The US Hasn't Gone More Than 5 Days Without a Deadly Mass Shooting in 2018
Last night's deadly incident is only the latest in a year of mass shootings
In the final hours of November 7, 2018, a 28-year-old white male entered the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California and opened fire. Twelve people were killed as a result.
There is no broadly-accepted definition of a mass shooting. A 2013 federal mandate defines a mass shooting as a single incident that results in the death of three individuals. The Gun Violence Archive uses the barometer of four or more people shot and/or killed during a single incident.* By this measure, there have been 307 such incidents in 2018 alone. The longest span of time between mass shootings this year has been five days. This is 2018 in mass shooting casualties:**
Date |
Location |
Add'l Injured |
Killed |
January 1 |
Huntsville, AL |
3 |
Adrian Jashawn Porter, 21 |
January 4 |
Brinkley, AK |
3 |
Xavier Parker, 33 |
January 7 |
Union Springs, AL |
5 |
Unknown Victim |
January 11 |
St Robert, MO |
2 |
Jonathan Graham, 24 Sherry Gann, 53 |
January 12 |
Nashville, TN |
2 |
Samaii Daniel, 5 Sammarre Daniel, 8 Robert Payne, 70 |
January 14 |
Eutaw, AL |
4 |
Mandel L. Pearson, 36 |
January 17 |
Washington, DC |
3 |
Jasmine Lashai Light, 23 |
January 23 |
Benton, KY |
14 |
Preston Ryan Cope, 15 Bailey Nicole Holt, 15 |
January 28 |
Indianapolis, IN |
3 |
James Ratcliffe, 50 Deron Gray, 24 |
January 28 |
Reading, PA |
0 |
Jarlyn Lantigua-Tejada, 20 Joshua Santos, 20 Juan Rodriguez, 23 Nelson Onofre, 23 |
January 28 |
Melcroft, PA |
1 |
William Scott Porterfield, 29 Seth William Cline, 21 Chelsia Lou Cline, 25 Courtney Sue Snyder, 23 |
February 3 |
Cleveland, OH |
5 |
Michael Jones, Jr., 22 |
February 5 |
Colorado Springs, CO |
4 |
Deputy Micah Flick, 34 |
February 7 |
Lake Worth, FL |
3 |
Edvin Milkevic, 29 Nicole Novak, 27 |
February 10 |
Paintsville, KY |
0 |
James Wayne Nickell, 75 Arlene Nickell, 70 Lindsay Vanhoose, 41 Patricia Vanhoose, 57 |
February 11 |
Detroit, MI |
3 |
Patricia Williams Wilson, 62 Barbara Williams Cynthia Williams |
February 13 |
New Orleans, LA |
3 |
Byron Jackson, 21 Jamar Robinson, 26 |
February 14 |
Parkland, FL |
17 |
Scott Biegel, 35 Martin Duque Anguiano, 14 Nicholas Dworet, 17 Aaron Feis, 37 Jaime Guttenberg, 14 Alyssa Alhadeff, 15 Christopher Hixon, 49 Luke Hoyer, 15 Cara Loughran, 14 Gina Montalto, 14 Joaquin Oliver, 17 Alaina Petty, 14 Alexander Schachter, 14 Carmen Schentrup, 16 Meadow Pollack, 18 Peter Wang, 15 Helena Ramsay, 17 |
February 16 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
3 |
Aubry Johnson, 66 |
February 17 |
Kansas City, KS |
7 |
Kevin Forman, 28 |
February 23 |
Palm Beach, FL |
3 |
William Burgess II, 28 |
February 26 |
Detroit, MI |
0 |
Cierra Bargineer, 26 Raphael Hall, 60 Kristen Thomas, 21 Jaymon Thomas, 22 |
March 3 |
Brooklyn, NY |
3 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 20s |
March 4 |
Rockford, IL |
3 |
Theodore Daniel, 31 |
March 7 |
Hurtsboro, AL |
2 |
Donald Hughes John Williams, 74 |
March 9 |
Wadesboro, NC |
1 |
