Topline
A sharp decline in mass shooting events in the United States so far this year has led to 91 fewer deaths and 220 fewer injuries than were seen at the same time in 2023, data from the Gun Violence Archive shows, as shootings remain at a three-year low following a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students demonstrate for stricter gun control legislation as part of a March for Our Lives rally at ... [+]
Key Facts
There were 134 mass shootings in the first four months of 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an event in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed.
That’s 29.4% fewer than the 190 reported in the same time period for 2023, and the least number of mass shootings in the first four months of the year since 2020, when there were 95.
Florida has led the year in the number of mass shootings so far—there were 13 mass shootings in the state from January to April—but Illinois leads in the number of deaths with 22 victims killed.
The most deadly mass shooting of 2024 took place in the Chicago area where 23-year-old Romeo Nance allegedly killed eight people, most of whom were relatives, before shooting himself in Texas.
California, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas have each had 10 mass shootings, the second-highest number of any state, with 21, 22, 9 and 10 people killed, respectively.
The U.S. passed 15,000 fatal and non-fatal shootings on Tuesday, April 30—a milestone that was hit on April 17 in 2023.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.
The cover art used for the first-ever edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" will be ... [+]
Big Number
5,318. That's how many gun deaths had occurred in the United States in 2024 as of April 30, including unintentional shootings and gun injuries.
Key Background
Mass shootings spiked to years-long highs at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, with some experts blaming the trend partly on the “sudden and additional psychological and financial strains” wrought by the pandemic. Gun sales also remained near record highs, driven by a combination of health and political uncertainty.
Tangent
President Joe Biden has this attempted to crack down on "ghost guns," or untraceable firearms without serial numbers that are often acquired without background checks and frequently used in crimes. The administration last year introduced a series of new executive actions to ban the manufacturing of ghost guns and reclassify the kits sold to make guns at home as firearms themselves, but the crackdown has been hit with legal challenges and will be heard by the Supreme Court next term. The court will decide if build-it-yourself gun kits can be considered firearms and therefore be subjected to the same sales regulations as guns themselves. It is legal to self-manufacture a firearm for personal use, but laws require any homemade guns be detectable by a metal detector and all must have a serial number.
Surprising Fact
Four police officers were killed and another four injured in Charlotte Monday while attempting to serve a warrant. Investigators recovered two firearms—one AR-15 rifle and one handgun—and ammunition from the crime scene on the east side of the city. Terry Clark Hughes Jr., who has been identified as the suspect in the officers' deaths, was killed in the shooting.
