List of mass shootings in the United States in 2026
Definitions
Several different inclusion criteria are used; there is no generally accepted definition. Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group that tracks shootings and their characteristics in the United States, defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people, excluding the perpetrator(s), are shot in one location at roughly the same time. The Congressional Research Service provides a definition of four or more killed. The Washington Post and Mother Jones) use similar definitions, with the latter acknowledging that their definition "is a conservative measure of the problem", as many shootings with fewer fatalities occur. The crowdsourced Mass Shooting Tracker project applies the most expansive definition: four or more shot in any incident, including the perpetrator.
Definitions
<table><thead><tr><th>Organization(s)</th><th>Definition</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Mass Shooting Tracker</td><td>Four or more persons shot in one incident, at one location, at roughly the same time.</td></tr><tr><td>Gun Violence Archive Vox</td><td>Four or more shot in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at one location, at roughly the same time.</td></tr><tr><td>Stanford University MSA Data Project</td><td>Three or more persons shot in one incident, excluding the perpetrator(s), at one location, at roughly the same time. Excluded are shootings associated with organized crime, gangs or drug wars.</td></tr><tr><td>ABC News</td><td>Four or more shot and killed in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at one location, at roughly the same time.</td></tr><tr><td>Mother Jones</td><td>Three or more shot and killed in one incident at a public place, excluding the perpetrators. This list excludes all shootings the organization considers to be "conventionally motivated" such as all gang violence and armed robberies.</td></tr><tr><td>The Washington Post</td><td>Four or more shot and killed in one incident at a public place, excluding the perpetrators.</td></tr><tr><td>Congressional Research Service</td><td>Four or more shot and killed in one incident, excluding the perpetrators, at a public place, excluding gang-related killings and those done with a profit-motive.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Definitions
Only incidents considered mass shootings by at least two of the above sources are listed below. Many incidents involving organized crime and gang violence are included. All definitions can be exceeded with a single shotgun blast into a target cluster at short range. Mass shootings do not require multiple gunshots.
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