Jacques McBride, 22 Mareco McNair, 33 Unidentified Adult Male |
March 11 |
Champaign, IL |
3 |
Montrex Vonner, 34 |
March 29 |
Plano, TX |
3 |
Quintarius Young, 29 |
April 1 |
Mobile, AL |
4 |
Anesa Baker, 15 |
April 2 |
Houston, TX |
3 |
Unidentified Adult Male |
April 4 |
New Orleans, LA |
2 |
Ryan Massey, 25 Carlos Rodrique, 33 |
April 6 |
Virginia Beach, VA |
3 |
Rakel Ramel Mason, 41 |
April 8 |
Miami, FL |
2 |
Rickey Dixon, 18 Kimson Green, 16 |
April 8 |
Hickory, NC |
3 |
Antonio Knoshjun Watts, 20 |
April 18 |
Asheville, NC |
3 |
Erica Nichelle Smith, 32 Keithan Whitmire, 15 Harmony Smith, 13 |
April 20 |
San Francisco, CA |
5 |
Unidentified Adult Male |
April 21 |
Philadelphia, PA |
2 |
Viktoriya Manasyan, 20 Rashawn Tahir Miller, 21 |
April 22 |
Antioch, TN |
3 |
Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29 Joe R. Perez, 20 DeEbony Groves, 21 Akilah Dasilva, 23 |
April 22 |
New Orleans, LA |
5 |
Lil' Ricky Goins, 38 |
April 25 |
St Louis, MO |
1 |
Timothy Solano, 20 Brandon Stephenson, 36 Melissa Tierney, 40 |
April 29 |
West Palm Beach, FL |
3 |
Kassandra Yamileth Morales, 24 |
April 29 |
Monroe, NC |
3 |
David Duncan, Jr., 22 |
April 29 |
Seattle, WA |
2 |
Deondre Cabine, 24 Charles Ray Justice, 35 |
May 2 |
Brooklyn, NY |
4 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 18 |
May 2 |
Chicago, IL |
4 |
Nakia Bailey, 21 |
May 6 |
Memphis, TN |
4 |
Dejuan Hill, 18 Deandre Doyle Rogers, 18 |
May 13 |
Los Angeles, CA |
2 |
Lamarion Upchurch, 15 Unidentified Adult Male, 25 Unidentified Adult Male, 25 |
May 13 |
Stockton, CA |
2 |
Joe C. Lor, 22 Gina Xiong, 22 Kayleen Lor, 5 |
May 16 |
Ponder, TX |
1 |
Seth Richardson, 29 Drake Alexander Painter, 4 Caydence Nicole Painter, 6 Odin Tyler Painter, 8 |
May 18 |
Santa Fe, TX |
13 |
Glenda Ann Perkins, 64 Sabika Sheikh, 18 Cynthia Tisdale, 67 Christopher Jake Stone, 17 Shana Fisher, 16 Angelique Ramierz, 15 Jared Conrad Black, 17 Aaron Kyle McLeod, 15 Kimberly Jessica Vaughan Christian Riley Garcia, 15 |
May 20 |
Hazelhurst, MI |
7 |
Jonathan Miller, 26 |
May 27 |
Aurora, CO |
3 |
Dejon Andre Leon Williams, 37 |
May 31 |
Timmonsville, SC |
2 |
Cheresse Lutricia Jackson, 39 Breyanna Priscilla Jackson, 11 Nykerria Shanyia Jackson, 14 |
June 2 |
Omaha, NE |
6 |
Jasmine Harris, 20 |
June 3 |
Chicago, IL |
3 |
Ari Armour, 35 |
June 5 |
Jacksonville, FL |
1 |
Trevon Bullard, 18 Jercoby Groover, 19 Royale D'Von Smith, Jr., 18 |
June 9 |
Philadelphia, PA |
4 |
Kameron Gilfillian, 21 |
June 10 |
Chicago, IL |
5 |
Tyrone White, 39 |
June 10 |
Bloomington, IL |
2 |
Steven Alexander, Jr., 18 Taneshiea Brown, 20 |
June 10 |
Indianapolis, IN |
4 |
Daron 'Manny' Johnson, 14 |
June 10 |
Bradenton, FL |
5 |
Gabriel Conde, 39 |
June 11 |
Orlando, FL |
1 |
Dove Lindsey, 1 Aidan Lindsey, 6 Lillia Lopez, 10 Irayan Lopez, 12 |
June 14 |
Westminster, CO |
3 |
Vaughn Bigelow, 13 |
June 14 |
Buffalo, NY |
4 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 38 |
June 14 |
Tracy, CA |
4 |
Emilio Gerardo Enriquez Almanza, 15 |
June 17 |
Macon, GA |
3 |
Calvin Bernard Harvey, 16 |
June 18 |
Chicago, IL |
3 |
Shalonza E. McToy, 22 Erin Casey, 17 |
