Jan 22, 2024 - News
Mass shootings were up in Massachusetts last year
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There were seven mass shootings in Massachusetts in 2023, making last year one of the deadlier years of the last decade.
Zoom in: At least 34 people were killed or injured in mass shootings in Massachusetts last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
- This has gone up from recent years, with 3 mass shootings in 2022 and 4 in 2021.
- 2020 saw eight mass shootings.
- The organization defines mass shootings as an instance of at least four victims killed or injured by gunfire, not including the shooter.
Zoom out: Nationally, 656 mass shootings took place in 2023. Since 2014, the only year higher than this was in 2021 when there were 689, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
- There were 712 mass shooting-related victims killed and 2,692 victims injured in 2023.
The big picture: Massachusetts reported far fewer mass shootings than some other states, like Texas (65,) California (50) and Illinois (51.)
- Virginia also had seven mass shootings in 2023.
- Iowa reported only one incident. Oregon and Utah reported two.