Victims of gang-related homicides (total number of homicide victims; number of homicide victims - unknown gang-relation; number of homicide victims - known gang relation; number of gang-related homicide victims; percentage of gang-related homicide victims; rate (per 100,000 population) of gang-related homicide victims), Canada and regions, 1999 to 2024.

Over 2,300 homicides were gang-related in the United States in 2012. This was the highest amount since 2007 and a reversal of a negative trend from the previous two years.

Violent crime

Violent crime in the United States is not limited to gang violence, but the murders in this statistic compose a significant portion of the number of reported murders in those years. While there were many arrests for violent offenses in those years, few were gang members. Still, gang-related violence is a serious problem.

Ways to die

Gang-related killings are among the top circumstances for murders in the United States. Also enlightening is the number of murder victims by weapon. The vast majority of U.S. murder victims were killed by handguns or a type of firearm. The source does not give how many murders were averted by guns.

In 2019, there were six deaths by homicide per 100,000 of the population in the United States, compared to 5.9 deaths by homicide in the previous year. This is an increase from 1950, when there were 5.1 deaths by homicide per 100,000 resident population in the United States. However, within the provided time period, the death rate for homicide in the U.S. was highest in 1980, when there were 10.4 deaths by homicide per 100,000 of the population in the United States.

Homicides in the United States

The term homicide is used when a human being is killed by another human being. Criminal homicide takes several forms, for example murder; but homicide is not always a crime, it also includes affirmative defense, insanity, self-defense or the execution of convicted criminals. In the United States, youth homicide has especially been seen as a problem of urban areas, due to poverty, limited adult supervision, involvement in drug and gang activities, and school failure. Both homicide rates and suicide rates in the U.S. among people aged 20 to 24 and teenagers aged 15 to 19 have vastly increased since 2001.

In 2023, a total of 71 people were killed due to arson in the United States. This was significantly lower than the 312 people who were killed in robberies in the country in that same year.

THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 7:11 AM EASTERN ON DEC. 1

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.

Trend of firearm mortality after legislation.

Turks and Caicos Islands saw a murder rate of ***** per 100,000 inhabitants, making it the most dangerous country for this kind of crime worldwide as of 2024. Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 29 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. Meanwhile, Colima in Mexico was the most dangerous city for murders. Violent conflicts worldwide Notably, these figures do not include deaths that resulted from war or a violent conflict. While there is a persistent number of conflicts worldwide, resulting casualties are not considered murders. Partially due to this reason, homicide rates in Latin America are higher than those in Afghanistan or Syria. A different definition of murder in these circumstances could change the rate significantly in some countries. Causes of death Also, noteworthy is that murders are usually not random events. In the United States, the circumstances of murders are most commonly arguments, followed by narcotics incidents and robberies. Additionally, murders are not a leading cause of death. Heart diseases, strokes and cancer pose a greater threat to life than violent crime.

Rate ratio of the post effect trends of suicide by hanging and firearms.

Handguns are by far the most common murder weapon used in the United States, accounting for 7,159 homicides in 2023. This is followed by firearms of an unstated type, with 5,295 cases in that year. Why do murders happen in the U.S.? While most of the time the circumstances of murders in the U.S. remain unknown, homicides due to narcotics come in as the second most common circumstance – making them more common than, for example, gang killings. Despite these gruesome facts, the violent crime rate has fallen significantly since 1990, and the United States is much safer than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. Knife crime vs disease: Leading causes of death The death rate in the U.S. had hovered around the same level since 1990 until there was a large increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years. Heart disease, cancer, and accidents were the three leading causes of death in the country in 2022. The rate of death from heart disease is significantly higher than the homicide rate in the United States, at 167.2 deaths per 100,000 population compared to a 5.7 homicides per 100,000. Given just 1,562 murders were caused by knife crime, it is fair to say that heart disease is a far bigger killer in the U.S.

