Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2023.

THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 2:10 AM EASTERN ON JUNE 29

OVERVIEW

2019 had the most mass killings since at least the 1970s, according to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings Database.

In all, there were 45 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 were mass shootings . This summer was especially violent, with three high-profile public mass shootings occurring in the span of just four weeks, leaving 38 killed and 66 injured.

A total of 229 people died in mass killings in 2019.

The AP's analysis found that more than 50% of the incidents were family annihilations, which is similar to prior years. Although they are far less common, the 9 public mass shootings during the year were the most deadly type of mass murder, resulting in 73 people's deaths, not including the assailants.

One-third of the offenders died at the scene of the killing or soon after, half from suicides.

About this Dataset

The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed (not including the offender) over a short period of time (24 hours) regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. The database includes information on these and other characteristics concerning the incidents, offenders, and victims.

The AP/USA TODAY/Northeastern database represents the most complete tracking of mass murders by the above definition currently available. Other efforts, such as the Gun Violence Archive or Everytown for Gun Safety may include events that do not meet our criteria, but a review of these sites and others indicates that this database contains every event that matches the definition, including some not tracked by other organizations.

This data will be updated periodically and can be used as an ongoing resource to help cover these events.

Using this Dataset

To get basic counts of incidents of mass killings and mass shootings by year nationwide, use these queries:

Mass killings by year

Mass shootings by year

To get these counts just for your state:

Filter killings by state

Definition of "mass murder"

Mass murder is defined as the intentional killing of four or more victims by any means within a 24-hour period, excluding the deaths of unborn children and the offender(s). The standard of four or more dead was initially set by the FBI.

This definition does not exclude cases based on method (e.g., shootings only), type or motivation (e.g., public only), victim-offender relationship (e.g., strangers only), or number of locations (e.g., one). The time frame of 24 hours was chosen to eliminate conflation with spree killers, who kill multiple victims in quick succession in different locations or incidents, and to satisfy the traditional requirement of occurring in a “single incident.”

Offenders who commit mass murder during a spree (before or after committing additional homicides) are included in the database, and all victims within seven days of the mass murder are included in the victim count. Negligent homicides related to driving under the influence or accidental fires are excluded due to the lack of offender intent. Only incidents occurring within the 50 states and Washington D.C. are considered.

Methodology

Project researchers first identified potential incidents using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). Homicide incidents in the SHR were flagged as potential mass murder cases if four or more victims were reported on the same record, and the type of death was murder or non-negligent manslaughter.

Cases were subsequently verified utilizing media accounts, court documents, academic journal articles, books, and local law enforcement records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Each data point was corroborated by multiple sources, which were compiled into a single document to assess the quality of information.

In case(s) of contradiction among sources, official law enforcement or court records were used, when available, followed by the most recent media or academic source.

Case information was subsequently compared with every other known mass murder database to ensure reliability and validity. Incidents listed in the SHR that could not be independently verified were excluded from the database.

Project researchers also conducted extensive searches for incidents not reported in the SHR during the time period, utilizing internet search engines, Lexis-Nexis, and Newspapers.com. Search terms include: [number] dead, [number] killed, [number] slain, [number] murdered, [number] homicide, mass murder, mass shooting, massacre, rampage, family killing, familicide, and arson murder. Offender, victim, and location names were also directly searched when available.

This project started at USA TODAY in 2012.

Contacts

Contact AP Data Editor Justin Myers with questions, suggestions or comments about this dataset at jmyers@ap.org. The Northeastern University researcher working with AP and USA TODAY is Professor James Alan Fox, who can be reached at j.fox@northeastern.edu or 617-416-4400.

The data used in the MPS Stop and Search Dashboard is available here Stop and Search Dashboard | Metropolitan Police, along with the related data definitions. Please note that, this dataset is updated monthly at the beginning of the month. Data runs until the end of the month prior. Definitions / Counting Rules Stop and Search (S&S) - When an officer stops a member of the public and searches them. The police can only detain members of the public in order to carry out a search when certain conditions have been met. Search powers fall under different areas of legislation which include searching for - Stolen property - Prohibited articles namely offensive weapons or anything used for burglary, theft, deception or criminal damage - Drugs - Guns Historically searches of unattended vehicles and vessels have made up a very low proportion of search activity. PACE and Other Stops and Searches - Stops and Searches under PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act), S23 Drugs Act, S47 Firearms Act plus a very small number not included in the other categories (e.g. s27(1) Aviation Security Act 1982 or S7 Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol) Act 1985) Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 (s.60) - Where an authorising officer reasonably believes that serious violence may take place or that persons are carrying dangerous instruments or offensive weapons without good reason they may authorise powers for officers in uniform to stop and search any person or vehicles within a defined area and time period. Search Groupings - Searches within this report are sometimes grouped as either Weapons, ASB or Key Crime searches. The Weapons group is composed of stops recorded under codes C - Firearms (s47 Firearms Act), D - Offensive Weapons (s1 PACE), K - Anticipated Violence (s60 CJPO). The ASB group is composed of codes B - Drugs (s23 Misuse of Drugs Act), L- Criminal Damage (s1 Pace), Y- Psychoactive Substances, Z - Fireworks (s1 Pace). The Key Crime Group is composed of codes A - Stolen Property (s1 PACE), F- Going Equipped (s1 PACE). Positive Outcomes - A Positive Outcome is any outcome other than 'No Further Action (NFA)'The Positive Outcome rate is determined by dividing the number of positive outcomes by the total number of searches. Ethnic Appearance - The ethnicity of the person stopped as perceived by the officer. For further information on the mapping of 4+1 groupings to 18+1 census data please see HO report Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2010 at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubsstatistical.html Self Defined Ethnicity (SDE) - The ethnic group as defined by the person stopped (National Census categories). This report uses 2011 Census data. This is held in 18+1 format and the recorded ethnic appearance of the Stop/Search (4+1) must be mapped to the appropriate 18+1 Census categories. The categories are mapped as follows: White = White British, White Irish, White Gypsy or Irish Traveller, and any other White Background. Black = Black or Black British, Caribbean, African, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Mixed White and Black African, and any other Black Background Asian = Asian or Asian British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Mixed White and Asian and any other Asian background. Other = Arab, and any other Ethnic Group Caveats The Borough shown is location of search and not necessarily the borough of the officer conducting the search. The ethnicity of persons stopped and searched within the central London area are unlikely to reflect the resident population due to large numbers of both British and foreign tourists in this region. The MPS fully recognises the distress to the individual which any type of search where intimate parts are exposed can cause, and does not seek to downplay this. However, dip sampling of records has shown that historically some of the records included in this dashboard were wrongly recorded as MTIPs, when they were in fact strip searches conducted in custody after arrest. There will therefore be some double counting, as these will also have been recorded on our custody system and will be therefore be counted in both this dashboard and the separate strip search dashboard. NB Data uploaded to this area after February 2024 is sourced from the CONNECT system. Some measures\details previously provided may not be available in total or in part. Please take care when comparing data-sets posted after February 2024 with those posted prior.