We're now averaging more than one mass shooting per day
KTVU - On August 26, a gunman shot and killed his former coworkers, a TV reporter and cameraman, while they were reporting live in Roanoke, Virginia. It was the 238th day of 2015. That day the murders of Allison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, brought the number of mass shootings in the U.S. to 247, according to data aggregated by online researchers.
That means the U.S. is now averaging more than one mass shooting per day in 2015 thus far.
The data was compiled by moderators of a subreddit feed called “Guns are Cool,” which lists the data on a website called Mass Shootings Tracker. Each listed shooting incident is connected to a link that connects users back to online news reports from various news organizations from around the country. The referenced sources include local and national TV, newspapers, and online news outlets.
The creators of the data are defining “mass shooting” as any single shooting incident in which four people or more are shot, including the gunman. This differs from the FBI’s definition, which requires that at least three people be killed by gunfire. However, some recent high-profile shooting incidents do not meet the FBI’s criteria, but are included in the Mass Shooting Tracker online list. For example, the shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana would not meet the FBI criteria because, although eleven people were shot by John Russell Houser, only two died. The other nine victims suffered gunshot wounds – multiple times in some cases – but survived.