Mass shootings are happening more often, resulting in more deaths and usually ending before police get to the scene, says a new FBI report. The bureau identified 160 shootings from 2000 through 2013 that fit its definition of “active-shooter” events—”an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area,” says the Wall Street Journal. There were an average of 16.4 active-shooter incidents a year between 2006 and 2013, up from an average of 6.4 a year from 2000 to 2006. A total of 486 people were killed and 557 wounded.
Many of the shootings ended in minutes. In 23, the violence was over in less than two minutes, and two-thirds ended before police arrived. The study didn’t include gang-related violence, drug-related killings or individuals whose primary purpose was to commit suicide publicly. “Many active shooters have a real or perceived deeply held personal grievance, and the only remedy that they can perceive for that grievance is an act of catastrophic violence against a person or an institution,” said FBI behavior analysis expert Andre Simons. He added that the shootings can bring a “moment of omnipotent control and domination.” The bloodiest year for active- shooter incidents was 2012, with 90 people killed and 118 wounded in 21 incidents.