Mass Shootings in the United States in 2021

To some, it might have seemed as if mass shootings all but halted during the coronavirus pandemic, with a year passing between large-scale shootings in public places.

But the shootings never stopped. They just weren’t as public.

The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people injured or killed, not including the perpetrator, counted more than 600 such shootings in 2020, compared with 417 in 2019.

That carnage has continued into 2021, with hundreds of shootings so far this year. The archive, a nonprofit organization, has counted 25 mass murders, which it defines as four or more people killed, in 2021 as of mid-November.

There is little consensus on the definition of a mass shooting, complicating the efforts of nonprofits and news organizations to document the scope of the problem.

The Violence Project follows the narrow definition of the Congressional Research Service, requiring the attacks to be in public and excluding domestic shootings and those “attributable to underlying criminal activity.” CNN has defined a mass shooting as one with four or more injuries or deaths. The Washington Post’s effort to track public mass shootings includes shootings with four or more people killed, but does not include robberies or domestic shootings in private homes.

Whatever the definition, it is a persistent American problem. Some mass shootings remain unforgettable to the broader public because of the number of people killed, the attackers’ motivations, the apparent randomness or other factors — cases that often become known by a single place name like Columbine, Newtown or Parkland. But there have been many other mass killings that never receive the same level of attention.

Here is an incomplete list of shootings with multiple victims in 2021. It leaves out many more, but offers a small glimpse of the gun violence the country has already suffered this year.

Nov. 30: Clayton County, Ga., and Oakland County, Mich.

Four people were killed after a gunman opened fire at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit, Mich., in what became the deadliest shooting on school property in the United States this year.

Hours later, a police officer and two women were shot and killed during a domestic violence episode in the metropolitan Atlanta area, the police said. The shooter was also killed.

Nov. 28: Lancaster, Calif.

A 29-year-old father was accused of fatally shooting his four children — ages 1, 2, 7 and 11 — and his mother-in-law inside the family’s home. He was arrested and charged with five counts of murder and three counts of assault on a child causing death.

Nov. 14: Tucson, Ariz.

Four people — two sets of brothers, related as cousins — were killed when a party ended in gunshots. No one has been charged in the deaths.

Oct. 20: Farwell, Mich.

The police said a woman fatally shot her father, sister and two others inside of a home. The woman’s car contained a journal that included a list of other people she intended to kill, the police said.

Sept. 25: Athens, Tenn.

A man and a woman were charged with killing four people inside of a home. The police said there had been a dispute about parenting a 10-month-old child.

Sept. 12: St. Paul, Minn.

Four people were found dead in an abandoned car in a Dunn County, Wis., cornfield after being shot in St. Paul, Minn., the police said. They did not say how they knew the victims were shot in the city.

Sept. 5: Houston, Tex.

A man shot four people, including a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, before fatally shooting himself days later. The other victims were the gunman’s mother and stepfather.

Sept. 5: Lakeland, Fla.

A former Marine sharpshooter fatally shot four people, including an infant, in two homes and fired at officers before he was arrested. Investigators did not know what started the rampage.

July 25: Wasco, Calif.

A 41-year-old man armed with an assault rifle and a handgun killed four people, including a police officer, after taking hostages inside a home. The gunman was fatally shot by a police officer.

July 20: Jacksonville, Tex.

Three men were arrested in the fatal shootings of four people in the town about 125 miles southeast of Dallas. The police said they believed it was planned as a robbery, and that one of the men who were arrested had a relationship with one of the victims.

June 15: Chicago

Two gunmen broke into a home in the Englewood neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago and shot eight people, killing five of them. Seven of the people were shot in the head, the police said.

Nine people were killed in a shooting at a rail yard in San Jose, Calif., the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said. The gunman, a transit worker, was also dead, said the authorities.

May 9: Colorado Springs

A man killed six people before fatally shooting himself at a birthday party at a mobile home park. Friends, family and children were gathered inside when the shooting occurred. The gunman was “a boyfriend of one of the female victims,” the police said.

A 32-year-old man killed his mother, stepfather and two police officers before fatally shooting himself at the end of a 13-hour standoff. Another officer was struck by gunfire but avoided injury because the bullet hit his Kevlar helmet.

April 15: Indianapolis

At least eight people were killed, not including a gunman who was believed to have taken his own life after opening fire in a FedEx warehouse. Family members said that workers were unable to use their cellphones on the job, leaving them unable to confirm their safety for hours.

April 7: Rock Hill, S.C.

A former N.F.L. player shot and killed a doctor, the doctor’s wife and their two grandchildren inside their house, as well as two air-conditioning technicians who were working outside the home. The gunman later killed himself, the authorities said.

The authorities said two brothers killed four family members before killing themselves. The bodies were discovered after the police arrived to a home for a welfare check.

March 31: Orange, Calif.

A gunman opened fire at a real estate office, killing four people, including a 9-year-old boy. The shooting was most likely related to a “business and personal relationship which existed between the suspect and all of the victims,” the authorities said.

March 28: Essex, Md.

A gunman killed his parents, two people at a convenience store and then himself in a shooting spree, the police said.

March 22: Boulder, Colo.

A gunman inside a grocery store killed 10 people, including the first police officer to arrive at the scene. The gunman was injured and taken into custody.

March 16: Atlanta

March 13: Indianapolis

A shooting near the city’s east side left four people dead, including a 7-year-old child, and critically wounded a woman, the authorities said. The police said the shooting stemmed from a domestic problem.

Feb. 2: Muskogee, Okla.

Five children and a man were killed and a woman was seriously injured when they were shot at a home. A brother of one of the victims was arrested at the scene. The police said they believed that the victims were related.

Jan. 24: Indianapolis

Five people, including a pregnant woman, were found dead inside a home after the authorities came in contact with a juvenile male, who was suffering from gunshot wounds. A day after the shooting, he was arrested.

Jan. 9: Evanston, Ill.

At least five people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed in a shooting spree in the Chicago area, the police said. The gunman shot a total of seven people before he was killed by the police.