• The number of mass shootings in the US this year has already reached 103 as of March 22, according to the Gun Violence Archive's tally.
  • The tally shows the US has seen more than one mass shooting per day on average.
  • More mass shootings have happened in the first quarter of 2021 than in the first quarters of 2018, 2019, and 2020.
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When the White House went to lower the flag to honor the ten people shot and killed in a Colorado supermarket on March 22, staffers realized that their work was already done: the flags were still lowered from a shooting just a week prior.

The US' unique gun laws baked into its constitution have created a murky relationship between firearms and American citizens. Some states have restrictive gun laws, while others have more relaxed regulations, allowing for greater rates of ownership for hunting and protection.

But firearms have become one of the leading causes of death for people of all ages and the second-leading cause of death for children under the age of 19, according to the Giffords Law Center.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US, there have been 103 mass shootings in 2021 alone. To put that into perspective, March 23 is the 81st day of 2021. That means that on average, there have been 1.3 mass shootings every day this year.

There have been 103 mass shootings since January 1, 2021.

 

Read more: There have been 366 mass shootings in the US so far in 2019 — here's the full list

"Mass shooting" has different definitions.

The definition of a mass shooting differs from source to source, but the Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident where four or more people die in around the same general time and location.

The Congressional Research Service does not have an official definition for a mass shooting but instead relies upon the definition of a "mass killing" as "three or more killings in a single incident" that was passed into law in 2013 after a gunman killed 27 kids at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. 

According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, more than 9,539 people have already died this year from any gun-related violence with an additional 7,254 gun-related injuries.

There have been more mass shootings in the first quarter of 2021 than in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

 

Historically, mass shootings are more likely to occur in the latter half of the year.

You can view a report of any incident by visiting the list on the Gun Violence Archive's website.