Tennessee mass shootings: Here’s how many have happened in the state this year
Tennessee has seen a growing number of mass shootings in recent years as gun control advocates call for stricter laws.
Kelly PuenteThis past weekend in Memphis, two people were killed and six injured in a mass shooting at a block party in a park.
On March 31, Easter Sunday, seven people were hurt and one killed at a shooting at a coffee shop in Nashville. The suspect, a convicted felon, was captured two days later in Kentucky.
Tennessee, like other states, has seen a growing number of mass shootings in recent years as gun control advocates call for stricter laws. The calls for more gun control have become especially intense following the mass shooting at Covenant School last year that killed six people.
State lawmakers failed to pass any significant legislation on gun control in a special legislative session on public safety last August. And this year, Republican lawmakers have sparked controversy with a bill that would allow teachers to carry firearms on school grounds. The bill is pending action in the House.
As the state struggles to combat gun violence, here is a closer look at recent mass shootings.
How many mass shootings have happened in Tennessee so far this year?
Tennessee has seen six mass shootings this year as of April 22, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a nonprofit that collects daily gun violence incidents from more than 7,500 law enforcement, media and other sources.
In addition to the case in Memphis this past weekend, and the Easter Sunday shooting in Nashville, the other cases include:
- Jan. 28 shooting at an apartment complex that left two dead and two injured in Memphis.
- Feb. 11 shooting in Jackson that left four people injured. A Jackson Police officer shot and killed the suspect.
- March 14 shooting in Memphis that left a woman dead and three others, including an 11-year-old girl, injured.
- April 14 shooting that left six people injured at a Nashville nightclub.
Nationwide, the country has seen more than 120 mass shootings so far this year, according to GVA.
How many mass shootings happened in 2023?
Tennessee saw 21 mass shootings in 2023, up from 16 in 2022 and 15 in 2021.
The deadliest last year was the Covenant School shooting on March 27 that killed six people, including three children.
In another deadly case last year, a man in Sequatchie, west of Chattanooga, killed his estranged wife, step daughter and three children before turning the gun on himself. Court records showed that the man had been prohibited from having guns under a judge's order six months before the incident.
How does Tennessee compare to other states?
While Tennessee (with 21 shootings) had a high number compared to other states last year, it didn’t make the top ten, according to GVA.
The top ten for 2023 were:
- Texas: 65
- Illinois: 51
- California: 50
- Pennsylvania: 35
- Ohio: 33
- North Carolina: 33
- Louisiana: 31
- Florida: 30
- Mississippi: 25
- Georgia: 25
What’s the definition of a mass shooting?
It varies. There is no widely accepted definition of mass shooting, as some organizations base it on the number of fatalities, while others count injured victims as well.
The GVA defines a mass shooting as a minimum of four people shot (either injured or killed) not including any shooters.
The FBI doesn’t have a specific definition for mass shooting and defines “mass killings” as an incident in which four or more victims are killed, which can include gun violence.
USA TODAY defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are shot, including fatalities and/or injuries. USA Today defines mass killings as four or more fatalities.
Mass killing database:Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006
How many mass killings did Tennessee see last year?
The state has not seen any mass killings so far this year, under USA Today’s definition of four or more fatalities.
Last year, Tennessee saw four mass killings, including the Covenant School shooting and the murder-suicide in Sequatchie.
The other cases included a Lutrelle man who shot four children in his home before turning the gun on himself in January 2023, and a man in Memphis who killed four female relatives before shooting himself in November.
Compared to previous years, the state saw one mass killing in both 2021 and 2019, and no mass killings in 2020.
The state overall has seen 15 mass killings since 2008, with the deadliest being a shocking case in Westmoreland, where Michael Cummins killed eight people across multiple crime scenes in 2019.
He was sentenced to life in prison last year after pleading guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder.