Assault Weapons or High-Capacity Magazines Used in 28% of Mass Shootings Since 2009

A new report released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) shows that assault weapons and high-capacity magazines played a large and deadly role in mass shootings over the last four years.

According to the report, 20 percent of mass shootings since 2009 either involved a high-capacity magazine or an assult weapon. The FBI defines a “mass shooting” as any incident where at least four people were murdered with a gun.

The comprehensive analysis, which went through FBI data and media reports to include every mass shooting between January 2009 and January 2013, determined that 43 mass shootings – nearly one per month – occurred in 25 different states. In addition, 9 percent of those mass shooting occurred in schools.

The report indicated assault weapons or high-capacity magazines were used in 12 of the 43 mass shootings that have occured in the last four years, resulting in an average of 15.6 people shot per shooting – 123 percent more than in other incidents. In addition, shootings involving assault weapons or high-capacity magazines resulted in 54 percent more deaths than in other shootings.