Mass shootings were up in Massachusetts last year

Data: Gun Violence Archive; Note: Mass shootings are defined as instances of at least four victims killed or injured by gunfire, not including a shooter. Data is as of Jan. 4, 2023 ; Chart: Axios Visuals

There were seven mass shootings in Massachusetts in 2023, making last year one of the deadlier years of the last decade.

Zoom in: At least 34 people were killed or injured in mass shootings in Massachusetts last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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• This has gone up from recent years, with 3 mass shootings in 2022 and 4 in 2021.
• 2020 saw eight mass shootings.
• The organization defines mass shootings as an instance of at least four victims killed or injured by gunfire, not including the shooter.

Zoom out: Nationally, 656 mass shootings took place in 2023. Since 2014, the only year higher than this was in 2021 when there were 689, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

• There were 712 mass shooting-related victims killed and 2,692 victims injured in 2023.

The big picture: Massachusetts reported far fewer mass shootings than some other states, like Texas (65,) California (50) and Illinois (51.)

• Virginia also had seven mass shootings in 2023.
• Iowa reported only one incident. Oregon and Utah reported two.

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