“As of May 10, there have been four shootings in the United States in which four or more victims died this year, compared with 11 at the same juncture last year. It’s the lowest incident count over the first four months of a year since at least 2006, when researchers started the Mass Killing Database, which is maintained by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

The drop builds on year over year data, which shows that mass shootings declined from 39 in 2023 to 30 in 2024.

A similar pattern has emerged for mass shootings with fewer or no fatalities. According to the Gun Violence Archive, shootings with at least four victims killed or wounded declined from 659 in 2023 to 503 last year, a 24 percent drop. By May 10, the numbers plunged further, from 152 last year to 106 this year.

Of course, the heartening although short-term trend over the last 16 months does not guarantee safer days ahead. In 2023, America experienced the highest number of deadly mass shootings on record. It may just be a case of criminological gravity — what goes up eventually comes down.

Even so, the drop underscores an often-misunderstood fact about deadly mass shootings: They have not skyrocketed over the past couple of decades, especially considering the growth in population.”

From Washington Post.