Mass killings fall to lowest level in nearly two decades, national database shows

Key Highlights

• has recorded 17 mass killings so far in 2025, the lowest number since 2006, according to a long-running national database tracking such incidents.
• The database, which is maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, defines a mass killing as an incident in which four or more people are intentionally killed within a 24-hour period, excluding the perpetrator. Not all of this year’s mass killings involved firearms, but most did.
• Fourteen of the 17 mass killings in 2025 were carried out with guns.
• The data did not detail the three non-firearm incidents in its summary, but based on the database’s methodology and past reporting, non-gun mass killings typically involve stabbings, intentional arson, blunt-force attacks or the use of a vehicle as a weapon.
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