By james art The latest mass killing in the US was reported early Monday at a home southeast of Seattle, where five people were found dead and a teenager was taken into custody.
It is the 32nd mass killing in the country this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The shooting in Washington state appears to have involved members of a family at a home in the rural community of Fall City, King County Sheriff’s spokesman Mike Mellis said at a briefing. Deputies found the bodies of two adults and three young teenagers and took one teenager into custody, Melis said. Another injured teenager was taken to hospital. Officials still did not know how they were connected.
At least 140 people have died this year in mass killings, which are defined as cases in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass murders in the US, making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record.
Here’s a look at other mass murders in the U.S. this year:
BIRMINGHAM, AL: September 21st
Four people were killed and more than a dozen wounded outside a nightclub in what police described as a targeted “strike” by multiple shooters. Police Chief Scott Thurmond said authorities believe the shooting was aimed at one of the people who were killed, possibly in a hit-and-run. A vehicle pulled up and “multiple shooters” got out and started shooting, then fled, he said.
WINDER, GA: September 4
Two students and two teachers were killed at Appalachian High School northeast of Atlanta, and another teacher and eight other students were injured. A 14-year-old student has been charged as an adult with murder. Authorities also charged his father with manslaughter, second-degree murder and child cruelty, saying he gave his son access to the rifle used in the shooting.
FOREST PARK, IL: September 2
Four people sleeping on a train in the Chicago area were shot on Labor Day morning. Police were called to an out-of-town Chicago Transit Authority station. A 30-year-old man was detained. The victims are a woman and three men. A motive was not immediately released.
IRONDEQUOIT, NEW YORK: August 31
Four people were found dead after firefighters extinguished multiple house fires in upstate New York, although authorities said they were likely killed by something else. Firefighters found the bodies of two adults – a 2-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.
SYOSSET, NEW YORK: August 25
Police said a man confused about being forced to move out of his late mother’s home shot and killed four family members before taking his own life. The shooting happened three days after his mother’s funeral.
DALTON, GA: August 24
Four men, ages 17 to 21, were shot in a park. A teenager has been charged with murder in what police said was a robbery that turned violent. Multiple weapons are involved.
PLANT CITY, FL: July 31
Police say an arson has killed four people near Tampa. A 25-year-old man who lived in the house has been charged with arson murder. Three dogs also died.
NEW YORK CITY: July 19
A grandmother, mother and her two children, ages 5 and 4, were fatally stabbed in a Brooklyn apartment. A 24-year-old man who knew the four was arrested.
WEST BLOCKTON, AL: July 18
A man has been charged with killing his wife and four children, ages 2 to 9, in a rural Bibb County community. The man did not say anything about a motive when he was taken into custody. “Even experienced officers told me it was the worst thing they had ever seen,” said Sheriff Jody Wade.
BIRMINGHAM, AL: July 13
The victims were shot in a nightclub. A man died on the sidewalk, while two women were killed inside the club. Another man was pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators believe some shots were fired outside the club.
ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA: July 10
Police have arrested a man in the shooting of his wife, two children and his wife’s parents in the San Francisco Bay Area. The man’s father-in-law went to a neighbor for help and spoke to the police before he died.
FLORENCE, KY: July 6
A birthday party turned deadly in the wee hours when four people were shot. The 21-year-old suspected shooter crashed his car into a ditch during a police chase and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: June 24
A 48-year-old man, who was banned from owning a gun because of a criminal record, killed himself after shooting five people, police said. The violence started after the man had an argument with an ex-girlfriend. Victims at the apartment complex included a neighbor who tried to help, as well as the neighbor’s mother and grandmother.
FORDYCE, ARKANSAS: June 21
A 44-year-old man shot people in the parking lot before opening fire inside the Mad Butcher grocery store, killing four. Police said he did not appear to be related to the victims. The shooting happened in the middle of the day in Fordyce, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Little Rock.
HUDSON, FL: June 12
A landlord was accused of murdering a family of four and burning their bodies. The two children are 6 and 5 years old. The family has been reported missing by relatives. Police say a backyard fire pit was smoldering when they searched the Pasco County property.
MARION, Iowa: June 5
Police say a metal pipe was used to kill four people in an outbuilding of a rural home near Cedar Rapids.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: April 29
Four police officers were shot dead in the deadliest attack on US law enforcement since 2016. They were killed when a multi-agency task force attempted to apprehend a 39-year-old man for illegal possession of a firearm and fleeing to another county.
