The exact number of so-called “mass shootings” is difficult to precisely determine because there is no empirical definition. The closest we have to an accounting is the number advanced by Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a research organization that tracks gun violence.
According to GVA, there have been 248 mass shootings in the United States in 2019 – or an average of 1.2 mass shootings every day. They resulted in 979 people being hit and 245 of them dying.
Wow! I bet those are much higher numbers than you imagined. The GVA defines a mass shooting as an event where “four or more people, excluding the perpetrators, are shot in one location at roughly the same time.”
But before we examine the facts behind those numbers, we should understand the current narrative.
The left-wing press would have you believe that most mass shootings are the result of white supremacy. They profile the shooters as young white males motivated by racial hatred. They cite El Paso as a prime example.
They also imply that the so-called “assault rifle” is the weapon of choice – although there is no such unique definition of a weapon. It is a colloquial term. Most guns are either automatic or semi-automatic. Automatic weapons are illegal. The infamous AR-15 is essentially the same as a hunting rifle – you need to pull the trigger to release each round. This misimpression was advanced by CNN’s Erin Burnett when she shouted down former Senator Rick Santorum — insisting that the assault rifle is the weapon of choice in most mass shootings.
For sure, El Paso was the work of a racist – a white supremacist – who feared the influx of Hispanics. One can also accept the reports from the FBI that white supremacy violence is on the uptick. In fact, it is said to have jumped 200 percent in the past few years. That number is not so scary if you consider the low number of violent acts by white supremacists vis a vis the much larger number of violent acts not related to white supremacy. Heinous as they are, attacks by white supremacists are not pandemic as the left contends – while ignoring violence on the left.d
That is not to suggest that white supremacy violence is NOT a problem – and a growing one. Or that we should not be concerned and not respond with full force. We need to recognize that political violence has a larger impact on society – fair or not – than what we might call common violence.
Since the Dayton shooting there have been five additional mass shootings in America according to the GVA. Ponder that for a moment. Five mass shootings that have been totally ignored by the mainstream media.
Just for the record, they are:
August 4, Chicago, 7 wounded in a drive-by shooting
August 4, Chicago, 1 dead, 7 wounded
August 4, Grenada, Mississippi, 4 wounded (assailant unknown)
August 4, Memphis, Tennessee, 1 dead, 3 wounded
August 5, Brooklyn, New York, 4 wounded at candlelight vigil
Granted, none of these are as horrific as El Paso and Dayton, but they are also not irrelevant. Also, the two incidents in Chicago, do not reflect the non-mass shootings over the weekend that wounded more than fifty people and killed seven.
What is also noteworthy is that they are not the exclusive work of “young white males.” In fact, they would be a minority among the known shooters. A high proportion occurred in minority neighborhoods in Democrat-run communities – which may explain why these mass shootings do not get much attention from Democrat politicians and their media allies. Furthermore, the vast majority of the shootings were NOT committed with the so-called assault rifle.
It would most certainly not be appropriate to put many of these mass shootings on par with El Paso and Dayton – both in the numbers killed and the political motivations. El Paso was the result of a radicalized white supremacist and Dayton the work of a left-wing Antifa warrior – although that fact has been largely ignored by the east coast progressive media.
We do not diminish the meaning of El Paso and Dayton by openly addressing the bigger picture of mass shootings AND non-mass shootings. But we do a great disservice by ignoring them.
So, there ‘tis.