Report: US Mass Shootings, Gun Deaths Fall to Five-Year Low

Facts

• Data from Gun Violence Archive show that the number of mass shootings and gun deaths in the US this year has been the lowest since 2019.^[1][2]
• As of Dec. 30, 2024, there were a reported 501 mass shootings — a figure that includes the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., on July 13, which left a man dead — and 16,576 gun deaths in the country.^[3][4]
• The deadliest single incident took place in Joliet, Ill., on Jan. 21, with eight victims killed. Meanwhile, an incident in Akron, Ohio, on June 2, was the one that directly affected most people — one dead and 28 injured.^[3]
• Gun Violence Archive defines mass shootings as incidents that leave four or more people other than the shooter dead or injured, and firearm death figures exclude suicides — which reportedly account for more than half of all gun deaths.^[1][2][4]
• This comes as US law enforcement agencies have reported a decrease in overall violent crime, including drops in murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, and aggravated assault over the past two years, despite a boom in high-profile incidents.^[1][5]
• However, CNN reported in mid-December that the number of shootings in educational institutions was the highest in the first 351 days of the year at least since 2008 — 83, including 56 on K-12 school grounds and 27 on college campuses.^[6]

Sources: ^[1]Forbes, ^[2]BBC News, ^[3]Gun Violence Archive, ^[4]The Trace, ^[5]ABC News and ^[6]CNN.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Vox. Gun violence has long been a major concern in the US. And while that won't change unless Republicans finally agree to pass better gun regulations, one shouldn't lose hope of better days. Efforts to address this issue and regulate firearms have proved to be helpful as gun crime rates fell this year.
• Republican narrative, as provided by National Review. Gun Violence Archive is a leftist activist organization that has long inflated the number of mass shootings in America for the political purpose of fear-mongering. Given that they count non-lethal incidents, gang violence, and mob hits as mass shootings, these numbers are untrustworthy and the information presented is out of context.