June 18 |
Bloomington, IL |
1 |
Corey D. Jackson, 22 Nathaniel A. Pena, 22 Juan C. Perez-Macedo, 33 |
June 21 |
San Bernadino, CA |
3 |
Alize Ross, 20 |
June 22 |
Homestead, PA |
3 |
Jazmere Brianna Custis, 19 |
June 23 |
Chicago, IL |
4 |
Michael Sutton, Jr., 50 |
June 24 |
Gary, Indiana |
3 |
Jazaniel Davis, 19 |
June 24 |
Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
3 |
Timothy James Frederick, 19 |
June 24 |
Sanford, NC |
6 |
Travis Jamarian Mclean, 27 |
June 27 |
Oakland, CA |
3 |
Derick Alexander, 18 |
June 28 |
Annapolis, MD |
0 |
Wendi Winters, 65 Rebecca Smith, 34 Robert Hiaasen, 59 Gerald Fischman, 61 John McNamara, 56 |
June 30 |
Ashburn, GA |
6 |
Za'quavia Smith, 21 |
July 2 |
Buffalo, NY |
2 |
Yvette Johnson, 54 Kyrie Johnson, 1 |
July 3 |
St Louis, MO |
5 |
Stanley Sparking, 40 |
July 4 |
Atlanta, GA |
3 |
Curtis Lamar Wright, 25 |
July 4 |
Gary, IN |
3 |
Jessie Brown, 29 |
July 5 |
Lima, OH |
5 |
Carrington Lott, 23 |
July 5 |
Los Angeles, CA |
3 |
Unidentified Adult Male Unidentified Adult Male Unidentified Adult Female |
July 7 |
Wetumpka, AL |
2 |
Charlene Ann Orsi, 44 Cadence Rose Orsi, 12 |
July 9 |
Orlando, FL |
4 |
Edgar Rivera, 20 |
July 9 |
Wilmington, DE |
0 |
Julie Burton Edwards, 41 Jacob Edwards, 6 Brinley Edwards, 4 Paxton Edwards, 3 |
July 13 |
Richmond, VA |
3 |
Terrance C. Peters, 46 |
July 16 |
Philadelphia, PA |
4 |
Tyree Bates, 14 |
July 16 |
Washington, DC |
4 |
Mikiyah Wilson, 10 |
July 16 |
Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
4 |
Norriesha L. Hills, 22 Jamal Forrest, 21 |
July 20 |
Sunnyside, WA |
4 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 23 |
July 21 |
Chicago, IL |
5 |
Tavish Harris, 30 Kevontay Montgomery, 22 |
July 26 |
Oakland, CA |
2 |
Unidentified Adult Female, 21 Unidentified Adult Male, 19 |
July 26 |
Cleveland, OH |
6 |
Cortez Ruffin, 27 |
July 27 |
Robstown, TX |
0 |
Thelma Montalvo Ernest Starry, 85 Isaiah Starry, 13 Roel Mireles, 41 |
July 28 |
Los Angeles, CA |
4 |
Juan Lopez, 23 Unidentified Adult Female, 19 |
July 28 |
New Orleans, LA |
7 |
Kurshaw "Twin" Jackson, 38 Jeremiah "Zippa" Lee, 28 Taiesha Watkins, 27 |
July 29 |
Phoenix, AZ |
4 |
Jessuh Williams, 37 |
July 31 |
Gardena, CA |
3 |
Delores Sanchez, 28 Francisco Rafael Montes, 28 |
August 4 |
Chicago, IL |
3 |
Donald Norris, 19 |
August 5 |
Chicago, IL |
5 |
Jahnae Patterson, 17 |
August 5 |
Chicago, IL |
4 |
Charles Green, 32 |
August 8 |
Philadelphia, PA |
4 |
Averill "General Reezy" Davenport, 34 Niesha Cooper, 32 |
August 11 |
Thornton, CO |
3 |
Brenda Martinez, 37 |
August 11 |
San Francisco, CA |
4 |
Gerson Romero, 19 |
August 12 |
Clearlake, CA |
1 |
Unidentified Child, 2 Unidentified Child, 4 Unidentified Child, <1 |
August 20 |
Cleveland, OH |
3 |
Jaylin Glanton, 26 |
August 20 |
Jackson, TN |
4 |
Braxton Watkins, 20 |
August 25 |
Nashville, TN |
4 |
Mansfield Rutherford, 22 |
August 26 |
Wichita Falls, TX |
3 |
Davonta Jason Combs, 26 |
August 26 |
Jacksonville, FL |
9 |
Taylore Robertson, 27 Eli Clayton, 22 |
August 27 |
Pine Bluff, AK |
3 |
Antonio Brown, 36 |
August 31 |
Aurora, CO |
3 |
