mass shootings

Mass shootings is the plural of mass shooting, an incident in which someone opens fire on multiple people, typically in a public place.

The term has no fixed definition—some count any shooting with four or more victims, others require fatalities.

Mass shootings dominate American news cycles and gun control debates: Another mass shooting, another round of thoughts and prayers.

The phrase often implies random public violence rather than gang activity or domestic incidents, though definitions vary by source.