TIME, which MGMcAnick linked to, defined a mass shooting as "a shooting a public place in which at least three victims were killed". The Gun Violence Archive (a non-profit that tracks shootings in the US) defines a mass shooting as "a single incident in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are 'shot and/or killed' at 'the same general time and location' ". Note this does not restrict the shooting to a public place, and that it is based on killed and injured, not merely number of dead.
So using the GVA's definition, the 251 number is almost spot on. Here's a list of the 255 shootings they have recorded for 2019 so far. To put this into perspective, August 5 is the 217th day of the year, meaning that by their standards, the US has averaged almost 1.2 mass shootings PER DAY this year. Given that rate, we can expect at least 172 more before the year is over.
Oh ... I just thought I'd toss this in here as well. Doesn't necessarily have to be a mass shooting, either, to totally fuck up someone else's world.
I hope there are enough thoughts and prayers to go around.Chicago shootings leave 40 shot, 3 fatally; Mt. Sinai Hospital closes emergency room
A West Side hospital is not accepting any more patients to its emergency room after a violent weekend in which forty people were shot, three fatally, across the city.
(as reported by WLS-TV in Chicago; later updated to 59 shot and 7 dead)
-"BB"-