Fourth of July mass shootings increased in past three years, group says

Mass shootings are becoming more common during a holiday typically known for fireworks and barbecues, according to a nonprofit that tracks shootings.

There were 80 mass shootings in total over the past three years between July 1 and July 7, said Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a nonprofit that tracks US shootings. UNITED STATES.

The GVA defines a “mass shooting” as a shooting that kills or injures four or more people, not including the shooter.

There were 25 mass shootings during the week of July 4, 2021, 27 during this week in 2022, and 28 in 2023.

In Hayward, California, on July 4, 2023, a fight broke out between two groups of people in a crowded area where Fourth of July celebrations were taking place. Gunshots rang out and the shooting left six people injured, according to police. All were eventually released from the hospital, according to local police.

A day later in the nation's capital, a shooting in the city's northeast quadrant left nine people injured, including two children, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

“What happens around the 4th is there are more gatherings, more heat, more unrest, and that's the biggest one, and I think that's what's going to continue to drive up the numbers, there’s anger and proximity to guns,” Bryant told ABC News.

Steve Casstevens, who retired as police chief of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and served as president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), told ABC News that the increase in Fourth of July shootings “happen every year.”

“On the one hand, there are family gatherings, meaning the heat of the Fourth of July weekend, alcohol and sometimes a gathering of people who don't like each other. And then the guns come out,” he said. “The other style is mass gatherings, parades and parties, like in the Highland Park shooting a few years ago, where there were mass gatherings. In many of these mass shootings over the years, the perpetrators are looking for an opportunity to come together. »

Casstevens urges people to report anything to law enforcement if anyone seems suspicious.

“At large public gatherings, whether it’s parades or festivals or things like that, people can easily become complacent,” he said. “Just be vigilant. When you’re walking around and it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit and you have guys walking by you with long leather jackets, well, that’s what we call an indicator, that’s abnormal.”

In these mass shootings, like the one in Highland Park, Illinois, there are indicators and warning signs that the FBI tries to be proactive about before something happens, according to the head of the FBI's behavioral analysis unit.

“We know that the offenders who commit these mass attacks often follow a very specific path, a very specific trajectory,” BAU chief Dr. Karie Gibson told ABC News.

The FBI launched a website in May aimed at preventing mass shootings and warning of indicators that someone might be headed down a path to violence.

Some indicators, the FBI said, include jokes or comments, interest in past mass shootings and problematic interactions with others.

“Someone needs to intervene before someone breaks the law or a crime is committed. So this campaign really highlights the importance of bystanders and the importance of them coming forward, and the important role they play,” Gibson said.

The FBI urges people to contact their local office. Sometimes an arrest or police action is not even necessary.

“Many people don't realize that law enforcement has a proactive prevention service to deal with individuals who are heading down a path of violence and to mitigate this targeted violence that we face.” , Gibson said.