Updated Apr 27, 2020 - Politics & Policy

The deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history

People watch the procession carrying the body of Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus, who was killed in the Thousand Oaks mass shooting. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

The death toll from last August's shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has risen to 23, officials confirmed Sunday. The attack is one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.

The big picture: Mass shootings are becoming deadlier. The deadliest shooting 10 years ago left 16 people dead. The toll from the 2017 shooting at Las Vegas hotel is 59.

America's deadliest modern mass shootings
  1. Route 91 Harvest music festival, Las Vegas, October 2, 2017: 59 killed, 526 injured.
  2. Pulse, Orlando, Fla., June 2016: 49 killed and more than 50 injured.
  3. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va., April 2007: 32 killed and 17 injured on campus.
  4. Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn., December 2012: 26 killed.
  5. First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas, November 2017: 26 killed.
  6. Luby's Cafeteria, Killeen, Texas, October 1991: 23 killed.
  7. Walmart, El Paso, Texas, August 3, 2019: 23 killed, 26 injured.
  8. McDonald's, San Ysdiro, Calif., July 1984: 21 killed.
  9. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Fla., February 2018: 17 killed.
  10. University of Texas Tower, Austin, Texas, August 1966: 16 killed around campus.
  11. Inland Regional Center, San Bernardino, Calif., December 2015: 14 killed.
  12. Edmond post office, Edmond, Okla., August 1986: 14 killed.
  13. Fort Hood, Fort Hood, Texas, November 2009: 13 killed.
  14. Columbine High School, Littleton, Colo., April 1999: 13 killed.
  15. Binghamton Civic Association, Binghamton, N.Y., April 2009: 13 killed.
  16. New Jersey neighborhood and local shops, Camden, N.J, September 1949: 13 killed.
  17. Schoolhouse Lane neighborhood and Heather Highlands Mobile Home Village, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., September 1982: 13 killed.
  18. Wah Mee club in the Louisa hotel, Seattle, Wash., February 1983: 13 killed.
  19. Century 16 movie theater, Aurora, Colo., July 2012: 12 killed, 58 wounded.
  20. Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., September 2013: 12 killed, 8 wounded.
  21. The Borderline Bar & Grill, Thousand Oaks, Calif., November 2018: 12 killed, several wounded.
  22. Virginia Beach Municipal Center, Virginia Beach, Va., May 31, 2019: 12 killed.

This article was first published in October 2017 and has been updated several times after more recent shootings. The Vegas and El Paso tolls were updated in November 2019 and April 2020, respectively, after the victims died of injuries sustained in the attacks.

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