June 24 (UPI) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday released its report outlining active shooter incidents and statistics in the United States for 2023.
The FBI reported 48 active shooter incidents in 26 of 50 states in 2023 with 244 casualties, 105 of which were fatalities.
But although active shooter incidents in the U.S. declined by 4% from 2022 to 2023, the FBI says there were 229 active incidents from 2019 to 2023, which was an 89% increase from the previous five-year period.
The federal investigative agency says the report is intended to provide an overview of active shooter incidents “to help law enforcement, other first responders, and the public better understand the levels of threats associated with active shooter incidents.”
The 48 active shooter incidents last year occurred in five distinct location categories, according to the FBI, such as: open space, commerce, education, health care and residence.
California, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania and Georgia had the highest number of shooting incidents per state that year, with eight shootings in California to three in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Notably, three of those five states have Democrat governors, with Texas and Georgia with Republican chief executives.
The 2023 report points to a disproportionate number of shooting casualties in California, with 47, and Maine, with 31, the latter a direct result of the October 2023 mass shooting rampage that killed 18 and injured 13 others at a Lewiston bowling alley despite the fact California saw eight shooting incidents that year, but only one in Maine.
The 229 active shooter incidents listed from 2019 to 2023 occurred in 44 states, including Washington, and, likewise, represent seven other location categories, such as: commerce, open space, education, government, residence, health care and house of worship.
The FBI’s 55-page report came the day after 10 victims, including two minors, were shot early Sunday in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
It also arrived days after an active shooter incident at an Arkansas grocery store took aim at 11 civilians that left four people dead and eight others wounded in Fordyce, a south-central Arkansas town with a population of just under 3,400 in 2020.