It was a violent weekend around the country. There were 14 mass shootings in the U.S. in the last three days, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, including one in Florida. All together, nine people were killed and 74 injured.
A man pulled up to a splash pad in Rochester Hills in Michigan Saturday and opened fire, injuring nine people ranging from ages 4 to 78, police said, and that was just one of three mass shootings in the state that day. Two people were killed Saturday and 14 bystanders were wounded during a Juneteenth celebration in Round Rock, Texas when police said shooting started between two groups. An apparent drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale Friday left one person dead and four injured.
There were mass shootings reported in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
FBI reports violent crime down from 2023
However, the total number of mass shootings is down from last year, with 227 so far according to GVA data compared to 310 by this time last year. The nonprofit organization defines "mass shooting" as one involving four or more people shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter, and does not differentiate based on circumstances, the organization says.
Last week the FBI announced that violent crime was down so far this year. In its 2024 Quarterly Crime Report and Use-of-Force Data Update, the agency said murder decreased by 26.4%, rape was down by 25.7%, robbery dropped 17.8%, and aggravated assault decreased by 12.5% over 2023, according to preliminary reports.
Last year showed an overall 8-10% decrease in deaths and injuries from gun violence compared to 2022 and the FBI reported violent crime, robberies and burglary were all down in 2023.
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Florida has most mass shootings in U.S. this year
Florida still leads the nation in mass shootings with 18 so far in 2024, two more than during the same time period last year, according to GVA data.
Illinois, with 16, has the second-most mass shootings in 2024 so far. The latest, a drive-by in Chicago that left three men and a woman wounded, led into another weekend of gun violence in Chicago with at least 42 people shot and seven killed in the city according to ABC7. California and Texas have both had 15 each, the GVA said.
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How many people have died so far from gun violence in the US in 2024?
According to GVA data, as of the morning of June 17:
- 7,709 people have died, including 105 children and 548 teens.
- 14,603 people have been injured, including 263 children and 1,517 teens.
- 211 law enforcement officers have been killed or injured.
- Law enforcement officers have killed 681 people and injured 393 in officer-involved incidents, the only category the GVA lists where the fatalities outnumber the injured.
- 574 people were killed in self-defense.
- 642 people died from unintentional shootings.
- 309 people died in murder/suicide incidents.
The GVA has temporarily stopped reporting total deaths from suicide "until we can get better data" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
How many mass shootings in 2024 happened in Florida?
There have been 18 mass shootings in Florida this year, by the GVA definition:
- Jan. 20, Plantation: Four people were injured in a shooting in front of a Best Buy. One person later died.
- Jan. 20, Palm Bay: A man shot and killed his mother, grandfather and sister and injured his 15-year-old nephew and one other person.
- Jan. 28, Palm Bay: A man shot and killed a priest, the priest's sister, and his own grandfather and injured two police officers.
- Feb. 28: Orlando: An argument over when a vehicle was to be returned resulted in one person killed and six injured.
- March 12, Lawty: Man with knife wound accused of shooting and killing three women.
- March 25, Pompano Beach: A 16-year-old boy and three men were shot by multiple suspects who approached them, deputies said.
- March 31, St. Petersburg: Men arguing outside a restaurant opened fire, injuring three men in their 20s and a 17-year-old girl, police said.
- April 5, Riviera Beach: Four injured in shooting, including a minor.
- April 6, Doral: Man in bar disturbance shoots and kills security officer, six people injured in resulting firefight.
- April 11, Orlando: Deputies responded to a call and found four men shot. One died later.
- April 27, Daytona Beach: A man shot and injured four people during a "physical altercation."
- April 28, Sanford: A 16-year-old shot and injured 10 people at a bar, including Houston Texans' WR Tank Dell.
- April 29, Miami Gardens: Argument about teen fight leaves five people injured, including two teens.
- May 12, Tallahassee: Four people shot in shopping center parking lot, two died.
- May 25, Fort Pierce:Five people aged 15-20 shot at gathering.
- May 18, Sarasota: One person killed, four people (including Auburn RB Brian Battie) were injured.
- June 2, Pensacola: One person was shot in the foot and three others hit with shrapnel from gunire, police said.
- June 14, Fort Lauderdale: An apparent drive-by shooting left one person dead and four injured.
How many mass shootings happened in Florida in 2023?
Florida mass shootings were down slightly last year, with 30 reported in 2023 compared to 31 each year in both 2022 and 2021 and 35 in 2020. During the year, 134 people were injured and 38 were killed.
What is considered a mass shooting?
The definition varies, depending on the source.
The GVA (and the Congressional Research Service) defines a mass shooting only on the number of people shot in an incident: four or more, not including the shooter.
USA TODAY defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are hit with gunfire, even if there are no fatalities. Mass killing refers to an incident in which at least four people are killed.
The FBI does not define "mass shooting" at all. The agency defines "mass killing" or "mass murder" as an incident in which four or more victims are killed by any intentional means, which may include gun violence.
The FBI reported 40 shootings in 2020 a report on active shooter incidents compared to the GVA's total of 610 mass shootings, but in the report the agency excluded self-defense, gang violence, drug violence, residential or domestic disputes, hostage situations, crossfire during another criminal act and "an action that appeared not to have put other people in peril." The GVA includes all people injured or killed by gun violence regardless of circumstances.
The GVA numbers — which have been disputed by pro-firearm organizations — may differ from the FBI or CDC as they collect data from 7,500 law enforcement, government and media sources, the site explained. The CDC uses death certificates for gun deaths, according to the GVA, and they and the FBI rely on a sampling of courses and then extrapolate the numbers to get estimated totals. Incidents that cannot be verified are not included.
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