US Active-Shooter Cases Spike at a 'Troubling' Rate
US Active-Shooter Cases Spike at a 'Troubling' Rate
Sep 24, 2014, 4:10 PM ET
BY PIERRE THOMAS, JACK CLOHERTY and MIKE LEVINE
"Active-shooter incidents" in the United States are increasing in frequency, according to an FBI study of the 160 such attacks in the country between 2000 and 2013.
“During the first 7 years included in the study, an average of 6.4 incidents occurred annually,” the report notes. “In the last 7 years … that average increased to 16.4 incidents annually.”
In a pad-and-pencil briefing with reporters today, FBI Assistant Director James F. Yacone called the acceleration of incidents “troubling.”
The comprehensive study would provide an important “baseline” that will help the FBI and state and local police respond to the shootings, and in some cases, even prevent them, he added.
The study found there have been active-shooting incidents in 40 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and they occur in big cities, small towns and rural areas. While most took place in business or school environments, there were also mass shootings in military and other government property, health care facilities and houses of worship.
The FBI study reports a total of 1,043 casualties in the 160 mass shootings: 468 people were killed, and 557 wounded, excluding the shooters. In the 45 incidents in which law enforcement officers were able to engage the shooter, nine officers were killed and 28 wounded. Yacone said that the FBI is helping local law enforcement with advanced equipment and training for confronting mass shooters.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/us-deadly-mass-shootings-spike-troubling-rate/story?id=25736640