A joint project by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University compiled one of the most comprehensive databases tracking mass murders in the US The database contains information on mass murders since 2006, including the number of victims, location and type of weapon. The project also includes an interactive timeline that allows users to browse through all the data. Josh Hoffner, the US news director for The Associated Press, said the data set can give reporters a context for how a mass killing might fit into the bigger picture.
“Let's say there's a murder, the database will be able to immediately tell a reporter, 'This is the twelfth mass murder, compared to previous years that were higher or lower.' Or, 'This is the number of people who died in mass murder,' that momentary kind of textual paragraph or data shows how that news event fits into the bigger picture,” Hoffner said.
