A 67-year-old church deacon who loved people. A family man buying a birthday cake for his three-year-old grandson. Nineteen elementary school students just days away from summer vacation. These are just some of the lives who’ve been lost so far to mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022.
Mass shooters have killed hundreds of people in America in recent years, terrorizing everyday locations like stores, workplaces, and schools. Less than halfway through 2022, this year is proving to be no different, with deadly attacks on patrons in a New York grocery store, worshippers in a California church and students and teachers in a Texas grade school.
And these types of shootings are on the rise. According to the FBI, active shooter incidents in 2021 surged by more than 50 percent from 2020 and nearly 97 percent from 2017. A dozen of the 2021 active shooter incidents met the definition of "mass killings," defined as three or more killings in a single incident — up from five incidents meeting that definition in 2020, NBC News reported.
Mass Shootings in the U.S. Since 1982
Incidents where 3 or more people were killed, not including the shooter.
Source: Mother Jones, NBC reporting
Last updated: May 25, 2025
