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Active shooter incidents rose 53 percent last year, FBI says

Active shooter incidents rose more than 50 percent over 2021, according to new data released by the FBI.

There were 61 active shooter situations in 2021, a jump of 53 percent from 2020, with a similar rise in the number of casualties.


The report lands just over a week after a racially motivated shooter opened fire at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store, killing 10.

The 2021 incident with the highest number of casualties was also at a grocery store: the Boulder, Colo. shooting that also killed 10. 

The 2021 data continues an upward trend in active shooter incidents, with such shootings jumping more than 30 percent between 2020 and 2019. 

The FBI noted that the shootings were predominantly carried out by men — of the 61 shooters, just one was a woman.

It also noted a trend of shooters increasingly targeting multiple locations. 

“The FBI observed an emerging trend involving roving active shooters; specifically, shooters who shoot in multiple locations, either in one day or in various locations over several days,” the agency wrote in its report.