The FBI has just published new research that concludes the frequency and lethality of mass shootings has increased from 2000 to 2012. Check it out here:
http://leb.fbi.gov/...
This is an "FYI" diary meant to get this new out and not report a detailed analysis of the results.
Key takeaways:
1. The number of events is increasing
2. The number of people killed in these events is increasing
A few choice quotes from the report:
Figure 1 presents the frequency of ASEs by year. The dotted trendline shows a definite increase over the past 12 years. In fact, the number of events drastically increased following 2008. The rate at which these events occurred went from approximately 1 every other month between 2000 and 2008 (5 per year) to more than 1 per month between 2009 and 2012 (almost 16 per year) The authors’ tracking also indicates that this increased rate has continued into 2013—more specifically, there were 15 events. .
And this:
Figure 2 shows the number of people shot and the number of people killed for each year. Here again the trend line shows a definite increase. The authors’ tracking indicated that there were 72 people shot and 39 killed in 2013.
There is lots more to pour over in this report, including the location of mass shootings, law enforcement performance, shooter profile and equipment, data set, the methodology, etc. - go for it:
http://leb.fbi.gov/...
9:32 AM PT: Another key takeaway, especially in light of the recent Fed court decisions in Conn. and NY that upheld all and most of all of the gun safety policies (including AWBs) enacted post Sandy Hook - rifles were used in 25% of mass shootings, in other words, it seems assault rifles are showing up at the scene of the crime (seems because there is no breakout of the subsets in report summary), and here is the data to prove it:
"Figure 6 shows the most powerful weapon that shooters brought to the attack site. In about 60 percent of the attacks the most powerful weapon used was a pistol. In 8 percent it was a shotgun, and the most powerful weapon used was a rifle in about 25 percent of the cases. Shooters brought multiple weapons in about one-third of the attacks. Perpetrators brought improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to the attack site in 3 percent of the cases and wore body armor in 5 percent."