mass shooting

plural mass shootings

1. UScountableuncountablecrimeThe shooting of multiple people over a short period of time, particularly when there are many victims and in which the victims are targeted indiscriminately.

   Police on Monday said they have arrested one man who is a suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting in Sacramento that killed six people and wounded 12 others.

   2022 April 4, Susannah Cullinane, Holly Yan, Stella Chan and Cheri Mossburg, “All 6 victims killed in the Sacramento mass shooting are identified as police arrest a suspect”, in CNN

   1 more example

   There is no consensus on what constitutes a mass shooting; different groups define it differently, depending on circumstances including the number of victims, whether the victims are killed or wounded, and whether the shooting occurs in a public place. The Gun Violence Archive[…] defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people were killed or injured. As of late March, the Gun Violence Archive has counted 130 mass shootings in the United States this year.

   2023 March 28, Daniel Victor, “U.S. Mass Shootings in 2023: A Partial List”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Mar 2023

   Synonyms: shooting spree