Over 200 Killed In U.S. Mass Shootings So Far This Year

Topline

More than 200 people have been killed in mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, following the deadly attack Monday morning at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky—the most mass shootings and mass shooting deaths at this time in the year in at least a decade.

More than 200 people have been killed in mass shootings so far this year, following the deadly … [+] shooting Monday morning at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Key Facts

Monday morning’s shooting in Kentucky, which left five people dead including the suspected assailant, brought the number of shooting victims in 2023 mass shootings to 209, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which started tracking gun violence data in 2013 and documents shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, not including the shooter.

There have so far been 146 mass shootings nationwide this year, surpassing the 130 shootings by this point in 2022 that killed 145 people, as well as the 136 mass shootings resulting in 165 deaths at this time in 2021, according to the GVA.

The shooting in Louisville Monday morning was the deadliest in the U.S. since the killing of six people, including three children, at an elementary school in Nashville late last month, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The deadliest shooting this year came on January 21 in Monterey Park, California, when a 72-year-old suspected gunman killed 11 people at a dance hall.

Big Number

11,513. That’s how many people have died so far this year from all gun-related events in the U.S., including homicides, unintentional fire and suicides. Another 8,799 people have been injured in gun-related events this year.

News Peg

Four people were killed and eight more were hospitalized—including two police officers—after a gunman opened fire at the Old National Bank in downtown Louisville around 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to local police. The age and identity of the suspect, who also died in the shooting, has not been released, though Spectrum News reported they are believed to be a current or former bank employee.

Contra

Recent mass shootings have led to nationwide protests in support of stricter gun laws. After the shooting in Nashville, gun reform proponents, including students and three Democratic members of Tennessee’s state legislature, protested for stricter gun laws, though by and large their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The state’s GOP-controlled House voted overwhelmingly last week to expel two of the three members of the state legislature who protested—Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson—in a historic vote, sparking outrage from Democrats both in the state and around the country, including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee, meanwhile, proposed a round of spending measures in the wake of the shooting, including more than $200 million toward armed school resource officers, school security upgrades and mental health resources, reiterating Republicans’ initiatives to boost mental health and security in response to deadly mass shootings, even as Democrats repeatedly push for stricter gun laws. Congress passed a bipartisan law to expand gun background checks for young adults and encourage “red flag” laws after 21 students and teachers were killed at a Texas elementary school last year, but Democrats’ calls for more sweeping measures—including a ban on assault weapons—have gone unheeded.

Chief Critic

Biden called on Congress once again after the Nashville shooting to pass an assault weapons ban, though that bill faces steep odds in the GOP-led House—an assault weapons ban also failed to pass a divided Senate in November. When asked last week if the House would take up legislation in response to the Nashville shooting, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “we’ve got to deal with mental illness,” and argued: “I don’t think one piece of legislation solves this.”

Over 200 Killed In U.S. Mass Shootings So Far This Year—A Decade-Long High