US mass shootings on the rise in 2023

The United States continues to experience outbreaks of mass shootings, with some occurring in public settings, terrorizing the areas that Americans visit every day, while others take place in a residence's private environment. 

Background 

Statistics indicate that all forms of gun violence in the US, including homicide, suicide and mass shootings, are generally on the rise. There were 33,599 gun-related incidents in 2019. This number increased by 31% to 44,290 in 2022. Mass shooting victims comprised 1.1% of all firearm fatalities in 2020, and nine of the ten deadliest mass shootings in US history took place after 2007, according to the BBC. 

The New York Times reported that the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group, has recorded 80 mass shootings in the US so far this year as of mid-February. Four or more deaths were involved in seven of them. The group recorded 647 mass shootings in the previous year, and 21 of those had five or more fatalities.

Compared to all mass killings, fatal public shootings are a very small number. Although the number of these killings has increased recently, the rate of incidence has remained relatively flat since the middle of the 2000s, which is especially remarkable given the increase in the US population during that time, USA Today reported. 

2023 timeline of mass killings

The New York Times listed a number of the latest mass shootings that have taken place since the beginning of 2023.

On February 17, six individuals were killed in a 52-year-old man's shooting storm at several places in rural Mississippi, including his ex-wife and two siblings who were both in their 70s, according to the authorities.

The Michigan State University mass shooting took place on February 13, when a shooter opened fire at two buildings, killing three students and injuring five others before taking his own life by gunshot.

On February 1 in Southeast Washington, DC, a shooter opened fire on passengers on a bus and inside a Metro station before being tackled by onlookers and then arrested by police. Three additional passengers were hurt, and a transit worker who attempted to step in was killed.

On January 28, an early-morning shooting in a neighborhood close to Beverly Hills, California, left three people dead and four more injured. The incident, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, happened at a vacation property.

A gunman opened fire at two different farms on January 23, leaving seven people dead and one with serious injuries that required hospitalization. The officials suspect the 67-year-old man, who currently resides and works at one of the farms and previously worked at the other, deliberately targeted his victims.

On January 21, during the Lunar New Year celebrations at a dance hall in a neighborhood with a large Asian-American population, a 72-year-old gunman killed 11 people and injured at least nine more. Police reported that the shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound a day after they began their investigation into his motivations.

On January 16, two trespassers shot and killed four generations of a single family inside a house in the San Joaquin Valley of California. A 72-year-old woman, a teen mother with her unborn child, and a 19-year-old male were found dead.

On January 4, eight people—all members of the same family—were killed in what the authorities described as a murder-suicide. Five children, ages 4 to 17, were among the victims.

Why do people commit mass shootings?

Mass murderers frequently pick a specific group of victims for a variety of reasons, and they may be inspired by traumatic events like the breakdown of a relationship or the loss of a career. Mass murders are rarely random killings. Mass murderers typically prepare their attacks for days, weeks, or even months, and thus they rarely commit violent acts out of the blue, according to USA Today. 

The BBC reported that one of the reasons behind the phenomenon is that Americans today own more firearms than they did in the past. A record 23 million guns were sold in the US in 2020, a 65% increase from 2019; the number remained high in 2021.

According to some experts, a rise in life pressures, both generally and as a result of the corona pandemic, including difficulties with money, work, family and relationships, has put stress on people, leading some to acts of agression.