The US has experienced more mass shootings than days so far in 2023, with thousands dead as a result.
There were at least 191 in the first 127 days of the year, with the latest in a busy Texas shopping mall leaving nine people dead, including the suspected gunman.
On average, the US has seen more than 39,000 gun deaths a year since 2014, and as of 1 May at least 13,959 people have been shot dead in 2023, according to data from Gun Violence Archive.
Gun Violence Archive broadly defines a mass shooting to mean four or more people (excluding the perpetrator) shot at roughly the same time and location, regardless of fatalities or motives.
Below are the 10 most deadly mass shootings to have happened this year. The figures also include the death of the perpetrator if they were killed at the scene.
1. Monterey Park, California (21 January) – 12 dead, nine injured Victims: My Nhan, 65, Ming Wei Ma, 72, Diana Tom, 70, Xiujuan Yu, 57, Lilian Li, 63, Valentino Alvero, 68, Muoi Ung, 67, Hong Jian, 62, Yu Kao, 72, Chia Yau, 76, and Wen Yu, 64.
The gunman, who is believed to have acted alone, was killed by a police officer at the scene, authorities said.
Image: The details of the mall shooting are still unfolding
3. Enoch, Utah (4 January) – eight dead Victims: Tausha Haight, 40, Gail Earl, 78, Tausha’s three daughters, aged seven, 12 and 17, and her two sons, aged four and seven.
The killings raised questions over why Jesse McFadden, 39, was released in the first place. McFadden had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003 for first-degree rape of a 17-year-old. He was released three years early, in 2020, in part for good behaviour.
Image: The property where the bodies of seven people, including two missing teens and a convicted sex offender, were found
5. Nashville school shooting, Tennessee (27 March) – seven dead, one injured Victims: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60.
Three adults and three students were killed by Audrey Hale during a shooting at a private Christian school after the former student opened fire.
Hale had a manifesto and detailed maps of the school and entered the building by shooting through its doors.
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Nashville shooting 911 calls
6. Half Moon Bay, California (23 January) – seven dead, one injured Victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Jingzhi Lu, 64, Yetao Bing, 43, Jose Romero Perez, age unknown.
Police arrested 67-year-old Chunli Zhao after four people were killed at a farm and another three at a trucking business. The victims included Chinese and Latino farmworkers.
The former bank worker was killed in an exchange of fire with the police.
Image: Sturgeon inside the shooting site
8. Goshen, California (16 January) – six dead Victims: Alissa Parraz, 17, and killed her child, Nycholas, Rosa Parraz, 72, Eladio Parraz Jr., 52, Jennifer Analla, 49, Marcos Parraz, 19.
A teenage mother and her 10-month-old baby were fatally shot in the head “assassination style” in an attack that left six people dead in central California.
Police are looking into whether a gang or drug cartel targeted the family, and are on the hunt for two suspects.
Image: The victims of a shooting in Goshen. Pic: AP
9. Lake Wales, Florida (2 May) – five dead Victims: Not yet named.
Al Joseph Stenson, 38, killed a mother and her three children at a motel in central Florida. Stenson was killed after an hours-long stand-off with police.
The children were aged 21, 17 and 11, and while police confirmed they were known to each other, they have not released their names or relationship.
Image: Al Joseph Stenson. Pic: AP
10. San Jacinto County, Texas (28 April) – five dead Victims: Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her son Daniel Enrique Laso, eight, and Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21.
Francisco Oropeza, 38, went on the run after he killed five neighbours in a rural Cleveland town. He was eventually found under a laundry pile roughly 20 miles from the incident.
The attacks took place after his neighbours asked him to stop firing off rounds in his garden late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.
Image: A loved one is consoled by others as he arrives at the scene where five people were shot and killed. Pic: AP
2017’s Las Vegas Shooting
The most deadly mass shooting to date in the US remains the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, when Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on a crowd attending a music festival. There were 60 victims, with Paddock later found dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At least 11 people have been stabbed at a Walmart supermarket in Michigan, with six in a critical condition.
Officials say a suspect is in custody – and at this stage, it is believed the attack was a “random act” that involved a folding-style knife near the checkout area.
Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters: “Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Image: Pic: AP
The suspect, who is from Michigan, is not known to police – and was captured within three minutes thanks to “citizen involvement”.
The attack unfolded in Traverse City – and Tiffany DeFell, who was in the car park at the time, described scenes of chaos.
“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies.”
Beyond the six people in a critical condition, it is believed the remaining five were seriously hurt. All 11 are still being treated in hospital.
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Image: Pic: AP
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.”
A Walmart spokesperson added that the retailer is working closely with law enforcement.
“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a statement said.
Image: Pic: AP
At this stage, the ages of the victims is unclear – but it is not thought any of the victims were Walmart employees.
Traverse City is about 255 miles northwest of Detroit.
