THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 2:11 AM EASTERN ON JULY 23

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.

This dataset contains counts of deaths for California counties based on information entered on death certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out-of-state deaths to California residents, whereas provisional counts are derived from incomplete and dynamic data. Provisional counts are based on the records available when the data was retrieved and may not represent all deaths that occurred during the time period. Deaths involving injuries from external or environmental forces, such as accidents, homicide and suicide, often require additional investigation that tends to delay certification of the cause and manner of death. This can result in significant under-reporting of these deaths in provisional data.

The final data tables include both deaths that occurred in each California county regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence) and deaths to residents of each California county (by residence), whereas the provisional data table only includes deaths that occurred in each county regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence). The data are reported as totals, as well as stratified by age, gender, race-ethnicity, and death place type. Deaths due to all causes (ALL) and selected underlying cause of death categories are provided. See temporal coverage for more information on which combinations are available for which years.

The cause of death categories are based solely on the underlying cause of death as coded by the International Classification of Diseases. The underlying cause of death is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury." It is a single value assigned to each death based on the details as entered on the death certificate. When more than one cause is listed, the order in which they are listed can affect which cause is coded as the underlying cause. This means that similar events could be coded with different underlying causes of death depending on variations in how they were entered. Consequently, while underlying cause of death provides a convenient comparison between cause of death categories, it may not capture the full impact of each cause of death as it does not always take into account all conditions contributing to the death.

The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) provides states and communities with a clearer understanding of violent deaths to guide local decisions about efforts to prevent violence and helps them track progress over time. To stop violent deaths, we must first understand all the facts. Created in 2002, the NVDRS is a surveillance system that pulls together data on violent deaths in 18 states (see map below), including information about homicides, such as homicides perpetrated by a intimate partner (e.g., boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband), child maltreatment (or child abuse) fatalities, suicides, deaths where individuals are killed by law enforcement in the line of duty, unintentional firearm injury deaths, and deaths of undetermined intent. These data are supported by WISQARS, an interactive query system that provides data on injury deaths, violent deaths, and nonfatal injuries.

This file contains death counts and death rates for drug overdose, suicide, homicide and firearm injuries by census tract of residence (additional datasets exist for other levels of geography). The data is grouped by 2 different time periods including yearly and trailing twelve months. Please see data dictionary for intents and mechanisms included in each measure.

When there are 1-9 deaths in an area, CDC uses a Bayesian model to calculate rates. A Bayesian model is a type of statistical model often used in geographic analysis. This model can improve stability of the rates in lower population areas and protects privacy by taking into account information from neighboring areas.

This dataset contains counts of deaths for California as a whole based on information entered on death certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out-of-state deaths to California residents, whereas provisional counts are derived from incomplete and dynamic data. Provisional counts are based on the records available when the data was retrieved and may not represent all deaths that occurred during the time period. Deaths involving injuries from external or environmental forces, such as accidents, homicide and suicide, often require additional investigation that tends to delay certification of the cause and manner of death. This can result in significant under-reporting of these deaths in provisional data.

The final data tables include both deaths that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence) and deaths to California residents (by residence), whereas the provisional data table only includes deaths that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence). The data are reported as totals, as well as stratified by age, gender, race-ethnicity, and death place type. Deaths due to all causes (ALL) and selected underlying cause of death categories are provided. See temporal coverage for more information on which combinations are available for which years.

The cause of death categories are based solely on the underlying cause of death as coded by the International Classification of Diseases. The underlying cause of death is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury." It is a single value assigned to each death based on the details as entered on the death certificate. When more than one cause is listed, the order in which they are listed can affect which cause is coded as the underlying cause. This means that similar events could be coded with different underlying causes of death depending on variations in how they were entered. Consequently, while underlying cause of death provides a convenient comparison between cause of death categories, it may not capture the full impact of each cause of death as it does not always take into account all conditions contributing to the death.

