According to new FBI data, Washington state had the second-highest number of shootings of any state last year

Daniel Schrager / The Bellingham Herald (TNS)

Of the 48 mass shootings that occurred in the United States last year, four occurred in Washington state, according to an FBI report released earlier this week.

That’s the second-highest number of any state, behind California’s eight. Texas also had four shootings, which the FBI defines as incidents in which a gunman is “actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.”

Why has there been an increase in shootings in Washington?

The four shootings in Washington resulted in 12 deaths, the seventh-highest number of any state. And that’s after there were no incidents in 2022, 2021, and 2020. According to the FBI, there were 14 shootings in Washington between 2000 and 2019, the sixth-highest number of any state.

According to Amy Alexander, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Seattle office, it is difficult to say whether the increase in school shootings last year is the beginning of a trend or not.

“It’s hard to say because of the nature of a shooting spree,” Alexander said in a phone call with McClatchy.

Alexander cited a report that examined mass shootings between 2000 and 2013 and concluded that there was little connection between them.

“They didn’t see a lot of similarities in the demographics of the shooters,” Alexander said. “The majority of them are male, and the majority are lone shooters. But other than that, there’s a huge range in demographics, from younger to older shooters. So I don’t know how to conclude why this data looks different for 2023 than it did last year.”

The first shooting spree in Washington in 2023 occurred in Renton and SeaTac, leaving one dead and two injured. Later that month, three people were killed in a shooting at a Circle K in Yakima. The third shooting spree in the state occurred in June during a music festival at the Gorge Amphitheater, while the most recent incident occurred in Federal Way in December.

While it’s possible that the increase in shootings last year – after three consecutive years of no shootings in the state – was related to the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions, Alexander said there isn’t enough evidence to reach that conclusion.

“I don’t want to speculate on that, but I can say that these incidents are taking place in public places. For example, we have five categories of places: open spaces, commerce, education, healthcare and residential. Aside from residential, these are all places where people gather,” Alexander said.

Nationally, the number of school shootings has declined slightly from 2022, when there were 50, but it has risen sharply since the 2010s, when there were an average of 23 school shootings per year over the course of the decade. In the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, there were 89% more school shootings than in the previous five years.

FBI emergency preparedness tips

Alexander said the public can help prevent shootings by reporting behavior that may indicate someone is planning a shooting at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

“If you look at the study on pre-attack behavior, it says that in the life of every active shooter, at least one person has noticed worrisome behavior, but not all of it is reported to authorities,” Alexander said.

Alexander also said the FBI wants to make people aware of its resources for preparing for mass shootings.

“We have a number of resources on our website to give people more information… There are a couple of videos on ‘run, hide and fight.’ There’s a bar video and also a school video that tells people what to do,” Alexander said.

If you want to learn more about how to prepare for a school shooting, the FBI website has a list of steps people can take to reduce the risk of death or injury to themselves and those around them.

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