Here’s how high Texas ranks in the FBI’s 2023 report of active shootings in the U.S.
Texas had the second-highest amount of active shootings in America last year, a decrease in its ranking from 2022, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 recently-released report on active shooter incidents.
The report, released this month, found a 5% decrease in U.S. shootings last year, down to 48 from 50 in 2022. Active shooters in those situations killed 105 people and wounded 139 others.
The FBI defines an active shooter as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
Among the four Texas shootings listed for 2023, there were a total of 25 casualties. Eight people died and seven more were injured in the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets that May — a shooting the FBI identified as one of the top five-deadliest that year.
Twenty-six states reported incidents in 2023. California was the state with the highest number of shootings as classified by the FBI, at eight. Maine only had one active shooting, but that shooting had the highest number of casualties, where 18 people were killed and 13 others were injured.
The FBI’s report does not include shooting incidents involving self-defense, gang violence, drug-related violence, residential or domestic disputes or hostages. The report also does not apply to shootings that were the result of another criminal act, or crossfire as a byproduct of another ongoing criminal act. If a shooter only harmed themselves, it was not considered for the report.
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The most recent numbers were an improvement for Texas. In 2022, the state had the most active shootings in the nation, according to the FBI. There were six shootings in Texas that year. The Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde — where 21 people were killed and 38 others were wounded — was the deadliest shooting in Texas history, and the second-deadliest in the U.S. in 2022.
2023 FBI active shootings data for U.S.
Washington state also had four active shootings last year. Those shootings resulted in 12 casualties. Two of those shootings happened at Puget Sound, and the others happened at a Circle K and the Gorge Amphitheater Campground.
Georgia and Pennsylvania tied at No. 3, both having three active shootings in 2023. The shootings in Georgia resulted in 14 casualties; Pennsylvania’s shootings had 12.
The FBI found that most active shooting incidents (28) happened in open spaces like urban spaces, green spaces or parks, but commerce spaces — defined as businesses that are open or closed to pedestrians, or malls — had the most casualties, with 131 casualties in 14 shootings.
The rest of the shootings mentioned in the FBI’s report took place in schools, residencies or health care facilities.
The FBI also found that most active shootings took place between noon and midnight. Thirty-two shootings were recorded in those afternoon and evening hours, while only 16 occurred between midnight and noon.
Finally, 15 of the 48 shootings qualify as mass killings, defined by the FBI as three or more killings in a single incident. That’s a 15% increase from 2022, according to the FBI.
