The FBI defines a “mass killing” as four or more victims. This surprised me: mass killings happen about every two weeks in the US. There have been over 200 mass killings in the US since 2006.
A few other happy thoughts for the day:
- Most mass killings involve breakups, estrangements, and family arguments.
- 16% are public killings (like Newtown, Aurora, Columbine).
- 25% involve a breakup
- 57% of victims know their killer.
- 25% are close family members
- 75% of the guns used are handguns. Semi-auto rifles (like at Newtown) are used only 8.6% of the time–the same as shotguns, but less often than single-shot rifles (9.5%).
- About 33% of killers don’t leave the scene alive. A quarter commit suicide at the scene, the rest are killed by police.
- 94% of killers are men.
- Average age: 31 for men, 33 for women.
