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The deadliest mass shootings in the US, from Columbine to Sandy Hook

Children from the Covenant School in Nashville are led to safety (Jonathan Mattise/AP)
Children from the Covenant School in Nashville are led to safety (Jonathan Mattise/AP)

In America’s latest shooting, a man in Chicago is suspected of shooting and killing eight people before fatally shooting himself after a confrontation with police officers in Texas.

Police in Joliet, Illinois, said Romeo Nance was found by US Marshals near Natalia, Texas on Monday morning.

The victims were found at three different locations in the Chicago suburbs, several hours after police warned on social media that Nance could be considered “armed and dangerous”.

The attack comes as the Lewiston, Maine shooting is marked as the deadliest shooting of 2023 in the States.

A series of murders which took place in December last year took the US to a grisly new record: the most recorded mass shootings in a year. It broke the previous record of 36 reached in 2022. Two attacks took place on December 3 within a couple of hours of each other in Texas and Washington state, making it 2023's 37th and 38th mass shootings.

A murder-suicide is believed to be responsible for the death of five family members in Vancouver, a suburb of Portland, Oregon.

In Dallas, a 21-year-old with a previous aggravated assault charge shot five people in a house, including a toddler.

In New York City, another attack took place on Sunday when a 38-year-old man stabbed four of his relatives – including two children – as well as another woman and two police officers before they shot him.

At least 203 people have died this year in mass killings. Mass killings are defined as incidents in which four or more people have died, not including the killer. On average, the US has seen more than 39,000 gun deaths a year since 2014, according to data from Gun Violence Archives. In 2023, there were 630 shootings across the US. The archives also show that at least 40,167 people have died from gun violence in the same year.

Below are the 15 mass-shooting incidents with the highest number of victims in the US, including the Pulse nightclub attack and the Columbine High School massacre.

Deadliest mass shootings in the US since 1982

  1. Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017

  2. Orlando, Florida, 2016

  3. Virginia Tech, Virginia, 2007

  4. Sandy Hook, Connecticut, 2012

  5. Sutherland Springs, Texas, 2017

  6. San Ysidro, California, 1984

  7. Killeen, Texas, 1999

  8. El Paso, Texas, 2019

  9. Uvalde, Texas, 2022

  10. Parkland, Florida, 2018

  11. Edmond, Oklahoma, 1986

  12. San Bernardino, California, 2015

  13. Binghamton, New York, 2009

  14. Fort Hood, Texas, 2009

  15. Columbine, Colorado, 1999

Uvalde residents gather for a vigil following the mass shooting at a school (Jordan Vonderhaar / Getty Images)
Uvalde residents gather for a vigil following the mass shooting at a school (Jordan Vonderhaar / Getty Images)

Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017

The deadliest mass shooting in the US occurred in Las Vegas in October 2017.

During the Route 91 Harvest music festival, 58 people were shot and killed when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd from a hotel window, before killing himself. Two additional victims died from their injuries years later, bringing the number of victims to 60.

Orlando, Florida, 2016

In June 2016, 49 people were killed at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, while a further 53 were injured. The gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, was killed by police after a three-hour standoff.

Virginia Tech, Virginia, 2007

Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho, aged 23, killed 32 people at the college in April, 2007. Twenty-seven students and five faculty members died in the attack, before Cho shot and killed himself.

Sandy Hook, Connecticut, 2012

In December 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother before travelling to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He then fatally shot 20 children and six faculty members, before killing himself.

Sutherland Springs, Texas, 2017

Twenty-five people, including a pregnant woman, were shot and killed when Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, in November 2017. Kelley killed himself soon after the attack.

San Ysidro, California, 1984

In July 1984, 41-year-old James Oliver Huberty opened fire at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, California. He killed 21 people and wounded 19 others, before being shot and killed by law enforcement.

Killeen, Texas, 1999

A mass shooting took place at Luby’s café, in Killeen, Texas, in October 1999. George Hennard, 35, drove his truck through the popular café before opening fire and killing 23 people, and he was subsequently killed by law enforcement.

Police officers outside Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, where 21 people were killed (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
Police officers outside Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, where 21 people were killed (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

El Paso, Texas, 2019

Twenty-three people were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in August 2019. Patrick Crusius, 21, was arrested and charged following the attack and is currently in jail awaiting trial.

Uvalde, Texas, 2022

At least 19 children and two adults were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas, on April 24, 2022. The gunman, Salvador Ramos, 18, was killed by a Border Patrol agent.

Lewiston, Maine 2023

The mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine has been marked as one of the deadliest in 2023 since the Uvalde school massacre. Eighteen people died and dozens were injured after the gunman, Robert Card, opened fire at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston on 25 October 2023. Card reportedly died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds and his body was recovered following a 48-hour manhunt.

Parkland, Florida, 2018

The Stoneman Douglas High School shooting took place on February 14, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, aged 19 at the time, fatally shot 17 students and faculty members and injured 17 others. Cruz was sentenced to life without parole in 2022.

Edmond, Oklahoma, 1986

The United States Postal Service shooting of 1986 took place in Edmonton, Oklahoma. Postal worker Patrick Sherrill killed 14 people and injured a further six, before killing himself.

Police officers in Uvalde, Texas, following the school shooting (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
Police officers in Uvalde, Texas, following the school shooting (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

San Bernardino, California, 2015

Married couple Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, shot dead 14 people at a Christmas party for the San Bernardino public health department in December 2015. They were shot and killed by police.

Binghamton, New York, 2009

Jiverly Wong, 42, killed 13 people at an immigration services center in Binghamton, New York, in April, 2003. Wong entered a classroom of students attending English lessons and took dozens of them hostage, before killing himself when alarms were sounded.

Fort Hood, Texas, 2009

In November 2009, US Army officer Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others. Hasan was shot and killed by police.

Columbine, Colorado, 1999

In April 1999, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, shot and killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, before killing themselves. It was the deadliest high school shooting in US history at the time.