In 2024, there were approximately 1.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in El Salvador. Since 2015, when it stood at 103, the murder rate has been dropping annually in this Central American country. Crime current state The region has witnessed a substantial reduction in the number of homicides since 2015, resulting in the most common crimes becoming increasingly more centered on non-lethal offenses and material-related transgressions, which now pose the most prevalent threats. This shift is equally apparent across both genders, with the rate of femicides steadily declining, paralleling a consistent decrease in overall victimization rates. Consequently, El Salvador achieved the ranking of the third safest country within the Latin American homicide rate context. Notwithstanding these notable improvements, a lingering sense of caution endures among the populace, as nearly half of them remain apprehensive about the prospect of falling victim to criminal activities. Main economic problems Following an extended phase marked by elevated inflation, the region continues to grapple with challenges in its efforts to recover. The impact has been most pronounced on the prices of essential food items, rendering them increasingly unaffordable for a population where approximately 20 percent live under poverty conditions. Furthermore, the unemployment rate persists, with one out of every two individuals still seeking employment opportunities. A significant proportion, approximately 60 percent, remain apprehensive about job loss, recognizing the subsequent loss of their primary income source. In response, the government is envisaging an enhancement in both the employment rate and the GDP, albeit with a gradual recovery trajectory following the substantial downturn experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract (en): The research team collected data on homicide, robbery, and assault offending from 1984-2006 for youth 13 to 24 years of age in 91 of the 100 largest cities in the United States (based on the 1980 Census) from various existing data sources. Data on youth homicide perpetration were acquired from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) and data on nonlethal youth violence (robbery and assault) were obtained from the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Annual homicide, robbery, and assault arrest rates per 100,000 age-specific populations (i.e., 13 to 17 and 18 to 24 year olds) were calculated by year for each city in the study. Data on city characteristics were derived from several sources including the County and City Data Books, SHR, and the Vital Statistics Multiple Cause of Death File. The research team constructed a dataset representing lethal and nonlethal offending at the city level for 91 cities over the 23-year period from 1984 to 2006, resulting in 2,093 city year observations. The purpose of this study was to estimate temporal trends in youth violence rates variation across 91 of the 100 largest cities in the United States from 1984-2006, and to model city-specific explanatory predictors influencing these trends. In order to estimate trends in homicide offending for youth 13 to 24 years of age in 91 of the 100 largest cities in the United States from 1984-2006, data for youth homicide were acquired from the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR), a component of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR). Measures of youth arrests for the nonlethal violent crimes of robbery and assault were acquired from UCR city arrest data for the same time period. Annual homicide, robbery, and assault arrest rates per 100,000 age-specific (i.e., 13 to 17 and 18 to 24 year olds) population were calculated by year for each city in the study. Annual homicide rates were calculated through a conventional procedure: annual incidents in a specific city, divided by the age-specific population of that city, multiplied by 100,000. Partial reporting during the time period resulted in dropping 9 cities from the homicide data and 10 cities from the robbery and assault data. Data on city-level characteristics including measures of structural disadvantage, drug market activities, gang presence-activity, and firearm availability were derived from the County and City Data Books, SHR, and the Vital Statistics Multiple Cause of Death File, respectively. Missing data came from two sources; failure to report in homicide and some of the Census collections, and lack of data for specific years, mainly in Census data, between major data collection points like the Decennial Census and the Mid-decade estimates from Census related sources. Missing data in the homicide measures were addressed using an Iterative Chain equation procedure to conduct Multiple Imputation. Variables from the original source used in the multiple imputation procedure included age of victim, race, ethnicity, gender, seven available measures of homicide circumstances, and city population size. Extrapolation methods were used to adjust for missing data in the robberies and assaults by age, and in the census and economic data sources. To estimate a missing year between two reported values, the missing year was estimated to be mid-way between the two observed years on either side of the missing year. Longer gaps involved further averaging and allocating according to the number of years missing; these estimates amount to maximum likelihood estimates of the missing years or in the case of the robberies and assaults, months as well. The study contains a total of 39 variables including city name, year, crime rate variables, and city characteristics variables. Crime rate variables include imputed and non-imputed homicide rate variables for juveniles aged 13 to 17, young adults aged 18 to 24, and adults aged 25 and over. Other crime variables include the number of imputed and non-imputed homicides as well as the robbery rate and assault rate for juveniles and young adults. City characteristics variables include population, poverty rates, percentage of African Americans, percentage of female-headed households, percentage of residents unemployed, percentage of residents receiving public assistance, home-ownership rates, gang presence and activity, and alcohol outlet density. None. ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of dis...