This file contains death counts and death rates for drug overdose, suicide, homicide and firearm injuries by county of residence (additional datasets exist for other levels of geography). The data is grouped by 2 different time periods including yearly and trailing twelve months. Please see data dictionary for intents and mechanisms included in each measure.

When there are 1-9 deaths in an area, CDC uses a Bayesian model to calculate rates. A Bayesian model is a type of statistical model often used in geographic analysis. This model can improve stability of the rates in lower population areas and protects privacy by taking into account information from neighboring areas.

The dataset contains year-wise compiled data on the number cases reported against Juveniles for different types of crimes committed in violation of Indian Penal Code (IPC)

The different types of crimes covered in the dataset include Murder, Culpable Homicide, Causing Death by Negligence, Dowry Deaths, Abetment of Suicide, Attempt to Commit Murder, Attempt to commit Culpable Homicide, Attempt to Commit Suicide, Miscarriage, Infanticide, Foeticide and Abandonment, Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty, Exploitation of Trafficked Person, Kidnapping and Abduction, Rape, Attempt to Commit Rape, and others

The sixteen states participating in the NVDRS (of the CDC) are Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Note the higher suicide incidence rates for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 [3]. The data is available up to 12/2013, but recorded as of 10/2016, due to reporting lags. The last row in Table 3 also shows the percentage of suicides triggered by financial problems affecting the agent. Information similar to Table 2 shows the occurrence of murder-suicides as a joint event and can be found in the supporting information S2 Table.

Detailed listing of all U.S. Military Active Duty deaths for 2009

The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) collects data on violent deaths, i.e., suicides, homicides, and legal intervention, including terrorism-related incidents. The system also includes some other types of deaths, namely deaths due to undetermined intent and unintentional deaths due to firearms. One of the main reasons for including these types of deaths is that there is overlap in how these deaths are coded. For example, a particular poisoning case may be classified as an undetermined death in one state, but in a neighboring state, the same case may be coded as a suicide or an unintentional poisoning. NVDRS is an incident-based system that collects data from different data sources, including death certificates, coroner and medical examiner records, police reports, crime lab data, and child fatality review records. The system collects data on a violent incident, the deaths belonging to that incident, the injury mechanisms leading to death, and the alleged perpetrators (suspects) involved in the violent incident. The relationship of the victim to the suspect is also recorded, as are the relationships of each person to the injury mechanisms included. State health departments participating in NVDRS typically identify relevant violent deaths as their death certificates are filed and then establish the details of the cases from medical examiner, coroner, and law enforcement records. Data collection is ongoing as the source documents from the different data providers become available at different times and intervals. The data represent the violent incidents that occurred between January and December of that data year as submitted by the participating states.

The dataset originates from a study that used Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) to assess Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) symptoms in daily life among bereaved people whose loved one died due to potentially traumatic circumstances (i.e., homicide, suicide, accident). Participants completed ESM items on PGD as well as contextual factors (e.g., “who are you with?”) five times daily over a two-week period. Before and after the ESM phase, participants completed online surveys assessing among others their symptomatology of PGD, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression using retrospective measures. More information about the procedure can be found at: Pociūnaitė-Ott, J., & Lenferink, L. (2024). A FAIR intense longitudinal data archive on prolonged grief in daily life. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.12452.80004 This data is associated with: L.I.M. Lenferink; J. Pociūnaitė-Ott, 2025, "Grief in Daily life Archive (Grief-ID Archive)", https://doi.org/10.17026/SS/LNFAXI, DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, V2, UNF:6:lwOlVLKAoyhfY5H5PPiygw== [fileUNF]

