FBI: Active Shootings Are Getting More Common
The FBI released a grim study on Wednesday, detailing 160 active shooter incidents in the US from 2000 to 2013.
The study, which began this year, was commissioned in an effort to help first responders “better prepare for and respond to these incidents, saving more lives and keeping themselves safer in the process,’’ according to the FBI.
The Bureau found that active shootings are increasing, with an average of 11.4 incidents per year. Other trends in the data showed that all but six incidents involved male shooters and 90 of the 160 incidents ended on the shooter’s initiative.
This chart shows the number of annual active shooting incidents.
The average number of annual active shootings more than doubled from 6.4 incidents in the first seven years of the studied range, to 16.4 annual incidents in the final seven years.
Excluding the shooters, people 486 were killed and 557 were wounded in the shootings. Nine of those killed were police officers. The list of 160 incidents included shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Fort Hood, Virginia Tech, Washington Navy Yard, and the Aurora movie theater.
Nearly three quarters of the shootings took place in one of two types of settings: commercial environments (45.6 percent) and educational environments (24.3 percent).
Special Agent Katherine Schweit, who heads the FBI’s Active Shooter Initiative, said she hopes the study demonstrates the need for “enhanced preparation’’ from law enforcement, first responders, and civilians.
According to the FBI’s release, the Bureau’s behavioral analysis unit will use the results of the study evaluate the shooters’ motivations in an effort to aid in nationwide prevention efforts.
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