Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is releasing a study about the trend of mass shootings in the United States from 2000 to 2013. The study looked at 160 active shooter cases in the U.S., including high profile cases like Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School and the Aurora (Colorado) movie theater shootings.

According to the FBI, mass shootings are on the rise: in the early 2000’s, there were only 6.4 incidents on average per year; however, that number has increased to 16.4 shootings annually.

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The FBI conducted this study in order to provide law enforcement officials with better knowledge about how to prepare for and respond to these shootings.

Read more about this study on the FBI’s website.

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