Tuesday morning, a gunman went on a mass shooting spree in the county of Tehama, which is about 15 miles from the city of Red Bluff. Six people lost their lives, including the shooter, and at least 10 were injured, which included children.
This incident is just one of the most recent mass shootings in which Americans are starting to see on a more common basis. With these actions becoming more frequent, a question that many people have is, “What is a mass shooting?” How many people must lose their lives for it to be considered a mass shooting?
The answer is there is no official answer. The Federal government doesn't seem to have a real definition for the term, “mass shooting.” However, broader terms require that it be defined as at least four victims be injured and not necessarily killed.
But after the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, the FBI started to define “mass killings” and “mass murder.” According to their definition, the F.B.I. defines a “mass killing” as three or more killed in a single incident. A “mass murder” is defined generally as a multiple homicide incident in which for or more victims are murdered, within one event, and in one or more locations in close proximity.
