Mass shootings in the U.S. by shooter’s by race/ethnicity as of Feb 2020

Between 1982 and February 2020, 64 out of the 116 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by white shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 20 mass shootings, and Latino in 10. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 55 percent, 18 percent and eight percent respectively.

Race of mass shooters reflects the U.S. population

Broadly speaking, the racial distribution of mass shootings mirrors the racial distribution of the U.S. population as a whole. While a superficial comparison of the statistics seems to suggest African American shooters are over-represented and Latino shooters underrepresented, the fact that the shooter’s race is unclear in around five percent of cases, along with the different time frames over which these statistics are calculated means no such conclusions should be drawn. Conversely, looking at the mass shootings in the United States by gender clearly demonstrates that the majority of mass shootings are carried out by men.

Mass shootings and mental health

With no clear patterns between the socio-economic or cultural background of mass shooters, increasing attention has been placed on mental health. Analysis of the factors Americans considered to be to blame for mass shootings showed 80 percent of people felt the inability of the mental health system to recognize those who pose a danger to others was a significant factor. This concern is not without merit – in over half of the mass shootings since 1982, the shooter showed prior signs of mental health issues, suggesting improved mental health services may help deal with this horrific problem.

Mass shootings and guns

In the wake of multiple mass shootings, critics have sought to look beyond the issues of shooter identification and their influences by focusing on their access to guns. The study mentioned above showed 61 percent of Americans felt the easy access to firearms was to blame by either a “great deal” or a “fair amount” for mass shootings. Gun control takes on a particular significance when the uniquely American phenomenon of school shootings is considered. The annual number of incidents involving firearms at K-12 schools in the U.S. was over 100 in both 2018 and 2019. Conversely, similar incidents in other developed countries exceptionally rare, with only five school shootings in G7 countries other than the U.S. between 2009 and 2018.