15 Biggest Mass Shootings in The World

The 15 biggest mass shootings in the world represent just a tiny piece of the dark history of humanity, which is riddled with dark moments where people set themselves against their fellow human beings and resort to the murder of hundreds or even thousands of them on the basis of inter-cultural, inter-racial or other differences. As the 20th century has brought more advanced technologies, including in the firearms industry, massacres involving the use of guns have become more frequent and more atrocious, as we will discuss later. We also prepared the rankings of 13 largest deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Mass shootings don’t have a clearly-stated and broadly-accepted definition. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people (not including the perpetrator) are killed using firearms. As the biggest mass shootings show, these crimes can be committed by individuals or organizations, such as terrorist groups, which in the last couple of years have been frequently using mass shootings to promote their agendas.

Needless to say, mass shootings have a major impact on a country’s political and social climate. In countries where mass shootings were conducted by terrorist groups, the government usually tightens security, increases background checks of people arriving in the country, and can go as far as deploying army forces to enhance public security, as we have seen in France after a number of horrible attacks, one of which was a shooting that took the lives of 130 people.

In countries where mass shootings are not politically motivated and are conducted by lone gunmen, who usually suffer from a mental disorder, the government implements stricter gun control laws (take a look at the 15 countries with the strictest gun laws in the world). One example is Australia, which managed to eradicate mass shootings after the Port Arthur mass shooting in 1996. On the other hand, due to relentless efforts by the NRA, a lobby group that advocates for gun rights, none of the many mass shootings in the U.S have led to any meaningful efforts from the government.

Mass shootings also have a big impact on individual companies. Just yesterday, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd at an outdoor country music concert from the window of the 32^nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, owned by MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM). Following the incident, MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM)’s stock has slid by 3.2%, as investors have grown worried about the company’s reputation and potential legal costs. MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) is not alone, as other Vegas casino operators like Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) saw their share prices dwindle over concerns that today’s mass shooting will affect the number of people visiting the city.

At the same time, stocks of gun companies registered an increase following the tragic events. Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE:RGR)’s stock has advanced by over 4%, while the share price of American Outdoor Brands Corp (NASDAQ:AOBC) has gained over 5%. Gun stocks always tend to rise following mass shootings in the U.S, as investors bet that tougher gun control laws will lead to higher sales in the near-term. Another reason is that gun sales are expected to grow as more people will turn to arming themselves for protection. Both Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE:RGR) and American Outdoor Brands Corp (NASDAQ:AOBC) (formerly known as Smith & Wesson) are among the biggest gun manufacturers in the world.

With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest mass shootings in the world. To compile this list, we selected mass shootings that involved one gunman or small groups of attackers and sorted them based on the number of deaths they caused.

1. Garissa University College Attack

Deaths: 148

The Garissa University College attack, which tops the list of the biggest mass shootings in the world, took place on April 2, 2015 in Garissa, Kenya. Four gunmen, part of the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, stormed the university campus, killing 148 people and injuring 79 others. Among the dead were 142 students, three soldiers and three police officers. All four gunmen were killed on the same day. The attack was the deadliest in Kenya’s history.

2. 2014 Peshawar School Massacre

Deaths: 148

On December 16, 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Taliban Movement of Pakistan stormed the Army Public School in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. The gunmen opened fire on school staff and children, which resulted in 141 deaths, including 132 children between eight and 18 years of age.

3. November 2015 Paris Attacks

Deaths: 130

The November 2015 Paris Attacks took place on November 13, 2015 in Paris and its suburb, Saint-Denis. The terrorist attacks started when three suicide bombers detonated themselves outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis during a football match. Later that evening, there were several mass shootings and a suicide bombing at cafés and restaurants in the city. Gunmen eventually launched a mass shooting at a concert in the Bataclan theater and took hostages. When the police raided the theater, the gunmen were killed or blew themselves up. Out of 130 people killed, 89 were killed at the Bataclan, while another 413 people were injured. The attack was the deadliest in France’s history since the Second World War. The responsibility for the attacks was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group.