A US passenger plane made a dramatic plunge minutes after take-off to dodge another aircraft – injuring two cabin crew and causing passengers to shoot out of their seats.
The Southwest flight had just taken off from Burbank in California when the pilot received an alert about a nearby plane.
Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft dropped by 91m (300ft) in just 36 seconds. Those on board said they felt panicked, and some feared the plane was about to crash.
Comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X: “Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid mid-air collision … myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.”
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Stef Zambrano saw a woman who wasn’t wearing her seatbelt thrown out of her seat, who then said: “I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground.”
Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC Los Angeles that it felt like the plane was in freefall for 10 seconds.
“People were screaming. You know, it was pandemonium. People thought the plane was going down,” he added.
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The aircraft was able to continue to its destination of Las Vegas, where it safely landed without any further incident.
It is believed the Boeing 737 was in the same vicinity as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a British fighter jet.
Southwest is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the event.
Donald Trump likes a wall. And now he has his very own 10ft-high metal barrier creating a fortress as he tees off for a weekend of politics, play and precision in Scotland.
An almost surreal contrast now exists in the tiny Ayrshire village of Turnberry.
On one side, the stunning coastline and luxury hotel that bears the president’s name. And on the other, an armed buffer zone with sniper teams and road checkpoints.
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The threat level and associated security on display is unprecedented following the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in the US.
“It would be inappropriate for me to plan an operation and not bear in mind what has happened,” the senior officer in charge of this weekend’s policing efforts told me.
Image: Military trucks are part of a security effort that comes just a year after an attempted assassination
Image: A ‘counter terror’ firm was spotted near the area, which is ringed by a 10ft fence
Turnberry, and its population of about 200 people, have this week witnessed a never-ending stream of Army trucks, terrorist sweeps, road checkpoints, airspace restrictions, sniper positions being erected and Secret Service agents roaming around.
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It is the most extensive security deployment in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022.
It is estimated around 5,000 officers will be on the streets, with teams coming from across the UK to assist.
The spectacle primarily centres on Donald Trump coming to play golf before the arrival of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for talks, likely on Monday.
The president, whose mother was born on the Scottish island of Lewis, is then scheduled to travel to his Aberdeenshire resort where a new golf course is set to open.
Image: Police on buggies are patrolling near the course on Scotland’s east coast
Image: Police have even taped off a clothes recycling bin near the course
‘Trump is a decent boss’
Stephanie Campbell and Leanne Maxwell live in Turnberry and used to work at the Trump-owned resort, like many other locals.
The pair told Sky News the very first lesson staff at the resort are given is not in fine service or guest etiquette, but in how to respond to a bomb threat.
It is claimed there are posters above the landline phones in the hotel with instructions on the worst-case scenario.
Image: Stephanie Campbell and Leanne Maxwell say staff are trained in dealing with bomb threats
Stephanie told Sky News: “I had no issues working for him, he is a really decent boss.
“The last time he came there was an element of excitement, I think this time there comes with an added element of concern.
“It brings a lot higher threats and security and it’s much more difficult for everybody in the area.”
Image: Mr Trump at Turnberry in 2018 – he will also visit his Aberdeen course on this trip. Pic: AP
Image: File pic: Reuters
Echoing her concerns, Leanne told Sky News: “Security is obviously being bumped up. It’s quite worrying. He’s quite a man, ain’t he?”
Sweeps of the rooms are carried out by US Secret Service agents after housekeeping staff complete their duties and Trump’s meals, they say, are prepared by a personal chef to avoid the risk of poisoning.
To the outside world, these measures seem standard for a US president. But to those who live in Turnberry, it’s far from normal when they have a date with the commander-in-chief.
Image: Marine One is in place awaiting the president’s arrival
Image: File pic: Reuters
Awkward encounters
Prestwick Airport has become something of an American airbase in recent days.
The infamous armoured limousine, known as “The Beast”, has been spotted being wheeled out of a US military plane as the presidential motorcade prepares for his arrival tonight.
Greeting the president at the doors of Air Force One will be the secretary of state for Scotland, Ian Murray, who previously supported a motion alleging Trump was guilty of “misogynism, racism and xenophobia”.
Another awkward encounter could come in the form of Scottish First Minister John Swinney’s showdown with Mr Trump next week.
The SNP leader, who publicly backed Kamala Harris in the presidential race, called for September’s state visit to be scrapped after the Ukrainian president’s visit to the White House descended into a shouting match live on TV earlier this year.
Demonstrations are planned throughout the weekend, with marches and protests announced in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Kirsty Haigh, from Scotland Against Trump, claims the president uses Scotland to “cleanse his image” and he should not be able to use the country as an “escape” from his views.
She told Sky News: “He should not be welcomed by us, by our leaders.
“We want to see a Scotland that is very different than [the] America that’s being created.”