134 Mass Shootings Through April 30
The Gun Violence Archive recorded 134 mass shootings in the United States between January 1 and April 30, 2026. Those shootings killed 147 people and wounded 529 more.
Mass shootings get the headlines. They account for 3.6% of all gun deaths. The other 96.4% happen one or two at a time, in homes, on sidewalks, in parking lots, and never trend on social media.
This brief is about the full picture.
Q1 2026 vs. Q1 2025
The first quarter of 2026 saw a 36% increase in mass shootings compared to the same period last year. The Trace published the breakdown in April.
| Metric | Q1 2025 | Q1 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass shootings | 69 | 94 | +36% |
| Mass shooting deaths | 78 | 107 | +37% |
| Mass shooting injuries | 283 | 391 | +38% |
| Total gun deaths (all causes) | ~10,700 | ~11,200 | +4.7% |
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot in one incident, not counting the shooter. That definition is broader than the FBI’s, which requires four or more killed. By the FBI standard, the numbers would be lower. By either standard, the trend is up.
No Day Without 18 Deaths
During Q1 2026, no single day recorded fewer than 18 gun deaths from all causes. The daily average was 124 gun deaths, combining homicides, suicides, accidental discharges, and police shootings.
That means roughly one person was killed by a gun every 12 minutes for 90 straight days.
The deadliest day in Q1 was February 14, with 161 gun deaths recorded. The quietest day was January 2, with 18.
The Full-Year Baseline: 2024
To understand 2026, look at the most recent complete year. In 2024, the CDC and Gun Violence Archive recorded:
| Category | 2024 total |
|---|---|
| Gun suicides | 27,593 |
| Gun homicides | 15,364 |
| Accidental gun deaths | ~535 |
| Total gun deaths | ~43,492 |
| Mass shooting incidents | 411 |
| Mass shooting deaths | 498 |
Mass shooting deaths represented 1.1% of all gun deaths in 2024. Through four months of 2026, the share has risen to 3.6% because mass shooting frequency is outpacing the overall increase.
Gun Sales Are Up Too
Americans bought more guns in Q1 2026 than in Q1 2025. According to Statista and NSSF-adjusted NICS data, sales increased 1.5%.
| Type | Q1 2026 sales |
|---|---|
| Handguns | ~2.4 million |
| Long guns | ~1.4 million |
| Other/unspecified | ~0.3 million |
| Total | ~4.1 million |
That is 45,500 guns sold per day. For context, the U.S. has an estimated 400 million civilian-owned firearms, the highest per-capita rate in the world. There are more guns than people.
Suicides Are the Majority
This point gets repeated because it gets ignored. Suicides account for roughly 63% of all gun deaths. In 2024, 27,593 people used a gun to end their own life. That is 75 people per day.
The means matters. People who attempt suicide with a firearm die 85% of the time. People who attempt with pills die 2% of the time. Access to a gun during a mental health crisis is the single largest predictor of whether a suicide attempt becomes a death.
Red flag laws exist to address exactly this window. Six states have now banned their enforcement.
What the Data Does Not Show
These numbers do not include:
- Non-fatal gunshot injuries. Roughly 85,000 per year survive gunshot wounds, many with permanent disability.
- Defensive gun uses. The data on how often guns prevent crime is disputed. Estimates range from 60,000 to 2.5 million per year depending on the study and methodology. Neither end of that range is reliable.
- Economic cost. Johns Hopkins estimates gun violence costs the U.S. $557 billion annually in medical care, criminal justice, lost wages, and employer costs.
What the Numbers Point To
Mass shootings are rising. Total gun deaths are rising. Gun sales are rising. The majority of gun deaths are suicides that red flag laws can prevent, and six states just made it illegal to use those laws.
The Virginia Plan (S.4339) addresses several of these data points directly. So does every state-level red flag law that is still on the books. The numbers in this brief are the reason those policies exist.