Two more deadly mass shootings in the United States over the weekend brought the nation to 38 such incidents in 2023, the most of any year since 2006, according to data collected by The Washington Post. The Post, which keeps its own composite database and defines a mass shooting as a “mass killing with a gun” in which four or more victims are killed, reported that last year’s number—36—was the previous record. The weekend’s shootings occurred in Texas and Washington, and brought the 2023 death total to 197, not counting the gunmen, which in itself is another grim record. Another 91 people were wounded across the 38 shootings. The “tragic, shameful milestone” should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers, crime researcher Thomas Abt, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland and founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction, told the Post. “The rise in mass shootings is driven by many factors, but increasingly easy access to firearms is the primary cause.”
