Mass shootings this weekend: Michigan shooting may or may not meet the definition of a mass shooting, depending on who you ask

CHICAGO (WLS) — There are different definitions of a crime committed hundreds of times a year across the country.

Dozens of mass shootings have occurred in Chicago neighborhoods in recent years, and hundreds across America each year. But there are still misunderstandings about what constitutes a mass shooting and why.

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Depending on who defines the crime, the rapid-fire attack in Willowbrook Township last summer may or may not have been a mass shooting, even though 23 people were shot and one of them killed.

It was the same story in Michigan on Saturday. Thirty-six shots were fired and nine people were injured, including an 8-year-old boy.

Many shots were fired at large numbers of people, but because no one died, nor would many law enforcement agencies call them mass shootings.

Policies create confusion. A U.S. law drafted in 2012 states that mass killings mean three or more killings in a single incident. An FBI spokesperson told the I-Team: “In order to track crime data, the FBI defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people are killed with a firearm. ” The widely cited Gun Violence Archive defines it as “four victims shot or killed, not including the shooter.”

“When you shoot someone, your intent is to murder them. More than two people, in my opinion, would constitute a mass shooting,” said Tim McCarthy, former longtime Orland Park police chief , to the I-Team.

He now co-owns and operates a private security company and survived what was described as a mass shooting while he was a Secret Service agent protecting President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

“I think we need to go back and change our thinking a little bit. And even if we say a felon with a gun is a class four felony, we need to treat it like a class four felony.” , McCarthy said.

The presidential attacker used a 22-caliber six-shot revolver, proving that mass attacks do not require high-capacity weapons.

“Six rounds out of a revolver was just as deadly. Hitting four people in 1.4 seconds. What we're seeing now are mostly semi-automatics. Revolvers can be just as deadly,” McCarthy said.

He tells the I-Team that despite his 50 years of experience in law enforcement, he doesn't have a good answer on how to turn back the high-capacity weapons crime wave. But McCarthy points out that there are strong laws that could be better enforced, including prosecuting and incarcerating more criminals convicted and captured with guns.