This study addressed questions related to potential geographic and racial disparity in the investigation and prosecution of federal capital cases and examined the process by which criminal cases, specially homicide cases, enter the federal criminal justice system. The primary method of data collection used was face-to-face interviews of key criminal justice officials within each district included in the study. Between 2000 and 2004, the researchers visited nine federal districts and interviewed all actors in the state and federal criminal justice systems who potentially would play a role in determining whether a homicide case was investigated and prosecuted in the state or federal systems. The study focused on homicide cases because federal homicides represented the offense of conviction in all capital case convictions in the federal system under the 2000 and 2001 DOJ reports (see U.S. Department of Justice, "The Federal Death Penalty System: A Statistical Survey (1988-2000)," Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, September 12, 2000, and U.S. Department of Justice, "The Federal Death Penalty System: Supplementary Data, Analysis and Revised Protocols for Capital Case Review," Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, June 6, 2001). In addition, federally related homicides are frequently involved with drug, gang, and/or organized crime investigations. Using 11 standardized interview protocols, developed in consultation with members of the project's advisory group, research staff interviewed local investigative agencies (police chief or his/her representative, section heads for homicide, drug, gang, or organized crime units as applicable to the agency structure), federal investigative agencies (Special Agent-in-Charge or designee, section heads of relevant units), local prosecutors (District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, including the line attorneys and section heads), and defense attorneys who practiced in federal court. Due to the extensive number of issues to be covered with the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, interviews were conducted with: (1) the U.S. Attorney or designated representative, (2) section heads, and (3) Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) within the respective sections. Because the U.S. Attorneys were appointed following the change in the U.S. Presidency in 2000, a slightly altered U.S. Attorney questionnaire was designed for interviews with the former U.S. Attorney who was in office during the study period of 1995 through 2000. In some instances, because the project focus was on issues and processes from 1995 through 2000, a second individual with longer tenure was chosen to be interviewed simultaneously when the head or section head was newer to the position. In some instances when a key respondent was unavailable during the site visit and no acceptable alternative could be identified, arrangements were made to complete the interview by telephone after the visit. The interviews included questions related to the nature of the local crime problem, agency crime priorities, perceived benefits of the federal over the local process, local and federal resources, nature and target of joint task forces, relationships between and among agencies, policy and agreements, definitions and understanding of federal jurisdiction, federal investigative strategies, case flow, and attitudes toward the death penalty.

Protracted conflict is one of the largest human challenges that have persistently undermined economic and social progress. In recent years, there has been increased emphasis on using statistical and physical science models to better understand both the universal patterns and the underlying mechanics of conflict. Whilst macroscopic power-law fractal patterns have been shown for death-toll in wars and self-excitation models have been shown for roadside ambush attacks, very few works deal with the challenge of complex dynamics between gangs at the intra-city scale. Here, based on contributions to the historical memory of the conflict in Colombia, Medellin’s gang-confrontation-network is presented. It is shown that socio-economic and violence indexes are moderate to highly correlated to the structure of the network. Specifically, the death-toll of conflict is strongly influenced by the leading eigenvalues of the gangs’ conflict adjacency matrix, which serves a proxy for unstable self-excitation from revenge attacks. The distribution of links based on the geographic distance between gangs in confrontation leads to the confirmation that territorial control is a main catalyst of violence and retaliation among gangs. As a first attempt to explore the time evolution of the confrontation network, the Boltzmann-Lotka-Volterra (BLV) dynamic interaction network analysis is applied to quantify the spatial embeddedness of the dynamic relationship between conflicting gangs in Medellin. However, the non-stationary character of the violence in Medellin during the observation period restricts the application of the BLV model and results suggest that more involved and comprehensive models are needed to described the dynamics of Medellin’s armed conflict.

In 2025, Pietermaritzburg in South Africa ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a crime rate of 82 per 100,000 inhabitants. Five of the 10 cities with the highest crime rates worldwide are found in South Africa. The list does not include countries where war and conflict exist. South Africa dominates crime statistics When looking at crime rates, among the 10 most dangerous cities in the world, half of them are found in South Africa. The country is struggling with extremely high levels of inequality, and is struggling with high levels of crime and power outages, harming the country's economy and driving more people into unemployment and poverty. Crime in Latin America On the other hand, when looking at murder rates, Latin America dominates the list of the world's most dangerous countries. Violence in Latin America is caused in great part by drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and gang wars.

