Charting gun violence in the United States

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The United States is on pace to have its deadliest year for mass shootings, while murders and suicides involving guns have also risen to record levels in recent years.

Below are four charts showing the state of gun violence in the United States.

Mass shooting

In what can be seen under the circumstances, the cumulative number of people killed in mass shootings in January of this year has quickly surpassed the number of deaths in each of the past five years. There were 89 deaths in the first month of this year – more than double the 41 deaths in the same period last year.

The year began with a number of high-profile incidents, including the Monterey Park shooting in which 11 people were killed and nine others injured.

Please note that different organizations define mass shootings in different ways. For example, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines a mass shooting as “one or more individuals who actively kill or attempt to kill someone in a populated area.” The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group dedicated to incident logging, defines a mass shooting as “four or more people shot or killed in one incident, not including the shooter.” This last definition aligns with how the CBC defines mass shootings.

On May 23, 311 people were killed in mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.


Murder and death

While they receive a disproportionate amount of media attention, mass shootings cause only gun-related injuries and deaths. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there will be more than 48,000 gun deaths in the US in 2021, more than half of which are categorized as suicides (26,328), compared to 20,958 documented murders.

There were 665 victims killed in mass shootings that year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Both homicides and suicides are expected to increase between 2019 and 2021 as the US, like other countries, faces an ongoing mental health crisis.

A small number of gun fatalities are accidental, or the origin cannot be determined.


How the countries compare

Looking at state-level data, southern states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, are among the highest in gun-related death rates in 2021. A new report from Everytown for Gun Safety found a clear pattern that suggests strong gun laws looks less. gun violence.


How the countries compare

It’s no secret that the US stands out among democracies and advanced economies when it comes to gun violence. In 2019, the UK recorded 27 gun-related deaths, Australia 45, Canada 170 and the US 13,001, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. That year, it ranked third, after Mexico and Brazil. Due to the large population size, it ranks lower when looking at the death rate per 100,000 people.


A bipartisan gun safety package was signed into law in 2022 in the US, ending decades of legislative inertia on gun control, but deep cultural and political divisions remain.

Furthermore, research shows millions of Americans will become new gun owners between 2019 and 2021, and that growing distrust has turned honest mistakes, such as ringing the wrong doorbell, into deadly altercations.

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