The latest mass killing in the United States occurred Saturday night when three children ages 8, 9 and 14, and a 21-year-old adult were killed in a shooting at a child’s birthday party in California. Eleven people were also wounded at a Stockton banquet hall.
This is the country’s 17th mass killing this year. The killings are tracked in a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At least 81 people have died this year in U.S. mass killings, which are defined as cases in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
So far this year, 14 of 17 recorded mass killings (82%) have involved a firearm. Shooting victims make up 81% of the 3,234 victims of mass killings since 2006.
Last year ended with at least 165 deaths from at least 38 mass killings.
Here is a look at other U.S. mass killings this year:
SAINT HELENA ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, Oct. 12
Four people were killed and 15 others were injured in a shooting during a high school reunion party at a St. Helena Island bar. One man charged in the shooting and another man, who was killed, had a disagreement and started firing at each other, authorities said. Investigators found evidence of a third shooter and have said they expect more arrests.
LELAND, MISSISSIPPI, Oct. 10
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A shooting after a high school football game in a small Mississippi Delta town left seven people dead. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the shooting in Leland, but the FBI says it may have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.” At least nine people have been arrested, several of them charged with capital murder.
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN, Sept. 28
A man opened fire in a Michigan church and set it ablaze, leaving four people dead and the church burned to the ground. The FBI has said the gunman, who was killed by responding law enforcement, was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
MERLIN, OREGON, Aug. 11
Police said two adults and three children died in a murder-suicide in southern Oregon. The children were ages 11, 9 and 7. Police found the bodies at a home near Grants Pass after one of the victims didn’t show up for work.
ANACONDA, MONTANA, Aug. 1
Four people were fatally shot at a bar in a small town about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Missoula. The man charged in the killings evaded capture for a week.
TIPTONVILLE, TENNESSEE, July 29
The parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a front yard were shot in a wooded area about 40 miles (65 kilometers) away. The man charged in the killings was the boyfriend of the sister of the infant’s grandmother, authorities said.
NEW YORK CITY, July 28
A man carrying a rifle killed four people at a midtown Manhattan building that houses finance companies and the NFL headquarters. The victims included an off-duty New York City police officer. The gunman wounded a fifth person before taking his own life.
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA, July 5
Three men and a woman were fatally shot in an apartment. The bodies were discovered when police followed up on a call about a missing woman. A friend of one of the victims was arrested.
CHICAGO, July 2
Two men and two women were killed and 14 others were wounded in a drive-by shooting as people left an album release party. Police said the driver immediately fled, and no one was in custody.
CHICAGO, June 26
Police said a man upset with a friend and his ex-girlfriend set a building fire that killed four other people. The fire was started with gasoline and a lighter.
MINNEAPOLIS, April 29
Four people were shot inside a vehicle and died in the Phillips neighborhood in south Minneapolis. A suspect was arrested and charged a few days later.
PERRY, GEORGIA, April 4
Three adults, ages 82, 51 and 37, and a 2-year-old child found dead in a mobile home in Perry, a rural city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Macon. Authorities said three of the victims had been stabbed and one of them was suffocated. A man was arrested in May and charged in the killings, officials said
HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, March 26
A man fatally shot his estranged girlfriend and three of her children before turning the gun on himself at a south Florida residence, according to local reports. The man, the father of two of the children, died later at a hospital. A fourth child was shot but survived.
LAKE STATION, INDIANA, Feb. 21
The deaths of a mother and her three daughters, ages 4, 6 and 7, found fatally shot at a home in Lake Station, about 34 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, were ruled homicides, according to local reports. The woman’s husband was also found fatally shot and his death was ruled a suicide.
BYRON, WYOMING, Feb. 10
A woman fatally shot her four daughters, ranging in age from 2 to 9, before shooting herself, according to officials. Officials said three of the girls died that day and the fourth daughter and their mother died later, according to local reports.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 1
A driver plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ French Quarter district at 3:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens, authorities said. The driver, a U.S. citizen from Texas, died in a shootout with police. The FBI called the attack an act of terrorism.
