US Surpasses 100 Mass Shootings In 2023; Over 7K Gun Violence Deaths In 64 Days

Gun violence in the United States hit an alarming new milestone this year, with 100 mass shootings getting reported nationwide in just 64 days.

Data from Gun Violence Archive (GVA) shows the current tally of mass shootings in the U.S. is at 104. More than 7,600 people lost their lives to gun violence so far.

Mass shooting, which occurs on a regular basis in the U.S., is defined as an incident where at least four people, excluding the shooter, are shot and injured or killed.

The 100th mass shooting of the year happened Sunday in Bolingbrook, Illinois, reported Axios. Two adults and a child were killed and a fourth person was wounded in what police said was a possible home invasion incident.

It took only 64 days for the country to reach the tally of 100 mass shootings in 2023. This is two weeks lesser than the time taken in the previous year. The U.S. surpassed 100 mass shootings on March 19 in 2022 and crossed the same number toward late March in 2021, the data showed. The number of mass shootings in the U.S. did not surpass 100 until the month of May in 2018 to 2020.

A total of 153 people were killed and 403 injured in mass shootings so far, according to CNN. Also, 7,629 people lost their lives to gun violence this year. Of this, 3,273 were victims of homicide/murder/unintentional/DGU (defensive gun use) and 4,356 died by suicide.

Gun violence led to the deaths of 42 children, aged 11 and below, and injured another 105. At least 265 teenagers (aged between 12 and 17) were killed and 643 were injured in gun violence this year, according to the GVA data. Additionally, 268 incidents of unintentional shootings were reported this year.

"Americans are tired of fearing if they or their families will be the next victims of a mass shooting. Our children are tired of being told to 'run, hide, and fight,'" Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, an organization seeking to tackle the issue of gun violence in the U.S., told CNN.

"These regular, uniquely American tragedies must be a call to action for our political leaders. We need decisive change to US gun laws and regulations. The cost of political inaction on preventing gun violence is increasingly, tragically clear," Brown added.

Gun violence is now deeply embedded in American life due to partisan politics, gun culture and weaker gun laws.

President Joe Biden, in June 2022, signed a gun control bill into law that imposes tougher checks on young buyers and also allows states to temporarily stop individuals in crisis from accessing firearms.

This was the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in nearly three decades. However, it did not cover what Biden and his party initially advocated for.

"While this bill doesn't do everything I want, it does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives," Biden said at the time.

Going by the GVA data, the bipartisan gun safety bill appears to have fallen short in addressing the grave issue of mass shootings.

"Although fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries are growing, no real legislative response has followed acts of gun violence in support of individuals or the communities in which they live," Mark S. Kaplan, a professor of social welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles, told CNN. "And there is scant proof that prevention measures, such as active shooter drills, have reduced actual harm."

Gun ownerships

The U.S. tops the list of countries with the highest gun ownership in the world. There are nearly 120.5 firearms for every 100 people, according to Small Arms Survey.

"The United States has 4% of the world's population, but its civilians hold almost 40% of the
world's firearms," it said in a press release.

Data also suggests that Americans are dissatisfied with the current gun policies and want changes in firearm regulations.

Research firm Gallup in its latest survey found that people's dissatisfaction with U.S. gun laws rose from 56% last year to 63% this year. It also showed their gun policy satisfaction rate fell from 41% last year to 34% this year.