Anthoni Readus, 26 Wayne Carter, 19 |
September 1 |
Ft Lauderdale, FL |
3 |
Dwayne Smith, 34 |
September 1 |
Cleveland, OH |
7 |
Theresa Goldwin, 29 |
September 2 |
Paterson, NJ |
2 |
Daryl Tann, 48 Nykeema Kersey, 33 |
September 6 |
Cincinnati, OH |
2 |
Richard Newcomer, 64 Pruthvi Raj Kandepi, 25 Luis Felipe Calderon, 48 |
September 7 |
Minneapolis, MN |
3 |
Steven L. Fields, 42 |
September 9 |
Auburn, AL |
4 |
Evan Mikale Wilson, 20 |
September 9 |
Elgin, IL |
4 |
Sharpie Smith-Tate, 25 |
September 12 |
Bakersfield, CA |
0 |
Eliseo Garcia, 57 Laura Garcia, 31 Antonio Valdez, 50 Emanuel Contreras, 50 Petra Maribel Bellanos Casarez, 45 |
September 17 |
Silver Spring, MD |
0 |
Sang Yeon Kim, 48 Unidentified Adult Female, 22 Mina Kim, 11 Andy Kim, 10 |
September 20 |
Aberdeen, MD |
3 |
Sunday Aguda, 45 Bromdra Giri, 41 Hayleen Reyes, 41 |
September 23 |
Bakersfield, CA |
4 |
Jeremy Charles Littlejohn, 20 |
September 24 |
Memphis, TN |
2 |
Calitri Boone, 17 Jessie Williams, 30 Unidentified Adult Male, 37 |
September 28 |
Philadelphia, PA |
2 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 24 |
September 29 |
Orlando, FL |
4 |
Ruby Steplight, 83 |
September 30 |
Compton, CA |
3 |
Chloe Hunter, 17 |
October 1 |
Chicago, IL |
2 |
Steve Nixon, 31 Bruce Y. Miller, 29 |
October 3 |
Philadelphia, PA |
4 |
Unidentified Adult Male, 20 |
October 3 |
Florence, SC |
6 |
Investigator Farrah Turner, 36 Officer Terrence Carraway, 52 |
October 4 |
Espanola, NM |
3 |
Cameron Martinez, 18 |
October 6 |
Houston, TX |
3 |
Decarlo Washington |
October 13 |
Taft, TX |
1 |
Juan Espinoza, Sr., 62 Juan Sandoval III, 20 Jeremy Sandoval, 22 Nicky Sandoval, 20 |
October 14 |
Las Vegas, NV |
1 |
Susan Nash, 52 Dejona'e Nash, 20 Deonte' Nash, 31 |
October 14 |
Palo Alto, CA |
2 |
Eduardo Sandoval, 22 Mario Vidales Mendez, 23 |
October 15 |
Columbia, TN |
0 |
Kaileigh Lin, 17 Bo Li, 14 Meigan Lin, 14 Lia Li, 15 |
October 21 |
Lakewood, WA |
3 |
Terrence King, 28 |
October 21 |
Jacksonville, FL |
5 |
Robert Lee Williams, 76 |
October 26 |
Jersey City, NJ |
3 |
Jade Saunders, 17 |
October 27 |
Pittsburgh, PA |
7 |
Richard Gottfried, 65 Jerry Rabinowitz, 66 Cecil Rosenthal, 59 David Rosenthal, 54 Sylvan Simon, 87 Daniel Stein, 71 Melvin Wax, 88 Irving Younger, 69 Joyce Fienberg, 75 Rose Mallinger, 97 Bernice Simon, 84 |
October 28 |
El Dorado, AK |
2 |
Darrischica Rogers, 30 Aric Hall, 28 |
October 30 |
Vallejo, CA |
3 |
Bobby Beasley, 32 De'Angelo Quinn, 26 |
October 31 |
Detroit, MI |
3 |
Unidentified Male Child, 15 |
November 1 |
Springfield, MO |
2 |
Aaron Hampton, 23 Steven Marler, 38 |
November 2 |
Tallahassee, FL |
5 |
Maura Binkley, 21 Nancy Van Vessem, 61 |
November 8 |
Thousand Oaks, CA |
10 |
Deputy Sgt Ron Helus, 54 Cody Coffman, 22 Tim Munson, 19 Authorities have not yet released the names of the 10 additional victims |
*Because the number of injuries caused by gun violence has increased consistently in the last four years, and because a human life should not be the lowest bar necessary to surpass for the public to take notice, we will be using the GVA definition in this report.
