Data

A Decade of American Gun Violence

The Gun Violence Archive is America’s sole source for detailed data on gun injuries and deaths, a decade of which became available for the first time at the end of 2023. We’re mining the data for insights into one of the most devastating public health crises in the United States.

  • 491,000

    The number of people who were fatally shot or injured by firearms between 2014 and 2023.

  • 400%

    The increase in road rage shootings that resulted in an injury or death over the 2014-to-2023 period.

  • 17.6 per 100,000

    The shooting rate in Southern towns and rural areas in 2023, an increase of 70 percent over a decade prior.

Data

You’re More Likely to Be Shot in Selma Than in Chicago

Over the past decade, gun violence has expanded beyond the urban limits it is so often associated with, according to a Trace analysis of Gun Violence Archive data.
Olga Pierce, Jennifer Mascia, and Chip Brownlee

Full Coverage

Lead Reporters

  • Olga Pierce

    Data Editor
    Olga is data editor and a reporter at The Trace. Previously, she was an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska and deputy data editor at ProPublica. She has written award-winning stories about unemployment insurance, legislative redistricting, the foreclosure crisis, and patient harm in hospitals. She graduated with an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University in 2008. Her main data analysis tools are R and SQL, and she dotes on her three cats.

  • Jennifer Mascia

    Senior News Writer
    Jennifer is a senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace. She previously covered gun violence at The New York Times. In her decade on this beat, she’s covered community gun violence, the intersection of domestic violence and guns, and the growing role of firearms in public life. She is currently the lead writer of the Ask The Trace series and tracks news developments on the gun beat.

  • Chip Brownlee

    Reporter
    Chip is a reporter at The Trace covering federal policy related to violence prevention and firearms. He is also the author of The Trajectory newsletter, which spotlights the people, policies, and programs grappling with America’s gun violence crisis. 

    Before joining The Trace as an investigative fellow in June 2020, Chip worked as a reporter and the editor-in-chief of his collegiate newspaper, The Auburn Plainsman. He also covered the state legislature, governor, courts, and elections for the Alabama Political Reporter. As an undergraduate, Chip studied political science and journalism at Auburn University. He also earned an M.A. with a concentration in politics from the Columbia Journalism School.