mass shooting
Crowded venue slaughter
A mass shooting is an incident in which someone fires a gun and kills or wounds multiple people.
Definitions vary on the threshold—some require four or more victims, others three.
The term dominates American news coverage, where such events occur with grim regularity: Another mass shooting at a school, The city is reeling from yesterday's mass shooting.
Enforced restriction on movement
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- SWATElite police squad
- first respondersPersonnel arriving at emergencies initially
- triageSeverity-based prioritization
shelter in place · casualties · survivors · 911 · emergency · response · perimeter · breach
Those who suffer harm
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
- candlelightLuminescence from burning wick
- tributesExpressions honoring someone
remembrance · survivors · condolences · eulogy · funeral · heartbreak · sorrow · loss
Firearm ownership restrictions
- assault weaponsMilitary-derived rapid-fire guns
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- NRAGun rights advocates
- Second AmendmentConstitutional gun rights clause
legislation · ban · loophole · mental health · red flag law · thoughts and prayers · reform · Congress
Extreme, overwhelming fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
paranoia · PTSD · hypervigilance · triggering · dread · alarm · horror · shock
Newly unfolding events reported
- headlineNews article title
- coverageExtent of inclusion
- eyewitnessOne who saw events
- footageRecorded video material
manifesto · mugshot · death toll · press conference · reporter · broadcast · live coverage · interview
lockdown
Enforced restriction on movement
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- SWATElite police squad
- first respondersPersonnel arriving at emergencies initially
triage · shelter in place · casualties · survivors · 911 · emergency · response · perimeter · breach · command post
victims
Those who suffer harm
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
- candlelightLuminescence from burning wick
tributes · remembrance · survivors · condolences · eulogy · funeral · heartbreak · sorrow · loss · mourning
gun control
Firearm ownership restrictions
- assault weaponsMilitary-derived rapid-fire guns
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- NRAGun rights advocates
Second Amendment · legislation · ban · loophole · mental health · red flag law · thoughts and prayers · reform · Congress · lobby
terror
Extreme, overwhelming fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- traumaLasting psychological wound
nightmare · paranoia · PTSD · hypervigilance · triggering · dread · alarm · horror · shock · threat
breaking news
Newly unfolding events reported
- headlineNews article title
- coverageExtent of inclusion
- eyewitnessOne who saw events
footage · manifesto · mugshot · death toll · press conference · reporter · broadcast · live coverage · interview · correspondent
- killingshomicide, murder for hire, manslaughter, killing, assassination
- global issuesclimate change, water scarcity, inequality, pandemics, poverty
- World EventsOlympics, World Cup, G20, G7 summit, pandemic
- attacksattack, assault, raid, strike, offensive
- Historical TragediesHolocaust, genocide, massacre, atrocity, ethnic cleansing
- school safetyschool safety, lockdown, lockdown drill, safe schools, fire drill
mass shootingmass evacuation
Organized large-scale departure
public safety · peace · collective security · safe haven · sanctuary
mass shootingpublic safety
Collective welfare from threats
peace · civil order · community safety · nonviolence · domestic tranquility
mass, shoot, shooting, massive, massively, masses, massed, massing, shooter