The second-deadliest workplace shooting in the United States took place in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986 at a United States post office. There were 15 fatalities and six injuries in this shooting, and the incident inspired the American phrase “going postal.”
Workplace shootings
A mass shooting in the United States is generally defined as an incident where four or more people were injured or killed, though this can vary by source. It is sometimes difficult to identify the cause of workplace killings (also called rampage killings), although many involved disgruntled workers and some involve perpetrators with mental health problems.
Mass shootings in the United States
The vast majority of mass shootings in the United States are perpetrated by male assailants, and only three shootings have been carried out by women since 1982. Additionally, most of the weapons used in mass shootings were acquired through legal means, with only 16 incidents involving illegally obtained weapons since 1982.
Number of victims of workplace shootings in the United States between 1982 and May 2021
Characteristic
Fatalities
Injured
Total
El Paso Walmart mass shooting (El Paso, Texas, 2019)
22
26
48
San Bernardino mass shooting (San Bernardino, California, 2015)
14
21
35
Atlanta day trading spree killings (Atlanta, Georgia, 1999)
9
13
22
United States Postal Service shooting (Edmond, Oklahoma, 1986)
15
6
21
Standard Gravure shooting (Louisville, Kentucky, 1989)
9
12
21
Excel Industries mass shooting (Hesston, Kansas, 2016)
3
14
17
Virginia Beach municipal building shooting (Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2019)
12
4
16
Lockheed Martin shooting (Meridian, Mississippi, 2003)
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Mother Jones. (May 26, 2021). Number of victims of workplace shootings in the United States between 1982 and May 2021 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/476400/workplace-shootings-in-the-us-by-victim-count/
Mother Jones. "Number of victims of workplace shootings in the United States between 1982 and May 2021." Chart. May 26, 2021. Statista. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/476400/workplace-shootings-in-the-us-by-victim-count/
Mother Jones. (2021). Number of victims of workplace shootings in the United States between 1982 and May 2021. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 19, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/476400/workplace-shootings-in-the-us-by-victim-count/
Mother Jones. "Number of Victims of Workplace Shootings in The United States between 1982 and May 2021." Statista, Statista Inc., 26 May 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/476400/workplace-shootings-in-the-us-by-victim-count/
Mother Jones, Number of victims of workplace shootings in the United States between 1982 and May 2021 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/476400/workplace-shootings-in-the-us-by-victim-count/ (last visited May 19, 2022)