4. 2011 Norway Attacks

Deaths: 77

On July 22, 2011, a lone wolf terrorist, Anders Breivik, carried out two sequential attacks. The first attack was a car bomb that was placed in the executive government quarter of Oslo. The car bomb exploded, killing eight people and injuring 209 others. A couple of hours later, Breivik took a ferry to the island of Utøya, where a summer camp was organized by the youth division of the Norwegian Labour Party. Breivik opened fire on participants, killing 68 and injuring 110; two days later one of the victims died at the hospital, raising the death toll from the shooting to 69.

5. 2017 Las Vegas Strip Shooting

Deaths: 58

On the night of October 1, Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire into a crowd of around 22,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest festival at the Las Vegas Village. Paddock’s position on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel gave him an unobstructed view over the crowd, which is one of the reasons why the attack resulted in so many deaths. It is considered the deadliest in U.S history. Reportedly, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it also shines a spotlight on the lax gun laws in the country.

6. 2016 Orlando Nightclub Shooting

Deaths: 49

The 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting took place on June 12, when Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 58 others during an attack inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Most of the victims were Latinos, given that Pulse was hosting a “Latin Night”. Mateen swore allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State. The shooting at Pulse was the deadliest mass shooting carried out by a single gunman in U.S history until yesterday’s shooting in Las Vegas and is the deadliest attack targeting the LGBT community.

7. Port Arthur Massacre

Deaths: 35

Between April 28 and April 29, 1996, a lone gunman, Martin Bryant, opened fire at the historic Port Arthur former prison colony, a popular tourist site in Tasmania, Australia. The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 23 injured people and was the deadliest in Australia history. Following the attack, Australian Prime Minister John Howard introduced strict gun control laws in Australia and severely restricted the private ownership of certain types of firearms. After the legislation passed there weren’t any more mass shootings in Australia.

8. Virginia Tech Shooting

Deaths: 32

The Virginia Tech Shooting took place on April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. A senior at the university named Seung-Hui Cho opened fire, killing 32 people and injuring 17 in two separate attacks. At the time, the shooting represented the deadliest attack carried out by a lone gunman and immediately sparked debates about gun legislation and gun violence. Cho had been previously diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder and the attack led to the closure of legal loopholes in Virginia which allowed mentally unstable individuals to purchase handguns.

9. Sandy Hook Massacre

Deaths: 20

The Sandy Hook Massacre is the name given to a mass shooting that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot 20 children aged between six and seven and six adult staff members. Prior to attacking the school, Lanza also killed his mother at their home. The shooting was the deadliest attack targeting a high school or grade school in U.S history and also sparked debates about gun legislation, including proposals for a universal background-check system. Two years later, a report by the Office of the Child Advocate said that Lanza suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, a developmental disorder.

10. Dunblane Massacre

Deaths: 17

The Dunblane massacre was carried out at the Dunblane Primary School near Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland on March 13, 1996. Gunman Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and one teacher before committing suicide. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history. Following the attack, Great Britain passed two new acts regarding firearms, which restricted the private ownership of firearms in Great Britain.

11. Erfurt School Massacre

Deaths: 16

On April 26, 2002, a 19-year-old expelled student, Robert Steinhäuser, opened fire inside the Gutenberg-Gymnaisium in Erfurt, Germany. The attack left 16 people dead, including 13 staff members, two students and one police officer. The motives behind the shooting are unknown, with the media speculating that they were related to Steinhäuser’s expulsion.

12. École Polytechnique Massacre

Deaths: 14

The École Polytechnique massacre took place in Montreal, Canada on December 6, 1989. Marc Lépine, a 25-year-old with strong anti-feminist views, entered a classroom at the engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal, where he separated men from women and shot all nine women in the room, killing six. He then moved through the school, targeting only women, killing 14 women in total, injuring 10 more, as well as four men. Lépine said in his suicide note that feminists ruined his life. The anniversary of the massacre is commemorated in Canada as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The attack also led to tighter gun control laws in Canada.

13. Aramoana Massacre

Deaths: 13

The Aramoana Massacre is the deadliest shooting in New Zealand history. It took place on November 13, 1990 in Aramoana, where David Gray shot 13 people, including a police officer, after a verbal dispute with his next-door neighbor. Apparently Gray was upset that one of his neighbors’ dogs wandered onto his property. