Culture
The Geography of Mass Shootings
Since 1982, mass shootings have spared few regions of America.
On Sunday night, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of festival goers in Las Vegas, killing at least 59 and injuring hundreds of others. The event has been named the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The maps below chronicle each mass shooting that has occurred in the U.S. since 1982. Using data collected by Mother Jones, we have mapped the spread of these shootings, both geographically and by number. “Mass shooting” is defined as an incident during which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are killed during a single attack in a public place. This is one of the more conservative counts—the data does not include shootings that took place during conventional crimes, like armed theft or gang violence.