The Federal Bureau of Investigations issued a report on mass shootings on September 24, 2014. The Title of the Report is “A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013.”

The criteria used to define a mass shooting was when individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in populated areas (excluding shootings related to gang or drug violence).

Major Findings of the Report included:

Active shooter incidents are becoming more frequent—the first seven years of the study show an average of 6.4 incidents annually, while the last seven years show 16.4 incidents annually.

– All but six of the 160 incidents involved male shooters (and only two involved more than one shooter).

– More than half of the incidents—90 shootings—ended on the shooter’s initiative (i.e., suicide, fleeing), while 21 incidents ended after unarmed citizens successfully restrained the shooter.

– In 21 of the 45 incidents where law enforcement had to engage the shooter to end the threat, nine officers were killed and 28 were wounded.

– The largest percentage of incidents—45.6 percent—took place in a commercial environment (73 incidents), followed by 24.3 percent that took place in an educational environment (39 incidents). The remaining incidents occurred at the other location types specified in the study—open spaces, military and other government properties, residential properties, houses of worship, and health care facilities.