One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting, a new study shows, revealing the depth and impact of the epidemic of gun violence that has washed over the US in recent decades.
The study found that about 7% of US adults have been present at the scene of a mass shooting in their lifetime, and more than 2% have been injured during one, according to new a report from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Since 2014, there have been nearly 5,000 mass shootings documented nationwide, with more than 500 occurring annually since 2020, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Those numbers seem really high. I live in a city with a lot of gun violence; I hear gunshots weekly, but I have never witnessed a shooting of another person. I have seen videos of local gun violence online and in the news, but I have a hard time believing it is that prevalent.