New Mass Shootings Analysis Highlights Toll On Children, High Percentage Of Shootings That Followed Clear Warning Signs

**Click HERE to View Everytown Analysis; Researchers Available for Interviews**

NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today unveiled a new analysis of mass shootings, showing that in the decade between 2009 and 2018, there were a total of 194 mass shootings, which left 1,121 people dead and an additional 836 people wounded. The analysis also includes a new mass shooting map with downloadable data from 2009 to the present. Everytown defines a mass shooting as a shooting in which four people are fatally shot, not including the shooter.

“Too often we are looking for solutions in the wrong places,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Our peer high-income nations all have video games, internet access and rates of mental illness on par with the United States. What they don’t have is easy access to firearms. In all public health crises, we study the past to learn how we can save lives in the future, and the clear trends in these statistics underscore that strengthening our gun laws can help prevent gun violence.”

“If there’s one thing I want people to know about mass shootings, it’s how often children are caught in the crossfires when domestic abusers have access to guns,” said Doreen Dodgen-Magee, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network whose sister-in-law, Laura, and three nieces, Sarah, Rachel, and April were shot and killed by Laura’s husband, their father, on September 11, 1995. “The horrific way my loved ones died drives me to advocate for safe gun laws so that no other aunt, parent, grandparent or family must suffer the way my family does. My hope is that the knowledge in this report gives lawmakers the courage to do the same.” 

A sampling of the findings highlighted in the report:

• 54 percent of mass shootings over the past decade were perpetrated by someone who displayed prior warning signs, such as a threat or act of violence.
• Domestic violence is a part of over half of mass shootings; in at least 54 percent of mass shootings, the perpetrator shot an intimate partner or family member during the mass rampage. 
• One in three shooters were legally prohibited from possessing firearms at the time of the shooting.
• Nearly three in four children and teens killed in a mass shooting died in an incident connected to domestic violence. 

The findings in this report add to the growing body of research affirming the value of common-sense gun laws, including: 

• Background checks on all gun sales including by unlicensed sellers online and at gun shows.
• Strong domestic violence laws that keep guns away from abusers.
• Red flag laws that allow family members and law enforcement to seek the temporary removal of guns from those who have shown warning signs that they are a threat to themselves or others.