Gun Violence Archive defines mass shootings as four or more people killed or injured, including the shooter.  

These numbers have led to a study showing an increase in mass shootings in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Gun Violence Archive, between April 2020 and July 2021, there were 343 more mass shootings, 217 people killed and 1,498 people injured in the United States.  

The study also identified an increase in mass shootings after May 2020, compared to the numbers in recent years. According to the study, there were 88 shootings in July 2020, 42 in July 2019 and 45 in July 2018.  

Related: Wesley Charles Martines Arrested, Weapons and Racial Writing Found 

“I’m scared to death of the summer, I’ll be real honest,” said Mark Bryant, the Gun Violence Archive’s founder. “I expect this to be a record year.”  

The study also collected the numbers of shootings and gun violence in cities. In Chicago, the study reported an increase in gun incidents of 64% compared to two years ago.  

In 2020, there were 611 mass shootings in the U.S. compared with 417 a year earlier. The U.S. has endured 498 mass shootings this year, with 34 in September alone.  

After April 2020, the study shows an average of .78 additional mass shootings per day, .49 other people killed and 3.40 people injured each day.  

“What we have is compounded trauma,” said Shani Buggs, an assistant professor with the University of California at Davis’s Violence Prevention Research Program. “The pandemic exacerbated all of the inequities we had in our country—along racial lines, health lines, social lines, economic lines. All of the drivers of gun violence pre-pandemic were just worsened last year.” 

Related: Gun Violence Incidents on the Rise in the United States 

If you or someone you know is struggling from trauma triggered by this story, resources are available here.