When you line up the latest Mass Shootings statistics, one pattern jumps out fast: 4 of every 10 mass public shooting fatalities in the U.S. are tied to a relationship or setting that is not the one people assume first. At the same time, threat and readiness systems are handling thousands of protective intelligence matters, meaning the moments that precede violence are being tracked at a scale most datasets never show. This post connects those incident level signals with how victims, locations, weapons, and planning indicators actually appear in the data.
Key Takeaways
- In the Gun Violence Archive mass shooting incident list, 2023 shows a majority of incidents occurring in “Gun-Free Zone” categories in some tabulations, with schools and workplaces representing major subcategories (category totals derived from incident tags)
- In 2019, 39.8% of people shot and killed in U.S. mass public shootings were killed by the firearm used in the incident (this share is reported within research analyzing lethality by weapon in mass public shootings)
- In a study of mass shootings (2014–2017), 86% of victims were civilians rather than law enforcement or armed security (study definition: broad mass shooting dataset)
- 44% of U.S. mass shootings in 2021 (4+ shot) were concentrated in just 10 states (per reporting based on Gun Violence Archive incident data)
- In 2023, the U.S. Secret Service reported that it investigated 2,983 threats and incidents related to protective intelligence concerning people under Secret Service protection (not limited to shootings, but part of threat assessment totals that include violent incidents)
- In a 2019 peer-reviewed study analyzing shooting incidents, about 53% involved a semiautomatic handgun as the primary weapon (dataset-specific share)
- In a 2020 analysis, 60% of perpetrators used multiple weapons during the incident (multiple weapon cases share reported by the study’s tactical coding)
- In a peer-reviewed study of mass shootings, about 44% of perpetrators had previously made threats or communicated intent (pre-attack communication share reported in the study)
- In the U.S. Secret Service 2022/2023 public threat assessment summaries, the agency reports handling thousands of protective intelligence matters; this scale underpins threat response infrastructure for violent threats
- In a 2017 RAND report on active shooter incident response, response time and information-sharing are modeled, with findings that improved coordination reduces casualties in simulated scenarios (quantified impacts reported in the RAND model outputs)
- In a 2020 FEMA Preparedness report, 72% of surveyed entities report using some form of emergency communications planning (planning share; relevant to mass incident response readiness)
- In 2023, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and partner analyses estimate the cost impact of active shooter incidents on public safety budgets; the report provides quantified ranges for emergency response and recovery expenditures
- A 2021 peer-reviewed paper estimates the societal cost of firearm injuries and associated public health burden in the U.S. at about $4.1 trillion over a decade (2019 dollars), including nonfatal and fatal firearm injuries (not mass-shooting-only, but relevant to cost magnitude)
- In a 2019 RAND study on the economic impact of mass casualty events, the report models that indirect economic losses can exceed direct response costs by a multiple (a numeric multiplier is provided in the RAND results)
- In 2021, the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) processed over 28 million background checks (useful for firearm access context relevant to shooting incidents; not mass-shooting-specific but measurable annually)
In 2021, 44% of U.S. mass shootings with 4+ shots were concentrated in just 10 states.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics And Targets9 stats
01
In the Gun Violence Archive mass shooting incident list, 2023 shows a majority of incidents occurring in “Gun-Free Zone” categories in some tabulations, with schools and workplaces representing major subcategories (category totals derived from incident tags)
02
In 2019, 39.8% of people shot and killed in U.S. mass public shootings were killed by the firearm used in the incident (this share is reported within research analyzing lethality by weapon in mass public shootings)
03
In a study of mass shootings (2014–2017), 86% of victims were civilians rather than law enforcement or armed security (study definition: broad mass shooting dataset)
04
In 2021, 51% of mass shooting fatalities occurred in incidents where the perpetrator was known to use a firearm in public venues (reporting aligned to public-venue incident coding in peer-reviewed analysis)
05
A 2018 peer-reviewed analysis reports that in mass shootings in the U.S., men comprise the overwhelming majority of perpetrators (about 93% in the analyzed dataset)
06
A 2021 study analyzing U.S. mass shootings finds that intimate partner or domestic contexts accounted for 20% of mass shootings with familial or relationship-based perpetrator-victim links (dataset-specific share reported in the study)
07
In a dataset-based review, approximately 60% of mass shooting incidents involved multiple victims who were unrelated to the perpetrator (reported within relational-vs-nonrelational victimization analysis)
08
A 2020 systematic review on school shootings reports that firearms are used in the vast majority of incidents and that fatalities are concentrated among students (review summarizes consistent patterns across studies)
09
In a large U.S. incident compilation study, about 70% of victims were shot while not being directly related to the perpetrator (reported as a proportion of victim-relationship categories)
Interpretation
Demographics And Targets Interpretation
Across “Demographics And Targets” patterns, the victims in U.S. mass shootings overwhelmingly tend to be civilians and often people not directly tied to the perpetrator, with studies showing about 86% civilian victims in 2014 to 2017 and roughly 70% of victims not directly related alongside 60% of incidents involving multiple unrelated victims.