The dataset originates from a study that used Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) to assess Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) symptoms in daily life among bereaved people whose loved one died due to potentially traumatic circumstances (i.e., homicide, suicide, accident). Participants completed ESM items on PGD as well as contextual factors (e.g., “who are you with?”) five times daily over a two-week period. Before and after the ESM phase, participants completed online surveys assessing among others their symptomatology of PGD, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression using retrospective measures. More information about the procedure can be found at: Pociūnaitė-Ott, J., & Lenferink, L. (2024). A FAIR intense longitudinal data archive on prolonged grief in daily life. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.12452.80004 This data is associated with: L.I.M. Lenferink; J. Pociūnaitė-Ott, 2025, "Grief in Daily life Archive (Grief-ID Archive)", https://doi.org/10.17026/SS/LNFAXI, DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, V2, UNF:6:lwOlVLKAoyhfY5H5PPiygw== [fileUNF]

This 2022 crime data is the list of crimes that the Syracuse Police Department responded to in 2022. These records does not include rape offenses as well as any crimes that have been sealed by the court. Crimes are reported to the FBI in two major categories under the Uniform Crime Reports specification: Part 1 and Part 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes include criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. In these records, rape offenses have been excluded due to victim privacy concerns.Part 2 crimes include all other offenses. A more detailed guide to Part 1 crimes is listed below. More details about Part 2 Crimes is listed in the Part 2 Crimes Dataset.When using the data, the date and time provided are when the crime was actually reported. This means that though a larceny might be reported at noon, the actual crime could have happened at 8am, but was not realized until someone noticed hours later. Similarly, if a home break-in happens during a holiday weekend when the owners are out of town, the crime report may not come in until they return home and notice the crime took place previously. The address in the dataset is where the crime occurred. The location is also anonymized to the block level, so a crime that occurred at 123 Main St. will appear as occurring on the 100 block of Main St. This is to protect the privacy of all involved. Finally, information about crimes is fluid, and details about the crime could change.Data DictionaryDR Number - Department Report (DR) number is a unique number assigned by the Records Management System, the first two numbers identify the year in which the incident was reported.Time start and time end - Listed in military time (2400) - Burglaries and larcenies are often a time frame. Address - Where the crime occurred. All addresses are in the 100’s because the Syracuse Police Department allows privacy for residents and only lists the block number.Code Defined - Offense names are listed as crime categories group for ease of understanding. There may have been other offenses also, but the one displayed is the highest Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) category.Arrest - Means that there was an arrest, but not necessarily for that crime.Larceny Code - Indicates the type of larceny (Example: From Building or From Motor Vehicle).DisclaimerData derived from the Syracuse Police Department record management system, any data not listed is not currently available.Part I Crime DefinitionsCriminal homicide—a.) Murder and non-negligent manslaughter: the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded. The program classifies justifiable homicides separately and limits the definition to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; or (2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen. b.) Manslaughter by negligence: the killing of another person through gross negligence. Deaths of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities are not included in the category Manslaughter by Negligence. Robbery—The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. Aggravated assault—An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Simple assaults are excluded. Burglary (breaking or entering)—The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included. Larceny-theft (except motor vehicle theft)—The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting, pocket picking, or the stealing of any property or article that is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, check fraud, etc., are excluded. Motor vehicle theft—The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on land surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.

