Fatalities in “active shooter incidents” remained level in 2022 compared to previous years, but injuries skyrocketed according to a new report by the FBI.
Across 50 incidents last year — defined by the FBI as an incident where the shooter is still active when law enforcement arrives — 100 people were killed and 213 were wounded, despite a decrease of 18% in incidents the year prior.
What You Need To Know
- Across 50 "active shooter incidents" last year — defined by the FBI as an incident where the shooter is still active when law enforcement arrives — 100 people were killed and 213 were wounded, despite a decrease of 18% in incidents the year prior
- Thirteen of the 2022 shootings met the federal definition of a “mass killing” — three or more killings in a single incident, not including the perpetrator. According to the Associated Press, the United States is on a record pace for mass killings in 2023, with 88 dead in 17 incidents as of April 2021
- There were 103 deaths in 2021, 102 in 2019, and 143 in 2017, but otherwise no year has cracked 100 fatalities since 2000, according to FBI data
- The 213 wounded in 2022 far surpassed the 140 injuries in 2021 the 126 in 2020, and the 156 in 2019. In the last 23 years, only 2017 surpassed 2022’s injury count
There were 103 deaths in 2021, 102 in 2019, and 143 in 2017, but otherwise no year has cracked 100 fatalities since 2000, according to FBI data.
The 213 wounded in 2022 far surpassed the 140 injuries in 2021 the 126 in 2020, and the 156 in 2019. In the last 23 years, only 2017 surpassed 2022’s injury count, in large part due to a single shooting at a Las Vegas music festival that left 58 dead and 489 wounded.
Texas' six active shooter incidents were the most among the 25 states and Washington, D.C., that saw them, followed by Florida, Michigan, Arizona and New York, who had three apiece.
The deadliest incidents included shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas (21 killed, 17 wounded), at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. (10 killed, three wounded), the Highland Park, Ill., July 4 parade (seven killed, 48 wounded), and a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs (five killed, 28 wounded). A shooting aboard a Brooklyn subway did not end with any fatalities, but the 23 wounded were the fourth most casualties in a single incident in 2022.
Thirteen of the 2022 shootings met the federal definition of a “mass killing” — three or more killings in a single incident, not including the perpetrator. According to the Associated Press, the United States is on a record pace for mass killings in 2023, with 88 dead in 17 incidents as of April 2021.
“Sadly, for those of us working to reduce gun violence, this outcome was something we warned about,” tweeted Fred Guttenberg, the parent of two children at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., during a 2018 mass shooting; his daughter, Jamie, was killed in the massacre.
“Over the past 5 years and because of the Covid gun surge, the United States added another 100 million weapons plus ghost guns," Guttenberg continued. "It is time to deal with it.”
According to a report the investigative journalism organization The Trace, the number of guns sold between 2018 and 2022 was closer to 80 million.
A Spectrum News analysis of mass shooting data from the Gun Violence Archive last month found the country was on track for a record number of mass shooting deaths in incidents the nonprofit defines as “a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident.”
In the 50 incidents last year, the shooter used a handgun 21 times, a rifle was used 17 times, a handgun and a rifle were used together six times, and a shotgun was used three times. Nine times the shooter used multiple firearms.
The FBI said 9 shooters died by suicide, seven were killed by law enforcement, two were killed by a citizen and 29 were apprehended by law enforcement or restrained by citizens. The remaining three are still at large from incidents in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Queens, N.Y., and Detroit, Mich.
The shooters ranged in age from 15 to 70, with a plurality of 16 being between ages 19 to 24. A majority of 37 were between the ages of 15 to 44.
According to the FBI, 47 of the shooters were men, one was a woman, one shooter still at large could not be identified, and another, the person who is alleged to have killed five and injured 17 in a shooting at a queer nightclub in Colorado Springs in November, was nonbinary.
“As active shooter incidents persist in 2022, the FBI emphasizes the importance of active shooter training and exercises for both law enforcement, first responders, and citizens,” the report’s conclusion reads. “It is imperative that citizens understand the risks faced and the resources available in an active shooter incident.”
The FBI’s active shooter safety resources can be found here.
