The Las Vegas shooting on Sunday, which left more than 50 people dead and at least 400 injured, marks a dark milestone for America: It is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. That record was previously set just last year when a gunman killed 49 people at an Orlando night club. While the Las Vegas shooting will be remembered for its catastrophic scope, it joins a long list of similarly tragic events. According to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tallies gun-related death and injury reports based on official records, as of last night, there have been 273 mass shooting in America in 2017 alone.
The organization defines “mass shooting” as any incident in which at least four or more people (excluding the gunman) are shot. A pair of mass shootings in June, including one at a Congressional baseball game practice that left Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana (the third-ranking official in the House of Representatives) in critical condition, marked the 153rd and 154th such gun violence incidents for 2017.
Gun violence is one of the top killers of young Americans, the others being car accidents and drug overdoses.
The gun industry often uses mass shootings to rally sales, telling consumers that such events may lead to stricter gun laws or serve as proof that it’s prudent to carry firearms. That may be an even more attractive option for the industry given that President Donald Trump, who has allied himself with the National Rifle Association (NRA), has been blamed by major firearms manufacturers for a somewhat ironic slump in gun sales because consumers aren’t worried about their ability to purchase the products.
Gun company stocks rose following the Las Vegas mass shooting.
