U.S. Mass Shootings And Gun Deaths Fell To Lowest Level In Five Years In 2024

 

Police officers take security measures after eight people, five adults and three children, were shot in the area of West 52nd Street in Chicago, Illinois, United States on April 13, 2024.

This year is on track to see the fewest mass shootings and gun deaths in the U.S. since 2019, according to data from Gun Violence Archive—a feat that comes as violent crime broadly continues to fall after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Facts

The U.S. recorded 491 mass shootings as of Dec. 18—the lowest number since 2019, which saw 414—marking a 25% decline in mass shootings from last year and a nearly 30% decline from 2021, which saw the most mass shootings in the last decade.

The decrease follows a near-high number in 2023, which saw the second-highest number of mass shootings (656) since Gun Violence Archive began tracking mass shootings—defined as a shooting in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed—in 2014.

Some 500 people have been killed in mass shootings this year as of Dec. 18, and another 2,134 people were injured in mass shootings this year, according to a Forbes analysis of Gun Violence Archive’s data.

Those figures also show a decline from recent years: 2023, 2022 and 2021 saw 722 people, 642 people and 668 people die from mass shootings, respectively.

Mark Bryant, executive director of Gun Violence Archive, told Forbes he thinks the decline is, at least in part, because of more and better policing and an influx of money being poured into communities to address gun violence through the 2022 bipartisan gun safety bill, which gave states $750 million to help implement and run crisis intervention programs.

Big Number

61. That’s how many shootings took place at elementary or secondary schools this year as of Dec. 18, according to the GVA. The most recent school shooting was on Dec. 16 in Madison, Wisconsin, where a shooter entered Abundant Life Christian School and opened fire, killing two and injuring six before taking their own life. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the alleged shooter was a student at the school, which is a K-12 school and serves about 420 students.

Crime scene tape continues to be stretched around Abundant Life Christian School as police continue to investigate yesterday's shooting on Dec. 17, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Tangent

Gun Violence Archive also found gun deaths broadly saw a significant decrease from past years. Data from Dec. 18 showed 16,088 people died from gun deaths in homicide, murder, unintentional and defensive gun use incidents—a nearly 15% drop from last year and the lowest number since 2019, when there were just over 15,500 gun deaths. Gun Violence Archive is waiting for data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so its total deaths tally does not currently include suicide gun deaths.

Key Background

The decrease in mass shootings and gun violence this year followed a broader decrease in violent crime in 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The FBI found violent crime decreased 3% compared to the year prior. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell more than 11%, rape decreased almost 10% and aggravated assault and robbery both dropped, too. A violent crime survey from the Major Cities Chiefs Association comparing this year to 2023 found the trend is continuing: Homicides across 69 reporting police departments were down about 17% from January through September, and rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults were down about 9%, 8% and 5%, respectively. The decrease follows a steep surge in crime in 2020 during COVID-19 in which the average U.S. city saw its homicide rate increase nearly 30%, according to the Brookings Institutution—though experts are still studying whether the increase in crime was closely tied to the pandemic, or if the country was already on track for record levels.

Will The Decrease In Mass Shootings Continue In 2025?

It’s impossible to say. Bryant told Forbes he sees this year’s decrease as “a resettling” from 2021—which saw mass shootings peak at 689—but added: “We cannot predict what next year will be at all. We can hope that the trend continues down.” When speaking about how hard it would be to predict the frequency of mass shootings next year, Bryant pointed out that in 2017 and 2018—when there were 346 and 335 mass shootings, respectively—there “would have (been) no way of predicting that (the number of mass shootings) was going to go into the 600s.”

Surprising Fact

Gun violence continues to be a leading cause of death in the U.S. Data released by the CDC this year showed firearm injuries were among the top five leading causes of death for people aged one to 44, and firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among people one to 19.