The headlines have blared that there have been 355 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. Clearly,there have been more than 300 shootings so far in 2015. But how are mass shootings defined?
It seems as though the media thinks that shootingtracker.com, a website built by members of a Reddit forum supporting gun control called GunsAreCool, has the answer, as this is where the 355 number comes from. However, the site aggregates news stories about shooting incidents — of any kind — in which four or more people are reported to have been either injured or killed. In my mind not every shooting in which four people are injured qualifies as a mass shooting.
Mother Jones seems to define the issue better. It does define a mass shooting as one where four or more are killed in public attacks, but it excludes mass murders that stemmed from robbery, gang violence or domestic abuse in private homes.It concludes that there have been four mass shootings here thus far.
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