by W.D. Ehrhart
What follows is a list of mass shootings with firearms in the United States of America since the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20th, 1999 that resulted in 13 dead and 24 wounded. Each one of these killings has resulted in at least three dead. Most have involved many more dead, along with many others wounded. The worst incident resulted in 58 dead and 546 wounded.
Littleton, Colo., April 20, 1999
Atlanta, Ga., July 29, 1999
Fort Worth, Texas, September 15, 1999
Honolulu, Hawaii, November 2, 1999
Tampa, Fla., December 30, 1999
Wakefield, Mass., December 26, 2000
Melrose Park, Ill., February 5, 2001
Meridian, Miss., July 8, 2003
Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 2004
Brookfield, Wisc., March 12, 2005
RedLake, Minn., March 21, 2005
Goleta, Calif., January 30, 2006
Seattle, Wash, March 25, 2006
Nickel Mines, Pa., October 2, 2006
Salt Lake City, Utah, February 12, 2007
Blacksburg, Va., April 16, 2007
Crandon, Wisc., October 7, 2007
Omaha, Neb., December 5, 2007
Kirkwood, Mo., February 7, 2008
DeKalb, Ill., February 14, 2008
Henderson, Ky., June 25, 2008
Carthage, N.C., March 29, 2009
Binghamton, N.Y., April 3, 2009
Fort Hood, Texas, November 5, 2009
Parkland, Wash, November 29, 2009
Manchester, Conn., August 3, 2010
Tucson, Ariz., January 8, 2011
Carson City, Nev., September 6, 2011
Seal Beach, Calif., October 12, 2011
Norcross, Ga., February 21, 2012
Oakland, Calif., April 2, 2012
Seattle, Wash, May 20, 2012
Aurora, Colo., July 20, 2012
Oak Creek, Wisc., August 5, 2012
Minneapolis, Minn., September 27, 2012
Newtown, Conn., December 14, 2012
Mohawk, N.Y., March 13, 2013
Federal Way, Wash, April 21, 2013
Santa Monica, Calif., June 7, 2013
Hialeah, Fla., July 26, 2013
Washington, D.C., September 16, 2013
Alturas, Calif., February 20, 2014
Fort Hood, Texas, April 3, 2014
Santa Barbara, Calif., May 23, 2014
Marysville, Wash, October 24, 2014
Menasha, Wisc., June 11, 2015
Charleston, S.C., June 17, 2015
Chattanooga, Tenn., July 16, 2015
Roseburg, Ore., October 1, 2015
Colorado Springs, Colo., October 31, 2015
Colorado Springs, Colo., November 27, 2015
San Bernardino, Calif., December 2, 2015
Kalamazoo, Mich., February 20, 2016
Hesston, Kan., February 25, 2016
Orlando, Fla., June 12, 2016
Dallas, Texas, July 7, 2016
Baton Rouge, La., July 17, 2016
Burlington, Wash., September 23, 2016
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., January 6, 2017
Fresno, Calif., April 18, 2017
Kirkersville, Ohio, May 12, 2017
Orlando, Fla., June 5, 2017
Tunkhannock, Pa., June 7, 2017
SanFrancisco, Calif., June 14, 2017
Las Vegas, Nev., October 1, 2017
Edgewood, Md., October 18, 2017
Thornton, Colo., November 1, 2017
Sutherland Springs, Texas, November 5, 2017
Rancho Tehama, Calif., November 14, 2017
Melcroft, Pa., January 28, 2018
Parkland, Fla., February 14, 2018
Yountville, Calif., March 9, 2018
Nashville, Tenn., April 22, 2018
Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018
Annapolis, Md., June 28, 2018
Cincinnati, Ohio, September 6, 2018
Bakersfield, Calif., September 12, 2018
Perryman, Md., September 20, 2018
Pittsburgh, Pa., October 27, 2018
Thousand Oaks, Calif., November 7, 2018
Chicago, Ill., November 19, 2018
Sebring, Fla., January 23, 2019
State College, Pa., January 24, 2019
Aurora, Ill., February 15, 2019
Virginia Beach, Va., May 31, 2019
Gilroy, Calif., July 28, 2019
ElPaso, Texas, August 3, 2019
Dayton, Ohio, August 4, 2019
Odessa, Texas, August 31, 2019
Pensacola, Fla., December 6, 2019
Jersey City, N.J., December 10, 2019
Milwaukee, Wisc., February 26, 2020
Springfield, Mo., March 16, 2020
Atlanta, Ga., March 16, 2021
Boulder, Colo., March 22, 2021
Orange, Calif., March 31, 2021
Indianapolis, Ind., April 15, 2021
San Jose, Calif., May 26, 2021
Oxford, Mich., November 30, 2021
Sacramento, Calif., February 28, 2022
Buffalo, N.Y., May 14, 2022
Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022
Tulsa, Okla., June 1, 2022
Smithsburg, Md., June 9, 2022
Birmingham, Ala., June 16, 2022
Highland Park, Ill., July 4, 2022
Greenwood, Ind., July 17, 2022
Hedingham, N.C., October 13, 2022
Charlottesville, Va., November 13, 2022
Colorado Springs, Colo., November 19, 2022
Chesapeake, Va., November 22, 2022
Monterey Park, Calif., January 21, 2023
Half Moon Bay, Calif., January 23, 2023
East Lansing, Mich., February 13, 2023
Nashville, Tenn., March 27, 2023
Louisville, Ky., April 10, 2023
Dadeville, Ala., April 15, 2023
Yarmouth, Maine, April 18, 2023
By the time this is published, the list will be longer. Prayers and vigils will make no difference. Background checks and smaller magazines will make no difference. Elimination of military-grade assault rifles will make no difference. (I can squeeze off eight rounds from a semi-automatic pistol in four seconds, reload in no more than another four seconds, and continue doing this until someone stops me.
And who’s going to stop me? Another man with a gun? You obviously don’t know about the armed guard who sat in his car at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School while the gunman blasted away or the collection of armed police officers who stood outside of Robb Elementary School for an hour listening to children screaming as the gunman blasted away.)
You want to get rid of gun violence in this country? Get rid of the guns. Repeal the 2nd Amendment. Impossible? Read this list over again. Tape it to your refrigerator door. Memorize it. Tattoo it on your forehead. It isn’t going to go away until the guns do. And in the meantime, it will just keep growing. And growing. And growing.
And who knows? Maybe you’ll even be one of the victims one of these days.
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W. D. Ehrhart is a retired Master Teacher of History & English, and author of a Vietnam War memoir trilogy published by McFarland & Co.