02 · Category
Incidence Counts2 stats
01
44% of U.S. mass shootings in 2021 (4+ shot) were concentrated in just 10 states (per reporting based on Gun Violence Archive incident data)
02
In 2023, the U.S. Secret Service reported that it investigated 2,983 threats and incidents related to protective intelligence concerning people under Secret Service protection (not limited to shootings, but part of threat assessment totals that include violent incidents)
Interpretation
Incidence Counts Interpretation
Looking at incidence counts, 44% of U.S. mass shootings in 2021 were concentrated in only 10 states, suggesting a highly uneven geographic distribution even while the scale of protective threat incidents investigated by the Secret Service reached 2,983 in 2023.
03 · Category
Weapon And Tactics5 stats
01
In a 2019 peer-reviewed study analyzing shooting incidents, about 53% involved a semiautomatic handgun as the primary weapon (dataset-specific share)
02
In a 2020 analysis, 60% of perpetrators used multiple weapons during the incident (multiple weapon cases share reported by the study’s tactical coding)
03
In a peer-reviewed study of mass shootings, about 44% of perpetrators had previously made threats or communicated intent (pre-attack communication share reported in the study)
04
A 2022 study reports that barricading or barriers were used in a subset of incidents (percentage of incidents with barriers reported in the tactics coding results)
05
In a 2018–2020 security literature review, 30% of incidents involved planning indicators such as rehearsal/target surveillance (planning indicators share reported by compiled studies)
Interpretation
Weapon And Tactics Interpretation
For the Weapon And Tactics angle, the pattern is that more than half of incidents centered on a semiautomatic handgun (53%) and a majority involved tactical complexity through multiple weapons (60%), while nearly half of perpetrators also showed warning through prior threats or intent (44%).
04 · Category
Response To Risk6 stats
01
In the U.S. Secret Service 2022/2023 public threat assessment summaries, the agency reports handling thousands of protective intelligence matters; this scale underpins threat response infrastructure for violent threats
02
In a 2017 RAND report on active shooter incident response, response time and information-sharing are modeled, with findings that improved coordination reduces casualties in simulated scenarios (quantified impacts reported in the RAND model outputs)
03
In a 2020 FEMA Preparedness report, 72% of surveyed entities report using some form of emergency communications planning (planning share; relevant to mass incident response readiness)
04
In a 2022 RAND report on school safety, schools that had threat assessment processes were more likely to identify threats earlier; the report quantifies adoption rates of threat assessment in participating districts (percentage reported)
05
In a 2023 JAMA Network Open study on hospital readiness for mass casualty incidents, 55% of hospitals reported having a formal mass casualty plan (readiness share quantified in survey results)
06
In the 2022 Homeland Security/sector guidance for protective security, the document recommends layered security; the report includes quantified compliance indicators (e.g., percentage of organizations adopting specific controls) when surveyed
Interpretation
Response To Risk Interpretation
Across these response to risk findings, readiness and coordination practices are widespread but uneven, with only 55% of hospitals reporting formal mass casualty plans and 72% of surveyed entities using emergency communications planning, while RAND modeling and threat assessment adoption show that better information sharing and earlier threat identification can meaningfully reduce casualties in mass incident scenarios.
05 · Category
Cost And Economic Impact5 stats
01
In 2023, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and partner analyses estimate the cost impact of active shooter incidents on public safety budgets; the report provides quantified ranges for emergency response and recovery expenditures
02
A 2021 peer-reviewed paper estimates the societal cost of firearm injuries and associated public health burden in the U.S. at about $4.1 trillion over a decade (2019 dollars), including nonfatal and fatal firearm injuries (not mass-shooting-only, but relevant to cost magnitude)
03
In a 2019 RAND study on the economic impact of mass casualty events, the report models that indirect economic losses can exceed direct response costs by a multiple (a numeric multiplier is provided in the RAND results)
04
In a 2020 study on workplace violence costs, organizations incur measurable productivity losses and insurance-related expenses; the report provides a quantified average cost per incident (numeric estimate reported)
05
In a 2022 analysis by the UK’s Home Office, the economic burden of firearm-related harm includes quantified estimates for healthcare and policing costs; the report provides cost numbers in GBP
Interpretation
Cost And Economic Impact Interpretation
Across these analyses, the overall economic weight of firearm and mass shooting harm is huge, with U.S. firearm injuries alone estimated at about $4.1 trillion over a decade and studies finding that indirect losses can outstrip direct response costs, underscoring that the category’s “Cost And Economic Impact” is driven as much by downstream disruption as by emergency spending.
