2023 is already outpacing 2022 in U.S. mass shootings, with 37 in 23 days
The shooting deaths of seven people in Half Moon Bay, California, on Monday marked the 37th mass shooting of 2023 and the year's sixth mass murder, according to the Gun Violence Archive. By Jan. 23 of 2022, according to the research group, there had been 27 mass shootings in the U.S. and one mass murder.
Mass shootings, as defined by the Gun Violence Archives, are where four or more victims are shot or killed. So Monday's triple shooting at an after-school program in Des Moines, Iowa, where two teenage students were killed and an adult injured, does not make the list, but mass shootings where more than four people were injured and nobody died are included.
"The vast majority of shootings this year have occurred in the South, in states like Texas, Florida, and Louisiana," ABC News notes, despite the most recent high-profile ones occurring in California, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tweeted Monday night that he was in the hospital visiting victims of Saturday night's mass shooting in Monterey Park "when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Nothing about this is surprising. Everything about this is infuriating," Newsom told CBS Evening News earlier Monday. "The Second Amendment is becoming a suicide pact." He added that he has "great respect" for the Second Amendment and "no ideological opposition to someone reasonably and responsibly owning firearms and getting background checks and being trained," but mental health and behavioral issues don't explain America's gun violence epidemic.
"We woke up Sunday to what in the shorthand of mass murder has become 'another one,'" Lester Holt said from Monterey Park on Monday's NBC Nightly News. "A familiar heartache as we absorb the news with a collective and familiar weary sigh that comes from a place of worn-down resignation. The same to questions always come to mind: How many? And: Why?" But even when we get those answers, "we are left where we started: empty, frustrated, and sad," he added. "No explanation can fill the void of loss and the helplessness these mass attacks burden us with, or give us hope that there won't be another one."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 2, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Father of alleged Georgia school shooter arrested
Speed Read The 14-year-old's father was arrested in connection with the deaths of two teachers and two students
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published