To some, mass shootings may have seemed to have almost stopped during the coronavirus pandemic, with a year elapsed between large-scale shootings in public places.
But the shooting never stopped. They were just not that public.
The gun violence archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people injured or killed without the perpetrator, counted more than 600 such shootings in 2020, compared to 417 in 2019.
This massacre continued until 2021, with 147 mass shootings as of April 16 (the archive, a non-profit organization, counted 11 massacres, which they said killed 20 or more people in 2021.)
There is little consensus on the definition of a mass shooting, which complicates the efforts of nonprofits and news organizations to document the extent of the problem.
The Violence Project follows the strict definition of the Congressional Research Service, which requires that the attacks be public and that shootings within the country be excluded and the “attribution to underlying criminal activities.” CNN has defined a mass shooting as one with four or more injuries or deaths. The Washington Post’s attempt to detect public shootings includes shootings with four or more people killed, but does not include robbery or domestic shootings in private homes.
Whatever the definition, it’s a persistent American problem. Some shooting incidents remain memorable to the general public because of the number of people killed, the attackers’ motivations, the apparent randomness or other factors – cases often known by a single place name such as Columbine, Newtown or Parkland. But there were many other mass murders that never received the same attention.
Here is an incomplete list of shootings with multiple casualties in 2021. It still leaves a lot to be desired, but offers a small glimpse into the gun violence the country has been experiencing this year already.
April 15: Indianapolis
At least eight people have been killed, not one gunman who allegedly took his own life after setting fire to a FedEx warehouse. Family members said workers could not use their cell phones at work so they could not confirm their safety for hours.
April 7: Rock Hill, SC
A former NFL player shot dead a doctor, the doctor’s wife and their two grandchildren in their home, as well as two air-conditioning technicians who worked outside the home. The shooter later killed himself, authorities said.
April 3: Allen, Texas
According to authorities, two brothers killed four family members before killing themselves. The bodies were discovered after police arrived at a home for a welfare search.
March 31: Orange, California.
A gunman opened fire on a real estate office and four people were killed, including a 9-year-old boy. The shooting was most likely related to a ‘business and personal relationship between the suspect and all the victims’, authorities said.
March 28: Essex, Md.
A gunman killed his parents, two people at a store and then himself in a shooting, police said.
March 22: Boulder, Colo.
A gunman in a grocery store killed ten people, including the first police officer to show up at the scene. The gunman was injured and arrested.
March 16: Atlanta
March 13: Indianapolis
A shooting near the east side of the city has killed four people, including a 7-year-old child, and critically wounded a woman, authorities said. Police said the shooting stemmed from a domestic problem.
February 2: Muskogee, Okla.
Five children and a man were killed and a woman was seriously injured when they were shot in a house. A brother of one of the victims was arrested at the scene. Police said they believe the victims are related.
January 24: Indianapolis
Five people, including a pregnant woman, were found dead in a house after authorities came in contact with a young man suffering from gunshot wounds. A day after the shooting, he was arrested.
January 9: Evanston, Ill.
At least five people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed in a shooting in the Chicago area, police said. The gunman shot a total of seven people before killing him by police.