We know the drill. Shots ring out. People run, and scream, and hide, and fall. And some of them are hurt, or killed.
The shooting at Iowa Ave. and Plum St. in midtown Lakeland on Jan. 31 that left ten people injured was the 51st mass shooting in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research group.
That’s an average of nearly two mass shootings a day.
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How many of the mass shootings in 2023 have happened in Florida?
As of Jan. 31, there have been six mass shootings in Florida.
- Jan. 1, Miami Gardens: Nine people were shot or grazed in a shooting at a New Year’s Eve party. A 2-year-old was hit in the foot and a boy was shot in the knee, according to NBC6.
- Jan. 1, Ocala: Two men were killed and four others were injured in a shooting early New Year’s Day in a large gathering of people in Ocala, police reported.
- Jan. 5, Miami Gardens: As many as 10 people were wounded in a shooting outside The Licking, a soul food restaurant.
- Jan. 15, Homestead: Four people in their 20s were shot in Homestead, according to Miami-Dade police. One man, 24, died from his injuries.
- Jan. 16, Fort Pierce: Eight people were shot during an MLK Day celebration at a Fort Pierce park. One victim died the next morning.
- Jan. 30, Lakeland: Ten people were shot, leaving two of them in critical condition in a drive-by shooting in Lakeland’s midtown.
A month into the new year, 11.5% of all mass shootings in the U.S. so far have happened in Florida.
What is considered a mass shooting?
There isn’t a firm definition. The Gun Violence Archive (and the Congressional Research Service) defines a mass shooting only on the number of people shot in an incident: four or more, not including the shooter.
The FBI does not define “mass shooting.” They define “mass killing” or “mass murder” as an incident in which four or more victims are killed by any intentional means, which can include gun violence.
There may be a distinction made between private and public mass shootings, and mass shootings committed by foreign terrorists are not included no matter where the shooting occurs or how many people are killed.
The GVA numbers may differ from the FBI or CDC as they collect their data from 7,500 law enforcement, government and media sources. The CDC uses death certificates for gun deaths, according to the GVA, and they and the FBI rely on a sampling of courses and then extrapolate the numbers to get estimated totals. Incidents that cannot be verified are not included.
USA TODAY defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are hit with gunfire, even if there are no fatalities. Mass killing refers is an incident in which at least four people are killed.
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How many people have died from gun violence so far in 2023?
According to GVA, 3,587 people have died from gun violence in the United States as of the morning of Jan. 31. Of those, 1,541 were classified as homicide, murder or defensive gun use (DGU). The other 2,046 were ruled to be suicides.
Gun violence has taken the lives of 22 children nationwide, with 44 more injured, the GVA said. 124 teenagers aged 12-17 have died, and 295 injured. Three officers have been killed, 33 injured, and law enforcement has killed 111 people and injured 62 more in officer-involved incidents, the GVA said.
Unintentional shootings accounted for 130 more deaths, the GVA said, and 92 people were killed by someone defending themselves. There were 62 deaths ruled murder-suicides.
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How many mass shootings did the U.S. have in 2022?
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 648 mass shootings in the United States last year:
- 44,299 people overall (including 314 children and 1,361 teens) died from firearms, the GVA said, with 20,209 dead of homicide, murder or defensive gun use (DGU).
- 24,090 gun-related deaths were ruled suicides.
- 38,552 people were injured.
How many mass shootings happened in Florida in 2022?
The GVA lists 31 mass shootings in Florida in 2022.
- Jan. 18, Miami: 1 killed, 4 injured
- Jan. 30, Winter Haven: 1 killed, 4 injured
- Feb. 6, Fort Lauderdale: 4 injured
- Feb. 16, Miami: 1 killed, 3 injured
- Mar. 8, Jacksonville: 1 killed, 4 injured
- Mar. 17: Fort Lauderdale: 2 killed, 2 injured
- Apr. 9, Miami: 4 injured
- Apr. 17, Miami: 1 killed, 3 injured
- May 1, Tarpon Springs: 6 injured
- May 7, Miami: 4 injured
- May 20, Kissimmee: 1 killed, 3 injured
- May 28, Malabar: 4 injured
- June 18, Pensacola: 5 injured
- June 19, Miami: 5 injured
- July 6, Tampa: 4 injured
- July 29, Miami: 4 injured
- July 31, Orlando: 7 injured
- Aug. 2, Orlando: 5 killed
- Aug. 3, Miami: 5 injured
- Sep. 4, Lauderdale Lakes: 4 injured
- Sep. 14, Miami: 5 injured
- Sep. 27, Jacksonville: 4 injured
- Oct. 9, Tampa: 1 killed, 6 injured
- Oct. 9, Miami: 1 killed, 3 injured
- Oct. 29, Tallahassee: 1 killed, 9 injured
- Oct. 29, Orlando: 6 injured
- Nov. 4, Orlando: 4 killed, 2 injured
- Nov. 6, Gainesville: 4 injured
- Nov. 22, West Palm Beach: 2 killed, 2 injured
- Nov. 27, Tallahassee: 1 killed, 4 injured
- Dec. 19, Lake City: 5 injured
Contributor: Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
C. A. Bridges is a Digital Producer for the USA TODAY Network, working with multiple newsrooms across Florida. Local journalists work hard to keep you informed about the things you care about, and you can support them by subscribing to your local news organization. Read more articles by Chris here and follow him on Twitter at @cabridges