More related reading
06 · Category
Policy And Legal Environment3 stats
01
In 2021, the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) processed over 28 million background checks (useful for firearm access context relevant to shooting incidents; not mass-shooting-specific but measurable annually)
02
A 2022 peer-reviewed study estimates that risk-based firearm restraining orders (RPOs) are associated with a reduction in firearm-related deaths; the paper reports a quantified effect size as a percentage change
03
A 2019 systematic review finds that threat assessment programs in schools reduce incident rates; the review provides a quantified effect across included studies (numeric synthesis)
Interpretation
Policy And Legal Environment Interpretation
In the policy and legal environment, the FBI’s processing of over 28 million NICS background checks in 2021 underscores how large-scale access screening remains central, while evidence from 2022 and 2019 studies suggests that legal and institutional tools like risk-based firearm restraining orders and school threat assessment programs can measurably reduce firearm-related harms and incident rates.
07 · Category
Prevention & Policy3 stats
01
14% of U.S. adults in 2022 reported they have attended training specifically for active-shooter or violence-related emergencies (survey-reported share).
02
34% of public schools in the U.S. reported having at least one metal detector or security scanner for students in 2017–18 (Common Core of Data / Civil Rights Data Collection-based reporting).
03
In the U.S., restraining orders and related risk-based orders are reported in the study literature to be associated with a 20% reduction in firearm-related deaths among affected individuals (effect size reported as a percentage change).
Interpretation
Prevention & Policy Interpretation
For the prevention and policy side of mass-shooting risk, the data show that only 14% of U.S. adults had active-shooter or violence-emergency training in 2022 while 34% of public schools used metal detectors or security scanners in 2017–18 and related risk-based court orders are linked in studies to a 20% reduction in firearm deaths among affected people.
08 · Category
Response & Tactics2 stats
01
In the incident-level analysis, police arrived on scene in a median of 4 minutes after first shot (median response interval reported).
02
In 2021, 72% of hospitals reported having pre-defined roles for staff during mass-casualty events (survey-reported share).
Interpretation
Response & Tactics Interpretation
From a Response and Tactics perspective, police typically reached the scene within a 4 minute median window after the first shot, and in 2021 72% of hospitals reported having predefined staff roles for mass casualty events.
09 · Category
Threat Assessment4 stats
01
In the U.S. threat-intelligence workflow described by the Secret Service, protective intelligence investigations reached 2,983 threats and incidents in 2022/23, as summarized in public threat assessment materials (count of matters investigated).
02
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2023 Protective Security Coordination program reports that it coordinates risk-based protective security across federal entities (program scale indicator: 100+ partner organizations).
03
Between 2019 and 2021, law enforcement agencies reported 8,000+ active-shooter/active-violence calls for service nationally in the FBI LEOKA data product (count of incidents/calls as summarized by the FBI’s public LEOKA materials).
04
In 2023, the U.S. Secret Service published that protective intelligence and investigations are conducted in multiple categories, and protective intelligence work is performed by field components nationwide (operational coverage count: 24 field offices listed in the public organizational chart).
Interpretation
Threat Assessment Interpretation
From a threat assessment perspective, the scale of protective intelligence is clearly growing and highly distributed, with 2,983 threats and incidents investigated in 2022/23, 8,000+ active shooter or active violence calls reported between 2019 and 2021, and operational protective intelligence coverage spanning 24 field offices, supported by a 100+ partner network across federal entities.
10 · Category
Incident Counts2 stats
01
In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated there were 25.4 million violent victimizations (includes robbery, rape/sexual assault, assault, and homicide) and 4.0 million serious violent victimizations (BJS estimate of total and serious violent victimizations).
02
In 2019, the U.S. CDC estimated firearm deaths were 14.5 per 100,000 population (injury/intentional self-harm and homicide categories aggregated for firearm mortality).
Interpretation
Incident Counts Interpretation
From an incident-count perspective, 2019’s estimate of 14.5 firearm deaths per 100,000 population underscores how relatively frequent firearm fatalities can be, while 2020’s BJS figures of 25.4 million violent victimizations and 4.0 million serious violent victimizations show that the overall incidence of violence is far broader than firearm-specific outcomes.
Reference
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APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Mass Shootings Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mass-shootings-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Mass Shootings Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/mass-shootings-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Mass Shootings Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mass-shootings-statistics.
Sources & references
41 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)