Key Points
Mass shootings with assault weapons cause 0.72 more deaths per attack
Handguns used in 79% of public mass shootings
Assault weapon users tend to have more firearms experience
Policy interventions could help prevent future attacks
The research, published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, examined 184 public mass shootings in the United States from 1966 to 2023 and found that incidents where assault weapons were present led to an average of 0.72 more deaths per attack.
According to the study, handguns were the most common type of firearm used, appearing in about 79 per cent of mass shootings. However, assault weapons were present in roughly 29 per cent of the attacks, though only about 7 per cent of shootings involved assault weapons exclusively, reports Xinhua news agency.
The study also found that shooters using assault weapons tended to have more firearms experience. Only 11 per cent of attackers who used assault weapons had no firearms experience, compared to nearly 30 per cent of those who used other types of weapons.
The researchers noted that there may be opportunities to prevent mass shootings through various interventions. They cited previous research showing that potential mass shooters disclosed their plans in 47 per cent of cases before carrying out attacks.
The study suggests that policies regulating firearm access, including age-based restrictions on assault weapons and secure storage requirements, could help prevent mass shootings. The authors also emphasised the importance of extreme risk protection orders, which allow for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals who may pose a threat.
The study defines mass shootings as incidents where four or more people were killed in a public location, not including the shooter, and were not related to other criminal activity.
