Jan 22, 2024 - News
Mass shootings rose in Pennsylvania last year
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Pennsylvania had 35 mass shootings last year, according to new data from the research group Gun Violence Archive.
Why it matters: The new data reflects the state's ongoing gun violence crisis.
By the numbers: Statewide mass shootings left at least 35 people dead and another 134 injured.
- Mass shootings have remained relatively level in recent years, numbering 34 in 2022 and 35 in 2021.
Yes, but: Pennsylvania had a spike starting in 2020, as numbers hovered between 10-19 from 2014-2019 before rising to 34 in 2020.
Zoom out: Nationally, 656 mass shootings took place in 2023, Axios' Sareen Habeshian reports.
- Since 2014, the only year higher was in 2021 when there were 689, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Zoom in: Philadelphia accounted for the bulk of the state's mass shootings (21), per the Gun Violence Archive.
- That included July 2023 in Kingsessing, when a shooter used an AR-15 assault rifle to fire "aimlessly" at vehicles and people. The case was put on hold after the suspect, Kimbrady Carriker, was deemed unfit for trial.