YUKON, OKLAHOMA: April 22
A 10-year-old boy woke up to find his parents and three brothers dead in their home near Oklahoma City, all fatally shot by his father, police said. Authorities believe the 42-year-old killed his wife and three sons — ages 18, 14 and 12 — before turning the gun on himself. Police said they did not immediately know why the fourth child was spared or if there was a motive for the shooting.
ROCKFORD, IL: March 27
A frenzied stabbing and beating left four people dead in a matter of minutes and at least seven people injured. Authorities said a 22-year-old man has been charged. Police did not immediately know his motive. The mayor of Rockford said the victims were 63, 23, 49 and 15 years old.
IRELAND, W. VIRGINIA: March 11
The bodies of four people aged from 3 months to 90 years were found in the remains of a burning house. A fifth person with an apparent gunshot wound was found dead behind a chicken coop nearby, authorities said. A 45-year-old male suspect was found dead by suicide about 110 miles (180 kilometers) away, parked in a vehicle outside his relatives’ home. Authorities did not immediately share details about a motive.
HONOLULU, HAWAII: March 10
Authorities said a woman and three children, ages 10, 12 and 17, were fatally stabbed at a Manoa home. The woman’s husband was also found dead. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated the husband fatally stabbed his wife and children. Authorities did not immediately share a motive. Police said the five deaths were the worst mass killing in the state since 1999. They said there was no history of house calls at the residence.
KING CITY, CA: March 3
Police say three men wearing dark masks got out of a silver Kia and opened fire at an outdoor party in central California, killing three men and a woman and wounding seven others. The shooting happened on a street of modest homes across from a commercial area in King City, near Pinnacles National Park.
FERGUSON, MO: Feb. 19
Authorities said a 39-year-old woman intentionally set her home on fire to kill herself and her four children, ages 2, 5, 9 and 9. Investigators believe the mother set fire to a mattress and left a note saying she intended to kill herself and her children, police said. Responding firefighters found the house engulfed in flames. Neighbors tried to save the family, but the fire was too strong.
BIRMINGHAM, AL: Feb. 16
Authorities said four men were killed in a drive-by shooting. Dozens of shots were fired outside a home in Birmingham, police said. People were standing outside a house washing their cars when someone drove by and opened fire. There were no immediate reports of arrests.
HUNTINGTON PARK, CA: Feb. 11
A shooting spree over several hours left four people dead: a man in Bell, a man in a Los Angeles shopping mall parking lot, a 14-year-old boy in Cudahy and a homeless man in Huntington Park, authorities said. At least one other minor was injured. Two suspected gang members have been arrested in connection with the shooting, authorities said.
EAST LANSDOWNE, PA: Feb. 7
Six sets of human remains have been recovered from the ashes of a fire that destroyed a home near Philadelphia, according to the district attorney’s office. Authorities suspect the dead — including three children — were killed by a 43-year-old male relative who also died after shooting and wounding two police officers, the office said. A motive was not immediately known.
EL MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA: January 23
Authorities found the bodies of six men in the Mojave Desert outside the sparsely populated community of El Mirage after someone called 911 to say they had been shot, according to sheriff’s officials. The men were likely shot in a dispute over marijuana, authorities said. The bodies were found about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles in an area known for illegal cannabis operations. Five men were arrested and charged with murder.
JOLIET, IL: January 21
Authorities say a 23-year-old man shot eight people — including seven of his relatives — and wounded a ninth person in a Chicago suburb. He fatally shot himself later during a standoff with law enforcement in Texas. Authorities believe he was trying to get to Mexico. Police said the victims included his mother, siblings, aunt, uncle and two men he may not have known. They were found in two homes, in front of a block of flats and on the street
TINLEY PARK, IL: January 21
A 63-year-old suburban Chicago man killed his wife and three grown daughters in a domestic shooting, police said. The man is said to have shot dead the four family members – aged 53, 24 and two 25-year-old twins – following a dispute at their home. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
RICHMOND, TEXAS: January 13
A 46-year-old man fatally shot his estranged wife and three other relatives, including his 8-year-old niece, in a suburban Houston home before killing himself, authorities said. Authorities said the man told his estranged wife he wanted to get back together, but she refused. As well as killing his niece and estranged wife, he also killed her brother and sister, aged 43 and 46.
REEDLEY, CALIFORNIA: January 6
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murdering four members of a neighboring family in central California. He lived next door to the victims — ages 81, 61, 44 and 43 — in Reedley, a small town near Fresno. Three bodies were found in their backyard, including one buried in a shallow grave, while another was found in the detached garage of the teenager’s home, police said.