The US is on track for another year of bloody gun violence, with more than 80 people killed in mass shootings so far this year.
New data from the Gun Violence Archive shows that 81 people were killed in mass shootings in less than two months in 2024.
There have been 49 mass shootings this year, defined as an incident in which four victims were shot, injured or killed, not including the shooter.
The latest tragedy occurred when one was killed and more than 20 were injured after a gunman opened fire during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, where thousands of people gathered to celebrate the team’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and disc jockey for a community radio station, was killed in the attack.
In 2023, there were forty mass murders involving firearms. In less than two months in 2024, seven have been reported.
Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows that 81 people have been killed in mass shootings this year. The latest took place on February 14 during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade
When armed men fired into the crowd, one was killed and 29 were injured
There were 656 mass shootings last year, up from 647 in 2022 but down from 2021’s record of 689.
This included 40 mass murders involving weapons across the country, from Texas to Maine. According to Gun Violence Archive, Americans have already experienced seven mass killings in the first seven weeks of 2024.
One of these was the shooting in Joliet, Illinois, in which 23-year-old Romeo Nance killed eight people before killing himself.
Earlier this month, a man in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, shot five of his family members before setting their home on fire. The gunman, identified as 43-year-old Canh Le, also died.
The deadliest shooting of 2023, carried out by an Army reservist in Lewiston, Maine, resulted in 18 deaths.
On October 25, Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar hosting a cornhole tournament before killing himself in a caravan several miles away.
While this number was lower than the 21 lives claimed by Uvalde gunman Salvador Ramos the year before, it exceeded the death toll from what was then the worst shooting of the year.
In that shooting, which took place less than a month into 2023, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran killed 11 people during a New Year’s celebration in Monterey Park, California.
The third worst took place at an outlet mall in Texas, where suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer Mauricio Garcia shot eight and injured seven.
Another was carried out at a Nashville elementary school in March 2023, with former student Audrey Hale killing three nine-year-olds and three adults before being shot dead by police.
Also this year, a man in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, shot five of his family members before setting their house on fire, killing himself.
The deadliest shooting of 2023 occurred when Army Reservist Robert Card opened fire in a bar and bowling alley, killing eighteen people.
Children have played a prominent role in gun violence deaths. According to Gun Violence Archive, 1,385 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 were murdered last year, the highest number in a decade. Another 3,871 were injured.
Young people were also among the victims in Kansas City, as Children’s Mercy Kansas City reported treating 11 children between the ages of six and 15, nine of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
The Feb. 14 shooting broke out outside Union Station minutes after the parade ended.
In the aftermath, Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters that firearms had been recovered, but she declined to comment on how many.
“We recovered firearms,” she said. “I don’t have a number for you or a caliber. We recovered firearms.”
The right to bear arms has proven to be a contentious and politically charged issue.
Several U.S. states have passed bans on assault rifles in recent years, facing pushback from groups that say the restrictions interfere with their Second Amendment rights.
Nine people were killed in a shooting at an outdoor shopping center in Allen, Texas. Shooter Mauricio Garcia is pictured after being shot by police
Police cordon off a crime scene in Joliet, Illinois after a shooting that killed 23-year-old Romeo Nance before killing himself
In March 2023, another shooting occurred at a Nashville elementary school, with former student Audrey Hale killing three nine-year-olds and three adults.
The latest state to try to implement a ban is Colorado, where two Democrats from Denver introduced a measure on Tuesday prohibit the purchase, sale and transfer of a wide range of semi-automatic firearms.
Democratic lawmakers have steadily passed gun control laws in the state since 2013.
This includes provisions for universal background checks, a waiting period for gun purchases, and the safe storage of firearms.
However, it remains to be seen whether the measure, known as House Bill 1292, will gain enough political support to pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Also on Tuesday, the Illinois State Rifle Association filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court against the state’s ban on high-powered rifles.
The law went into effect on January 1 and banned the sale and production of weapons such as the AR-15 and AK-47. Those who already owned assault weapons were required to register them.
The ban was praised by President Joe Biden in a July 2023 statement released exactly a year after the Highland Park shooting, in which a gunman killed seven during an Independence Day parade in suburban Illinois.
“It is within our power to once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe gun storage, end gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability and implement universal background checks,” Biden said at the time.
“I urge other states to follow Illinois’ example and continue to call on Republican lawmakers in Congress to come to the table on meaningful, common-sense reforms that the American people support.”
The attack in Kansas City claimed the life of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and disc jockey for a community radio station
There have been 49 mass shootings this year, defined as an incident in which four victims were shot, injured or killed, not including the shooter
Maryland’s assault weapons ban also faces pushback from opponents.
Last week, a coalition of gun rights groups convened has asked the Supreme Court to hear their challenge to the state ban before a federal appeals court can rule on the case.
Arguably the most important development in the gun control debate was the Supreme Court’s landmark opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The June 2022 ruling expanded gun rights nationwide and established that firearms regulations must be consistent with the country’s “historical tradition.”
In December 2023, a federal judge ruled that an assault weapons ban in Massachusetts was consistent with the opinion.
“The relevant history bears out the principle that in 1791, as now, there was a tradition of regulating ‘dangerous and unusual’ weapons—particularly weapons not reasonably necessary for self-defense,” said Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV wrote.
The weapons banned in the state are “not suitable for ordinary self-defense purposes and pose significant dangers far beyond those inherent in the design of ordinary firearms,” Saylor continued.
The law bans certain semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. It was passed in 1998 and made permanent after a similar federal statute expired in 2004.