings in concert with the COVID-19 pandemic (there were 199 mass shootings in 2019, which rose to 253 in 2020, 321 in 2021 and 302 in 2022). Researchers from Boston and Chicago, who co-authored a paper on the phenomena in September of 2021, suggested the stresses and pressures of the pandemic could have been to blame as the nation experienced an overall uptick in several types of violent crime. The researchers said the 'sudden and additional psychological and financial strains' caused by the pandemic—including lockdowns, general uncertainty, fear of death and social isolation—could have helped trigger the increase in mass shootings. Numbers have steadily fallen since.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported last year that violent crime rates fell 72% nationally in the past 30 years, including nonfatal violent crimes such as sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault, and property crimes such as burglary, trespassing and motor vehicle theft. Further Reading Forbes U.S. Violent Crime Is Down. Many Voters Refuse To Believe It By Arthur L. Kellermann Forbes Justice Department's New White Collar Crime Priorities By Steve Weisman Forbes U.S. Mass Shootings And Gun Deaths Fell To Lowest Level In Five Years In 2024 By Molly Bohannon