America has been rocked by another mass shooting after authorities say a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine killing at least 18 people.
Thirteen people were injured in Wednesday night’s shooting. It’s the latest massacre in a year filled with mass shootings like it.
At least 18 people have been killed, with the Lewiston shooting expected to be the deadliest shooting to occur this year.
It is the 565th mass shooting to rock the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which classifies a mass shooting as any time four or more people are shot or killed, not including the perpetrator, in the same location at relatively the same time.
Like many years before it, 2023 has been marked by mass shootings in public shopping centres, neighbourhoods, schools, private residences and more.
Here is a list of some of the prominent mass shootings to occur this year.
January 4: Enoch, Utah
At the start of the year, a 42-year-old man shot his five children as well as his mother-in-law and wife in Enoch, Utah after the wife filed for divorce.
January 16: Goshen, California
Six people were killed, including a 10-month-old baby, at a home in Goshen, California.
The shooting was allegedly conducted due to gang rivalry.
January 21: Monterey Park, California
A 72-year-old gunman opened fire at two ballrooms shortly after Lunar New Year Festival celebrations, killing 11 people and injuring nine others.
The gunman later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits a memorial set up outside Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
January 23: Half Moon Bay, California
Seven people were killed in two spree shootings that took place at mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay.
The gunman, a 66-year-old man, opened fire at his place of work, killing four of his co-workers before heading to another farm where he was previously fired from.
February 13: East Lansing, Michigan
On the Michigan State University campus, three students were killed and five other people were injured after a 43-year-old gunman opened fire.
The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
February 17: Arkabulta, Mississippi
Six people were killed and one person was injured after a 52-year-old man allegedly went on a spree shooting, firing indiscriminately in public and at residences.
March 27: Nashville, Tennessee
At a Christian elementary school in Nashville, three children and three adults were fatally shot by a 28-year-old former student of the school.
The perpetrator was later shot dead by law enforcement.
Girls embrace in front of a makeshift memorial for victims by the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, March 28, 2023— (AFP/Getty)
April 10: Louisville, Kentucky
Five people were killed and eight others were injured at the Old National Bank in Louisville after a 25-year-old former employee opened fire.
The gunman was later fatally shot by police.
April 15: Dadeville, Alabama
At a teenager’s birthday party, four were killed and 25 others were injured after several gunmen opened fire.
April 28: Cleveland, Texas
Five people were killed after a 38-year-old man opened fire in a residence shortly after getting into a dispute with neighbours.
May 1: Henryetta, Tennessee
Five children and one adult were fatally shot by a 39-year-old man who was supposed to attend a trial for his alleged sex offences later that same day.
The gunman died by suicide.
May 6: Allen, Texas
Eight people were killed and seven others were injured after a far-right extremist opened fire at the Allen Premium Outlets.
Several of the victims were children, the youngest of whom was only three years old.
The perpetrator was fatally shot by a police officer.
A woman signs a cross as a child looks on at a makeshift memorial by the mall where several people were killed in Saturday's mass shooting, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Allen, Texas— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
June 15: Sequatchie, Tennessee
Five people were killed and one person was injured after being shot in a home that was then set ablaze.
The perpetrator, a 48-year-old man, was believed to have carried out the shooting before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
July 2-3: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, a gunman opened fire in the neighbourhood of Kingsessing killing five people and injuring two others.
July 3: Fort Worth, Texas
Three people were killed and four others injured at the annual ComoFest celebration where residents were watching Independence Day fireworks.
July 4: Shreveport, Louisiana
Four people were killed and seven others were injured at an annual Independence Day block party after gunfire was exchanged between multiple men.
July 9: Cleveland, Ohio
Nine people were injured during a shooting after two suspected gunmen opened fire in a busy area of the city while bars and nightclubs were closing down for the night.
July 15: Hampton, Georgia
Four people were killed after a 40-year-old man opened fire in a neighbourhood. After a two-day manhunt, the gunman was fatally shot by police.
August 26: Jacksonville, Florida
A 21-year-old white supremacist killed three people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville in a racially-motivated shooting.
The gunman later died by suicide.
September 17: Romeoville, Illinois
A family of four, including two young children, were found dead from gunshot wounds in their home. Investigators are currently looking for the perpetrator.
October 3: Baltimore, Maryland
At Morgan State University, four people were hospitalised after suffering from gunshot wounds after gunmen opened fire on the college campus.
October 25: Lewiston, Maine
At least 18 people were killed and 13 others injured after a gunman opened fire in a shooting spree that spanned across the town of Lewiston.
Nearly every US state allows gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public in some form. But more than half of US states allow most gun owners to carry a concealed firearm in most public spaces without a permit, background check or safety training, as Republican lawmakers advance a so-called “constitutional carry” movement through state legislatures.
State officials later moved to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like the one used in attacks in the last 10 months. But assault weapons like AR-style rifles remain widely available across the country, despite repeated demands from President Joe Biden and widespread support among Democratic members of Congress to reinstate a federal ban.
Since taking office, the president has had more success in enacting new gun safety legislation than any president since Bill Clinton’s two terms in the 1990s.
But with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a de facto 60-vote threshold for any legislative action on any matter in the Democratic-controlled Senate, it is unlikely that Congress will make any progress towards any new laws that would restrict the availability of firearms in the US – even as a majority of Americans believe it should be more difficult to get them.
Alex Woodward contributed to this report
