About one in 15 U.S. adults has been on the scene during a mass shooting in their lifetime, with younger generations bearing a disproportionate burden, Courthouse News reports. According to University of Colorado Boulder criminologists in research published in the journal JAMA Network Open, about 7% of U.S. adults report having been physically present during a mass shooting, while more than 2% have sustained injuries in such events. "This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies, but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences," said David Pyrooz of CU Boulder's Institute for Behavioral Science. The nationwide survey of 10,000 adults conducted in January 2024 defined "mass shooting" as a gun-related crime where four or more people were shot in a public space. Respondents were considered "physically present" if they were "in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting occurred at the time it occurred, such that bullets were fired in your direction, you could see the shooter, or you could hear the gunfire." While the numbers may appear high, Pyrooz wasn't surprised, noting that a single mass shooting can affect thousands of people beyond those directly hit by gunfire.
"During the 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music festival in Las Vegas, the shooter killed 60 people and wounded 413 others. But another 454 people were injured during the ensuing panic as people fled to safety," Pyrooz said. "In all, there were about 22,000 people at the concert — plus onlookers from surrounding hotels. ... That translates to about one out of every 11,000 Americans who were on the scene of that shooting alone. Continue that to other events that have occurred around the country and the numbers, unfortunately, add up." There significant demographic disparities in mass shooting exposure. Black Americans and males reported higher rates of having witnessed such events. Income and education levels showed no measurable impact on the likelihood of being present at or injured during a mass shooting. Perhaps most striking was the generational divide. The study found that members of Generation Z — adults born after 1996 — were at the greatest risk of exposure to mass shootings. More than half of respondents who had witnessed a mass shooting said it occurred within the past decade. "Our findings lend credence to the idea of a 'mass shooting generation,'" Pyrooz said. "People who grew up in the aftermath of Columbine have these unique experiences that are really distinguishable from the older population." Three-quarters of respondents reporting that they experienced these events in familiar community settings such as schools, bars, restaurants, shopping centers and places of worship. Preliminary findings indicate that about three-quarters of those present but uninjured during mass shootings still experienced psychological distress, including fear, anxiety and depression — far exceeding the roughly 20% reporting such symptoms in the general population.