The dataset contains year- and state-wise data on number of persons arrested for murder crime by types of motives, Gain, Personal Vendetta or Enmity, Dowry, Witchcraft, Child/Human Sacrifice, Communal/Religious, Casteism, Class Conflict, For Political Reason, Honour Killing, Love Affairs, Illicit Relationship, Extremism/Insurgency, During Dacoity/Robbery, Gang Rivalry, Psychopath/Serial Killers, Sale of Body Parts, Property/Land Dispute, Family Dispute, Petty Quarrel/Dispute, Money Dispute, Water Dispute, Due to Accidents on Roads, Blind Murder/No Clue/Motive Not Known, among others.

As a contribution to nationwide efforts to more thoroughly understand urban violence, this study was conducted to assess the impact of cultural dynamics on homicide rates in Houston, Texas, and to profile homicides in the city from 1985 to 1994. This data collection provides the results of quantitative analysis of data collected from all Houston homicide cases recorded in the police murder logs for 1985-1994. Variables describe the homicide circumstances, the victim-offender relationship, the type of weapon used, and any drug- or gang-related activity involved. Other variables include the year and month in which the homicide occurred, whether the homicide occurred on a weekday or over the weekend, the motive of the homicide, whether the homicide was drug-related, whether the case was cleared by police at time of data entry, weapon type and means of killing, the relationship between the victim and the offender, whether a firearm was the homicide method, whether it was a multiple victim incident or multiple offender incident, whether the victim or the offender was younger than age 15, and the inter-racial relationship between the victim and the offender. Demographic variables include age, sex, and race of the victim as well as the offender.

The Balkan countries Albania and Bosnia have the highest murder rates with cases involving firearms in Europe. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Sweden came third. The Scandinavian country has seen increasing levels of gang-related violence in recent years.

In 2023, 8,842 murderers in the United States were white, while 6,405 were Black. A further 461 murderers were of another race, including American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. However, not all law enforcement agencies submitted homicide data to the FBI in 2023, meaning there may be more murder offenders of each race than depicted. While the majority of circumstances behind murders in the U.S. are unknown, narcotics, robberies, and gang killings are most commonly identified.

The purpose of this survey was to provide legislators, public officials, and Texas residents with a reliable source of information about citizens' opinions and attitudes concerning crime and criminal justice related-topics. The data collection consists of two distinctly different files, National Data (Part 2) and Texas Data (Part 1), which can be linked or used separately for analysis. The survey questions concern neighborhood atmosphere and presentation of crime in the media, worries regarding possible attacks--both robbery and physical attacks, confidence in and opinions of police and their effectiveness, problems dealing with courts, and attitudes regarding prisoners and prisons, drug laws and drug problems, and juvenile gangs. Other questions focused on attitudes concerning the death penalty, guns, and the availability of firearms. The National Data file contains additional information expanding on the respondent's sources of crime news and gang-related questions. Demographic information on respondents includes sex, age, race, income, education, and religion.

This dataset is based on a report 'Crimes against Women(2022)' by National Crime Records Bureau. It contains number of cases been registered across all Indian States/UTs against the crimes been committed against Women (includes adults & minors) that are recognizable within the Indian Penal Code. The gist of crimes mentioned within the dataset are: 1. Murder with Rape/Gang Rape 2. Dowry Deaths (Sec. 304B IPC) 3. Abetment to Suicide of Women (Sec. 305/306 IPC) 4. Miscarriage (Sec. 313 & 314 IPC) 5. Acid Attack (Sec. 326A IPC) 6. Attempt to Acid Attack (Sec. 326B IPC) 7. Cruelty by Husband or his relatives (Sec. 498 A IPC) 8. Kidnapping & Abduction of Women 9. Human Trafficking (Sec. 370 & 370A IPC) 10. Selling of Minor Girls (Sec. 372 IPC) 11. Buying of Minor Girls (Sec. 373 IPC) 12. Rape (Sec. 376 IPC) 13. Attempt to Commit Rape (Sec. 376/511 IPC) 14. Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty (Sec. 354 IPC) 15. Insult to the Modesty of Women (Sec. 509 IPC) 16. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 17. Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 (Women Victims cases only) 18. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 19. Cyber Crimes/Information Technology Act (Women Centric Crimes only) 20. Protection of Children from Sexual Violence Act (Girl Child Victims only) 21. Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986