Mass Shootings by Country

There has been one mass shooting in Australia, ranking the country twelfth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. The mass shooting occurred in June 2019 in Darwin, Northern Territory, and resulted in four persons killed and one injured. The perpetrator was given three life sentences.

There have been two mass shootings in Belgium, ranking the country seventh in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. Both of these tragedies occurred in the city of Liège; the first happened on December 13th, 2011 when a gunman opened fire on Saint-Lambert Square, killing six people and wounding 125 others before taking his own life. The second shooting occurred on May 24th, 2014 when a gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. In response, Belgian law enforcement has implemented several measures such as increased surveillance at schools, increased security presence at public gatherings, and improved alertness measures for potential terrorist threats.

There have been four mass shootings in Canada, ranking the country fifth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. In 1999, a mass shooting took place in Ottawa, Ontario. A gunman killed four people and injured another two before taking his own life. In 2014, a man went on a killing spree in Edmonton, Alberta, killing eight individuals, including two children. The perpetrator then committed suicide. In 2016, another mass shooting occurred in La Loche, Saskatchewan when a shooter killed four people and injured seven more before being apprehended by police. Finally, in 2017 a gunman opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City, killing six people and wounding nineteen others before being arrested shortly afterward.

There have been three mass shootings in Finland, ranking the country sixth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. The first mass shooting took place in November 2007, when a student killed eight people at a school in Tuusula. The second mass shooting occurred in September 2008, when a 22-year-old gunman went on a rampage that left ten people killed and eleven injured at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Science in Kauhajoki. The third mass shooting took place in December 2009 at the Prisma hypermarket in Sello, leaving five individuals dead. In response to these events, stricter legislation was put into place which saw nationwide bans on handgun ownership and greater restrictions on gun sales.

There have been eight mass shootings in France, ranking the country third in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. In 2015, first the Charlie Hebdo shooting left twelve people dead and eleven injured. Then the tragedy of the Bataclan massacre in Paris occurred in November, where 130 people lost their lives. Most recently, in 2018, there was one incident at a Christmas market in Strasbourg that left five dead and eleven injured. These tragic events have raised awareness of gun violence and terrorism in France.

There have been five mass shootings in Germany, ranking the country fourth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. One of the most recent shootings happened in 2016, when a man opened fire in the Olympia shopping mall in Munich, killing nine people and injuring thirty-six others. The incident was the deadliest attack of its kind since 2002 when a former student shot dead 16 people at a school in Erfurt. Another mass shooting occurred at a secondary school in Winnenden in 2009 when fifteen people were killed and several injured by the perpetrator. Finally, in 1999, another mass shooting took place in Bad Reichenhall; four people died.

There have been two mass shootings in Italy, ranking the country ninth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. While there were only two mass shootings in Italy during this period, they were not the only instances of gun-related violence. Between 1998 and 2019, numerous other incidents across the country saw multiple victims injured or killed by firearms. In addition to these acts of violence, Italy has also seen a rise in the illegal possession of weapons and ammunition over the years due to organized crime groups operating in some parts of the country. As a result, tougher legislation was put into place to combat gun-related crimes and help strengthen public safety measures across Italy.

There have been two mass shootings in the Netherlands, ranking the country ninth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. The first mass shooting occurred in 2011 when a gunman killed six people and wounded seventeen others in the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn. More recently, in 2019, another mass shooting took place in Utrecht where four people were murdered and six others were injured. These incidents demonstrate that gun violence is still an issue that needs to be addressed in the Netherlands despite having one of the most restrictive gun control laws in Europe.

There has been one mass shooting in Norway, ranking the country seventeenth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. On July 22, 2011, a right-wing extremist opened fire at an island youth camp near Oslo, targeting the participants of the camp. The perpetrator killed seventy-seven people and injured more than three hundred individuals. This attack is considered to be the deadliest mass shooting in modern Norwegian history. In recent years, there have been government-led initiatives to help reduce gun violence in the country by introducing more stringent gun control laws and providing better mental health services for those suffering from psychological disorders.

There has been one mass shooting in China, ranking the country eighteenth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. The mass shooting occurred in June 2013, in Shanghai where a man killed six people and injured another four. The perpetrator was then arrested by the police.

There have been twenty-one mass shootings in Russia, ranking the country second in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. They have ranged from mass killings in shopping malls to attacks on schools and other public places.

There have been two mass shootings in Switzerland, ranking the country eleventh in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. One of them took place in September 2001, when a gunman killed fourteen people and injured eighteen more in Zug. In 2013, another mass shooting occurred near the city of Menznau, where a man killed four people and injured five others.

There has been one mass shooting in the United Kingdom, ranking the country twentieth in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. The mass shooting occurred in Cumbria in 2010. On June 2nd of that year, a man opened fire randomly on people killing twelve people and injuring eleven others before turning the gun on himself. While the number of mass shootings remains low compared to other countries, the UK continues to raise awareness on gun violence through different programs which work to reduce gun-related injuries and fatalities through research and advocacy.

There have been one hundred and one mass shootings in the United States, ranking the country first in the world in terms of the number of mass shootings. It remains a serious issue and has been on the rise over recent years. The two deadliest mass shooting incidents include a mass shooting that occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2017, leaving sixty persons dead and more than eight-hundred injured, and in Orlando, Florida in 2016, leaving forty-nine dead and fifty-eight injured.