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Unclassified
<br />The agreed-upon definition of an active shooter by U.S. government agencies—including
<br />the White House, U.S. Department of Justice/FBI, U.S. Department of Education, and
<br />U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency—is
<br />"an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and
<br />populated area."' Implicit in this definition is that the subject's criminal actions involve the
<br />use of firearms.°
<br />For purposes of its study, the FBI extended this definition to include individuals, because
<br />some incidents involved two or more shooters. Though the federal definition includes the
<br />word "confined," the FBI excluded this word in its study, as the term confined could omit
<br />incidents that occurred outside a building.
<br />Whether inside or out, these incidents still posed a threat to both law enforcement and the
<br />citizens they seek to protect'
<br />This is not a study of mass killings or mass shootings, but rather a study of a specific type of
<br />shooting situation law enforcement and the public may face. Incidents identified in this study
<br />do not encompass all gun -related situations; therefore caution should be taken when using
<br />this information without placing it in context. Specifically, shootings that resulted from gang
<br />or drug violencepervasive, long -tracked, criminal acts that could also affect the public
<br />were not included in this study. In addition, other gun -related shootings were not included
<br />when those incidents appeared generally not to have put others in peril (e.g., the accidental
<br />discharge of a firearm in a school building or a person who chose to publicly commit suicide
<br />in a parking lot). The study does not encompass all mass killings or shootings in public
<br />places and therefore is limited in its scope.' Nonetheless, it was undertaken to provide clarity
<br />and data of value to both law enforcement and citizens as they seek to stop these threats and
<br />save lives during active shooter incidents,
<br />As a result, the FBI identified 160 active shooter incidents that occurred in the United States
<br />between 2000 and 2013.8 Though additional active shooter incidents may have occurred
<br />during this time period, the FBI is confident this research captured the vast majority of
<br />incidents falling within the search criteria. To gather information for this study, researchers
<br />relied on official police records (where available), FBI records, and open sources.' The
<br />time span researched was intended to provide substantive results to aid in preparedness and
<br />response efforts. This study is not intended to explore all facets of active shooter incidents,
<br />but rather is intended to provide a baseline to guide federal, state, tribal, and campus law
<br />enforcement along with other first responders, corporations, educators, and the general
<br />public to a better understanding of active shooter incidents.
<br />3 White House, hftp7lwwwwh`ehonse gov/sites/defaul Llil sldoc<jdeve.lopinuJns for houses of worship finalgdf;Departmentoflusfice/
<br />FBI,ht7oJ/www.Po.i uo+(about-us�p/acfiveahooter-and-mass-wmalty-incidents Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management
<br />Agency,ham://www.dhs. og Y/acUve:.d oote�r-pigredness and hapivw�+wfeiri govfinedla-libarvfas>enldommentsl3359PDepartmentofEduca-
<br />Had, k12 ouideodt
<br />4 Incidents involving only knives, vehicles, and utherweapons were not part ofthis study.
<br />5 See Appendix B for the full methodology used to select incidents.
<br />6 Other private and public entities have studied mass casualty incidents, murder rates, and school or workplace violence. (e.g., Campus Attacks:
<br />Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education, ajoint publication of U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal Bureau of
<br />Investigation, 2D10, itt i/reins edgov!docs/CampusAtNcks 201004.ndf).
<br />7 Limited details on the shooters are Included In this study, In 2015, the FBI Behavioral Threat Assessment(enterwill research shooter pre -attack behav-
<br />!oral indicators with a focus on findings that will enhance prevention methods.
<br />8 See A endixAfora summary of incidents examined in this study.
<br />9 Researchers relied on 104 police department records, after action reports, shooting commission reports, open sources, and FBI resources.
<br />Unclassified
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