**As the Gun Violence Archive excludes perpetrators from their definition of mass shootings, so too have we excluded the names of those responsible.
Rebecca Linde is a writer and cultural critic in NYC. She tweets about pop culture and television @rklinde.
How the Internet Fosters Hate Speech
Contrary to popular belief, there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment.
The social networking site Gab has been taken offline since it was confirmed that the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman used it to post anti-Semitic hate speech and to threaten Jews. The site is popular with the far right and describes itself as "an ad-free social network for creators who believe in free speech, individual liberty, and the free flow of information online. All are welcome." Gab was originally created by conservative businessman Andrew Torba in response to Twitter clamping down on hate speech in 2016.
Robert Bowers logged onto the platform shortly before killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday to post the following.
Consequently, the site has been abandoned by payment processing firms PayPal and Stripe, as well as hosting service Joyent and domain register GoDaddy. A statement on Gab's website Monday read that the platform would be "inaccessible for a period of time" as it switches to a new web host. It said the issue was being worked on "around the clock." The statement went on to defend the website, saying, "We have been systematically no-platformed [and] smeared by the mainstream media for defending free expression and individual liberty for all people."
Regarding Bowers' use of the site, Torba said, "Because he was on Gab, law enforcement now have definitive evidence for a motive," Mr. Torba wrote. "They would not have had this evidence without Gab. We are proud to work with and support law enforcement in order to bring justice to this alleged terrorist."
But companies associated with Gab were not satisfied by the site's cooperation with law enforcement and continue to abandon the site. PayPal, the platform Gab used to manage donations from users, said in a statement, "When a site is explicitly allowing the perpetuation of hate, violence or discriminatory intolerance, we take immediate and decisive action."
A tweet from Gab on Monday morning implied that the people behind the site believe themselves to be a victim of intentional defamation.
Set aside the questionable intent of the decidedly tone-deaf tweet; and, legally, Gab did not do anything wrong. Contrary to popular belief, there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this in 2017 in Matal vs. Tal, deciding, "Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful...the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express 'the thought that we hate.'" Despite this, many people are calling for the permanent removal of the site, as Wired points out, "Momentary political rage can blind people into abandoning sacred values."
However, the internet inarguably contributes to the creation of extremists, as we have seen in the case of terrorists, rapists, school shooters, and now the synagogue shooter in Pittsburgh. Sites like Gab allows users to easily find other people who share their most extreme viewpoints, inevitably normalizing disturbing rhetoric the user may have otherwise suppressed or self-corrected in time. Therefore, sites like Gab become polarizing spaces that can help to sew the kinds of ideas that lead to violent acts. But, if there's no legal action to be taken against a site like Gab without damaging free speech, what can be done?
GAB Logo
Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion following Matal vs. Tal, "A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all. The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the government's benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society."
While what exactly those safeguards are remains unclear, one can speculate that what Kennedy meant is exactly what Gab calling unjust now. As previously mentioned, the site has been abandoned by all of the companies whose services were needed for the site to remain online. And just as Gab has the right to allow freedom of expression on their site as they see fit, these companies are also free to express themselves in refusing to work with websites that allow hateful rhetoric.
Indeed, the conversation surrounding the fate of Gab has revealed that freedom of speech online is not decided by the government, but by social media platforms, servers, and domain registers who are free to decide with what kind of opinion their company wants to be associated. This also means that, on some level, what is seen as acceptable online is driven by consumer outrage and approval.
Daily Mirror
For example, after facing criticism for allowing users to post prejudiced content, larger social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have been actively fighting against hateful rhetoric with varying degrees of success. In 2016, a code of conduct was established by the European Union in collaboration with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft. The code is aimed at fighting racism and xenophobia and encourages the social media companies to remove hate speech from their platforms.
So, instead of outraged Americans calling for the legal suppression of sites like Gab — an impossibility if the First Amendment is to remain intact — the real power of the individual to fight hate speech is in one's ability to support or boycott companies based on how they handle free expression.