Mass shootings soar to at least 336 incidents and counting

Mass shootings are skyrocketing amid the coronavirus lockdown, with more attacks so far in 2020 than usually occur over the span of an entire year.

As of Thursday, 336 mass shootings have been documented across the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent research group. The number of mass shootings, which is defined as four or more victims, not including the shooter, is already greater than the total 269 killed in all of 2014, 335 in 2015, and within single digits of the 2017 and 2018 annual numbers. Last year was the record for the most mass shootings in a single year, though 2020 is on track to surpass it by September if current monthly trends continue.

The number of mass shootings ranged from 26 to 28 in each month between January and April, surged to 50 in May, skyrocketed to 92 in June, and sits at 76 in July, with one more day left in the month. Stay-at-home orders commenced in mid-March and remained in effect through most of April. Some states have rescinded them, while others have continued or tightened them after initially loosening the orders.