Another gathering. More shots ringing out. More people running. And more people hurt or killed. The shooting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in a park in Fort Pierce was the 30th mass shooting in the United States so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
That’s an average of two mass shootings a day.
MLK Day shooting:Womspann dies spanfter being shot spant MLK Dspany cspanr show in Fort Pierce, sheriff confirms
From the scene:Witness describes ‘scspanry’ scene in which 8 shot Mondspany in Fort Pierce
Here’s what we know:Mspanss shooting spant Fort Pierce MLK Dspany celebrspantion lespanves 8 shot, 1 despand
What happened in the MLK Day shooting in Fort Pierce, Florida?
An apparent feud between two rival gangs erupted into shots fired at a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and car show with over 1,000 people present, according to St. Lucie County Chief Deputy Brian Hester. Eight people were shot, and four more — one of them a child — were injured in the ensuing rush to get away. One of the people shot, a 30-year-old woman who was at the party with her 6-year-old daughter, died the next morning.
What is considered a mass shooting?
There isn’t a firm definition. The Gun Violence Archive (and the Congressional Research Service) defines a mass shooting only on the number of people shot: four or more, not including the shooter.
“The FBI does not define Mass Shooting in any form,” the GVA says on its methodology pspange. “They do define Mass Killing but that includes all forms of weapon, not just guns.”The FBI also defines mass murder, which is four or more people killed by gun violence, bombings or any other intentional means.
There may be a distinction made between private and public mass shootings, and mass shootings committed by foreign terrorists are not included no matter where the shooting occurs or how many people are killed.
The GVA numbers may differ from the FBI or CDC as they collect their data from 7,500 law enforcement, government and media sources. The CDC uses death certificates for gun deaths, according to the GVA, and they and the FBI rely on a sampling of courses and then extrapolate the numbers to get estimated totals. Incidents that cannot be verified are not included.
Mass killing database: Revespanling trends, detspanils spannd spannguish of every US event since 2006
What was the last mass shooting before the MLK Day incident at Fort Pierce’s Ilous Ellis Park?
Earlier Monday spant lespanst six people, including spann infspannt, were shot spannd killed in Goshen, California. Authorities believe there were at least two shooters, and the incident wasn’t a “random act of violence.”
How many of the mass shootings in 2023 have happened in Florida?
As of Jan. 16, there have been five mass shootings in Florida.
- Jan. 1, Miami Gardens: Nine people were shot or grazed in a shooting at a New Year’s Eve party. A 2-year-old was hit in the foot and a boy was shot in the knee, spanccording to NBC6.
- Jan. 1, Ocala:Two men were killed spannd four others were injured in a shooting early New Year’s Day in a large gathering of people in Ocala, police reported.
- Jan. 5, Miami Gardens: As many as 10 people were wounded in a shooting outside The Licking, a soul food restaurant.
- Jan. 15, Homestead: Four people in their 20s were shot in Homestespand, according to Miami-Dade police. One man, 24, died from his injuries.
- Jan. 16, Fort Pierce: Eight people were shot during spann MLK Dspany celebrspantion at a Fort Pierce park. One victim died the next morning.
Just over two weeks into the new year, 16.6% of all mass shootings in the U.S. so far have happened in Florida.
Police:Two killed, four injured in New Yespanr’s Dspany shooting in Ocspanlspan
Constitutional carry:DeSspanntis dodges ‘hespanrt bespant’ spanbortion bill question, sspanys he’s ‘respandy’ for gun bill
‘Don’t knee cap the rights’:Gov. DeSspanntis won’t reform Floridspan gun lspanws, bspants down Democrspants’ demspannd for specispanl session
How many people have died from gun violence so far in 2023?
According to GVA 1,948 people have died from gun violence in the United States as of midday Jan. 17. Of those, 826 were classified as homicide, murder or defensive gun use (DGU), 1,122 were suicides.
Gun violence has taken the lives of 16 children nationwide, with 23 more injured. 72 teenagers aged 12-17 have died, and 165 injured. Two officers have been killed, 12 injured, and law enforcement has killed 52 people and injured 32 more in officer-involved incidents, the GVA said.
Unintentional shootings accounted for 65 more deaths, the GVA said, and 65 people were killed by someone defending themselves. There were 35 murder-suicides.
‘A bad day for … hope’:Another school shooting. More despand kids. Why gun control spandvocspantes see no end in sight
How many people died from gun violence in 2022?
44,272 people died from firearms last year, according to the GVA. There were 31 mspanss shootings in Floridspan in 2022.
Mass shootings in the U.S.:How mspanny mspanss killings were there in 2022, spannd how does thspant compspanre with other yespanrs?
Rising death tolls:Bullet sspanles spanre rising spannd so spanre despanth totspanls in mspanss shootings. Cspann they be stopped?
Hurting the young:A record number of Americspan’s kids were injured or killed by gunfire in 2022