Mass shootings are rising in the U.S., new study shows

Violence Project found 20% of mass shootings from 1966 to 2019 occurred in last five years of study 

The number of mass shootings noticeably increased in recent decades, with the average yearly death toll also rising, according to new findings from a government-funded research initiative. 

In the 1970s, mass shootings took eight lives a year, on average, the study from the Violence Project found. From 2010 to 2019, that average was 51 deaths a year. And of the mass shootings that took place from 1966 to 2019, 20% occurred in the last five years studied.

The Violence Project, a nonprofit funded by the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice, looked at around 170 mass shootings between 1966 and 2019 and analyzed them for commonalities and other identifiers. Its database was drawn from open sources, including social media and newspapers.