This 2017 crime data is the list of crimes that the Syracuse Police Department responded to in 2017. These records does not include rape offenses as well as any crimes that have been sealed by the court. Crimes are reported to the FBI in two major categories under the Uniform Crime Reports specification: Part 1 and Part 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes include criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. In these records, rape offenses have been excluded due to victim privacy concerns.Part 2 crimes include all other offenses. A more detailed guide to Part 1 crimes is listed below. More details about Part 2 Crimes is listed in the Part 2 Crimes Dataset.When using the data, the date and time provided are when the crime was actually reported. This means that though a larceny might be reported at noon, the actual crime could have happened at 8am, but was not realized until someone noticed hours later. Similarly, if a home break-in happens during a holiday weekend when the owners are out of town, the crime report may not come in until they return home and notice the crime took place previously. The address in the dataset is where the crime occurred. The location is also anonymized to the block level, so a crime that occurred at 123 Main St. will appear as occurring on the 100 block of Main St. This is to protect the privacy of all involved. Finally, information about crimes is fluid, and details about the crime could change.Data DictionaryDR Number - Department Report (DR) number is a unique number assigned by the Records Management System, the first two numbers identify the year in which the incident was reported.Time start and time end - Listed in military time (2400) - Burglaries and larcenies are often a time frame. Address - Where the crime occurred. All addresses are in the 100’s because the Syracuse Police Department allows privacy for residents and only lists the block number.Code Defined - Offense names are listed as crime categories group for ease of understanding. There may have been other offenses also, but the one displayed is the highest Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) category.Arrest - Means that there was an arrest, but not necessarily for that crime.Larceny Code - Indicates the type of larceny (Example: From Building or From Motor Vehicle).DisclaimerData derived from the Syracuse Police Department record management system, any data not listed is not currently available.Part I Crime DefinitionsCriminal homicide—a.) Murder and non-negligent manslaughter: the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded. The program classifies justifiable homicides separately and limits the definition to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; or (2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen. b.) Manslaughter by negligence: the killing of another person through gross negligence. Deaths of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities are not included in the category Manslaughter by Negligence. Robbery—The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. Aggravated assault—An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Simple assaults are excluded. Burglary (breaking or entering)—The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included. Larceny-theft (except motor vehicle theft)—The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting, pocket picking, or the stealing of any property or article that is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, check fraud, etc., are excluded. Motor vehicle theft—The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on land surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.

This 2022 crime data is a list of offenses reported to the Syracuse Police Department (SPD), that were reported to have occurred in 2022. These records do not include rape offenses or any crimes that have been sealed by the court. These records are derived from the records management system utilized by the SPD.The data is then anonymized by SPD Crime Analysts weekly. After this data is received weekly from the SPD, it is updated on the Open Data Portal.Crimes are reported to the FBI in two major categories under the Uniform Crime Reports specification: Part 1 and Part 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes include criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. In these records, rape offenses have been excluded due to victim privacy concerns.Part 2 crimes include all other offenses. A more detailed guide to Part 1 crimes is listed below. More details about Part 2 Crimes is listed in the Part 2 Crimes Dataset.When using the data, the date and time provided are when the crime was actually reported. This means that though a larceny might be reported at noon, the actual crime could have happened at 8am, but was not realized until someone noticed hours later. Similarly, if a home break-in happens during a holiday weekend when the owners are out of town, the crime report may not come in until they return home and notice the crime took place previously. The address in the dataset is where the crime occurred. The location is also anonymized to the block level, so a crime that occurred at 123 Main St. will appear as occurring on the 100 block of Main St. This is to protect the privacy of all involved. Finally, information about crimes is fluid, and details about the crime could change.Data DictionaryDate End - Date that the crime was reported. It could have happened earlier. This is in the format of DD-MON-YY (Ex. 01-Jan-22).Time start and time end - Listed in military time (2400) - Burglaries and larcenies are often a time frame. Address - Where the crime occurred. All addresses are in the 100’s because the Syracuse Police Department allows privacy for residents and only lists the block number.Code Defined - Offense names are listed as crime categories group for ease of understanding. There may have been other offenses also, but the one displayed is the highest Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) category.Arrest - Means that there was an arrest, but not necessarily for that crime.Larceny Code - Indicates the type of larceny (Example: From Building or From Motor Vehicle).DisclaimerData derived from the Syracuse Police Department record management system, any data not listed is not currently available.Part I Crime DefinitionsCriminal homicide—a.) Murder and non-negligent manslaughter: the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded. The program classifies justifiable homicides separately and limits the definition to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; or (2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen. b.) Manslaughter by negligence: the killing of another person through gross negligence. Deaths of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities are not included in the category Manslaughter by Negligence. Robbery—The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. Aggravated assault—An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Simple assaults are excluded. Burglary (breaking or entering)—The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included. Larceny-theft (except motor vehicle theft)—The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting, pocket picking, or the stealing of any property or article that is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, check fraud, etc., are excluded. Motor vehicle theft—The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on land surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.