Mass killings in 2025 in the US hit the lowest level since 2006

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press A shooting last weekend at a children s birthday party in California that left four dead was the th mass killing this year the lowest number recorded since according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA In current times in partnership with Northeastern University Related Articles Michael and Susan Dell pump B into Trump accounts for children Northeast prepares for first major snowstorm of season Russia and the US threatened to resume nuclear testing after several decades Here is why it matters Currently in History December Terror attack on San Bernardino holiday party kills White House says admiral ordered boat strikes Experts warn that the drop doesn t necessarily mean safer days are here to stay and that it could merely represent a return to average levels Sir Isaac Newton never studied crime but he says What goes up must come down commented James Alan Fox a criminologist at Northeastern University The current drop in numbers is more likely what statisticians call a regression to the mean he explained representing a return to more average crime levels after an peculiar spike in mass killings in and Will see a decline Fox noted I wouldn t bet on it What goes down must also go back up The mass killings defined as incidents in which four or more people are killed in a -hour period not including the killer are tracked in the database maintained by The Associated Press and USA In current times in partnership with Northeastern University Fox who manages the database says mass killings were down about this year compared to which was also about a drop compared to Mass killings are rare and that means the numbers are volatile mentioned James Densley a professor of at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota Because there s only a meager dozen mass killings in a year a small change could look like a wave or a collapse when really it s just a return to more typical levels Densley disclosed looks really good in historical context but we can t pretend like that means the obstacle is gone for good Decline in rates of homicide and violent crime might be a factor But there are specific things that might be contributing to the drop Densley reported including an overall decline in homicide and violent crime rates which peaked during the COVID- pandemic Improvements in the immediate response to mass shootings and other mass casualty incidents could also be playing a part he mentioned We had the horrible Annunciation School shooting here in Minnesota back in August and that situation wouldn t even fit the mass killing definition because there were only two people killed but over injured Densley announced But I happen to know from the response on the ground here that the reason only two people were killed is because of the bleeding control and trauma response by the first responders And it happened on the doorsteps of various of the best children s hospitals in the country Crime is complex and academics are not great at assessing the reasons behind crime rate changes noted Eric Madfis a professor of criminal justice at University of Washington-Tacoma It s multicausal It s never going to be just one thing People are still debating why homicide rates went down in the s Madfis mentioned It is true that gun violence and gun violence deaths are down but we still have exceedingly high rates and numbers of mass shootings compared to anywhere else in the world More states are dedicating funding to school threat assessments with states mandating the practice in up-to-date years Madfis disclosed and that could be preventing particular school shootings though it wouldn t have an impact on mass killings elsewhere None of the mass killings recorded in the database so far in took place in schools and only one mass killing at a school was recorded in The greater part of those who die in mass killings are shot About of this year s mass killings involved a firearm Since people have died in mass killings and of them were shooting casualties Christopher Carita a former detective with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and a senior training specialist with gun safety organization Percent noted the Safer Communities Act passed in included millions of dollars of funding for gun violence protection programs Particular states used the money to create social supports for people at danger of committing violence and others used it for things like law enforcement and threat assessment programs That flexibility has been key to reducing gun violence rates he announced It s invariably been framed as either a gun obstacle or a people predicament and that s been very contentious Carita mentioned I feel like for the first time we re looking at gun violence as a both and matter nationally Focusing on extreme events like mass killings runs the danger of missing the forest for the trees revealed Emma Fridel an assistant professor of criminology at Florida State University If you look at the deaths from firearms both in homicides and suicides the numbers are staggering We lose the same number of people every year to gun violence as the number of casualties we experienced in the Korean War The number one cause of death for children is guns Mass killings should be viewed as one part of the issue rather than the outcome of interest she declared