The shootings that get the most attention happen in the places we go: stores, schools, parks, restaurants, theaters, houses of worship. But most mass gun murders—shootings in which four or more people are killed, not counting the killer—occur where we live.
Residences 65%
Businesses 12%
Public Spaces 6%
Of the 462 mass gun killings that have occurred in the United States since 2006, 301 took place in homes, according to a database maintained by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.
Shooters often kill people who are, or possibly once were, close to them. 25% killed a parent, child, or stepchild, and 23% killed a current or former romantic partner. Even some major mass shootings involve the killing of a family member in person on the same day.
The Sandy Hook shooter, for example, killed his mother in her bedroom before driving to school in Newtown, Conn. It was labeled a school shooting because if an incident takes place in multiple locations, the location with the most casualties is recorded. When multiple locations include the same number of victims, the first location is used.
Mass murders from 2006 to 2023
These fatal shootings have occurred in nearly every type of community in 47 states and D.C. since 2006. The two most populous states had the most: California, 54, followed by Texas, 48.
