Mon, March 4, 2024
The latest mass killing in the U.S. happened Sunday in King City in central California, where police said a group of men in masks opened fire at an outdoor party, killing four people and wounding seven others.
Police said they responded to a reported shooting and found three men with gunshot wounds who were pronounced dead in a front yard. A woman also died after someone took her to an area hospital, about 106 miles (170 kilometers) south of San Jose.
Several people were at the party outside a home when three men with dark masks and clothes got out of a silver car and fired at the group. The suspects then fled in the car. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
King City is a community of about 14,000 people in southern Salinas Valley farm country on the inland side of coastal mountains. The U.S. Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett training center sprawls nearby. The city is also known as a gateway to Pinnacles National Park.
This was the country’s 10th mass killing this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At least 47 people have died this year in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
The nation is witnessing the third-highest number on record of deaths due to mass killings by this point in a single year. Only 2023 and 2008 had more, with 57 deaths each by this point. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it one of the deadliest years on record.
As of Monday, 584 mass killings have occurred since 2006, in which 3,036 people died and 2,047 people were injured, according to the database.
A look at other U.S. mass killings this year:
FERGUSON, MISSOURI: Feb. 19
Authorities said a 39-year-old woman intentionally set a fire at home to kill herself and her four children, ages 2, 5, 9 and 9. Investigators believe the mother set fire to a mattress, and a note was left stating her intentions to kill herself and her children, police said. Responding firefighters found the home engulfed in flames Neighbors had tried to save the family, but the fire was too intense.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: Feb. 16
Officials said four men were killed in a drive-by shooting in a neighborhood. Dozens of shots were fired outside a Birmingham home, police said. A group had been standing outside of a house as people got their cars washed when someone drove by and opened fire. No arrests were immediately reported.
HUNTINGTON PARK, CALIFORNIA: Feb. 11
Shootings over several hours left four people dead: a man in Bell, a man in a Los Angeles shopping center parking lot, a 14-year-old boy in Cudahy, and a homeless man in Huntington Park, authorities said. At least one other juvenile was wounded. Two suspected gang members were arrested in connection with the shootings, authorities said.
EAST LANSDOWNE, PENNSYLVANIA: Feb. 7
Six sets of human remains were recovered from the ashes of a fire that destroyed a home about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Philadelphia, according to the county district attorney’s office. Authorities suspect the family members who died — including three children — were killed by a 43-year-old male relative who also died after shooting and wounding two police officers, the office added. A motive was not immediately identified.
EL MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA: Jan. 23
Authorities found the bodies of six men in the Mojave Desert outside the sparsely populated community of El Mirage after someone called 911 and said he had been shot, according to sheriff’s officials. The men were likely shot to death in a dispute over marijuana, local 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, ILLINOIS: Jan. 21
Authorities said a 23-year-old man shot eight people — including seven of his relatives — and injuring a ninth person in a Chicago suburb. He fatally shot himself later during a confrontation with law enforcement in Texas. Authorities believe he was trying to reach Mexico. Police said the victims included his mother, siblings, aunt, uncle and two men he might not have known. They were found in two homes, outside an apartment building and on a residential street.
TINLEY PARK, ILLINOIS: Jan. 21
A 63-year-old man in suburban Chicago killed his wife and three adult daughters a domestic-related shooting, police said. The man allegedly shot the four family members — ages 53, 24 and two 25-year-old twins — after an argument at their home. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
RICHMOND, TEXAS: Jan. 13
A 46-year-old man fatally shot his estranged wife and three other relatives, including his 8-year-old niece, at a home in suburban Houston before killing himself, authorities said. The man opened fire at the home just before 7 a.m. that Saturday after returning his young child from a visit. Authorities said that after arriving at the home, he told his estranged wife that he wanted to reunite, but she refused. In addition to killing his niece and estranged wife, he also killed her brother and sister, ages 43 and 46.
REEDLEY, CALIFORNIA: Jan. 6
A 17-year-old boy was charged with killing 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 the backyard of their home, including one buried in a shallow grave, police said. One body was found in the detached garage of the teenager’s home, police said.
The Associated Press
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