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How many mass shootings have occurred under trump admin between 2016 to january 20,2020
Executive summary
Available sources do not provide a single, universally accepted count of “mass shootings” between Donald Trump’s inauguration (Jan 20, 2017) and Jan 20, 2021; different organizations and outlets use different definitions, producing very different totals (from a handful of high‑fatality events cited by The Independent and BBC to “hundreds” when counting incidents with four or more shot as tracked by Gun Violence Archive) [1] [2] [3].
1. Definitions drive the numbers — why there is no single answer
Journalists and advocacy groups differ sharply in how they define a mass shooting: some databases count incidents in which four or more people are killed (excluding the shooter), producing a much smaller count of high‑fatality “mass killings” cited by The Independent and the BBC (which highlighted 2017 and 2019 as especially deadly years) [1] [2]; others, like Gun Violence Archive (reported in Market Realist), define a mass shooting as four or more people shot (injured or killed) in one incident and therefore record “hundreds” of events during Trump’s time in office [3].
2. High‑fatality events highlighted during Trump’s term
Multiple outlets emphasized that some of the deadliest single events in U.S. history occurred while Trump was president — for example, the Las Vegas festival massacre [4] and other high‑death incidents that made 2017 and 2019 among the worst years in terms of deaths from mass killings — a point stressed by The Independent and BBC coverage of 2019’s record number of mass killings by deaths, and by analyses noting four of the deadliest shootings happened during Trump’s term [1] [2] [5].
3. Counting all incidents: “hundreds” under broader definitions
When using a broader operational definition (four or more people shot), aggregated trackers show many more incidents. Market Realist, citing GunViolenceArchive.org, reports that there were “hundreds” of mass shootings during Trump’s presidency and notes that 2020 had the most such incidents of his four years in office [3]. That reflects the broader trend that which definition you accept will dramatically change the headline number.
4. Public perception vs. data: the pandemic and the geography of shootings
Fact‑checks and reporting note that the pandemic changed patterns of large public shootings in 2020: for example, closures of public venues may have reduced some large‑scale public massacres even as overall gun violence rose, complicating year‑to‑year comparisons [6]. Snopes and other outlets cautioned that the absence of very large public shootings for periods can create the impression that mass shootings “disappeared,” even when other forms of gun violence increased [6].
5. Political framing and competing narratives
Advocacy groups (e.g., Everytown) and editorial outlets frame the data to criticize or defend policy choices: Everytown highlighted specific school and workplace massacres (Parkland, El Paso, Dayton) and counted lives lost to argue policy failure under Trump [7] [8]. Conversely, other analyses compare presidencies by using a particular dataset and definition to argue whether Trump’s tenure was better or worse than predecessors — producing conflicting public claims [9] [10]. Readers should note each source’s implicit agenda: advocacy groups push for stricter gun laws, while some news analyses seek to compare presidencies numerically.
6. What the cited sources can and cannot answer
Available sources make clear that: (a) the number depends on the definition used — “mass killings” (four or more killed) vs. “mass shootings” (four or more shot) — and (b) some trackers (Gun Violence Archive) record hundreds of incidents during Trump’s term while news analyses emphasize deadly single events and trends in deaths [3] [1] [2]. Available sources do not provide a single definitive tally for “mass shootings between 2016 and Jan 20, 2020” because the user’s date range mixes Trump’s 2016 campaign year and part of 2020 and because reporting uses varying start/end dates and definitions [1] [3].
7. Practical guidance for a precise answer
If you want a single number, choose your definition and a specific source: use Gun Violence Archive (four or more shot) for a higher count of incidents and year‑by‑year totals (reported as “hundreds” during Trump’s presidency by Market Realist citing GVA), or use datasets that count fatalities (four or more killed) as The Independent and BBC do for a far smaller number focused on the deadliest events [3] [1] [2]. Each choice will produce a defensible but different headline.
Sources cited: Market Realist citing GunViolenceArchive.org [3]; The Independent [1]; BBC [2]; Snopes fact check and contextual reporting [6]; Everytown reports and The Washington Post coverage on policy responses [7] [11].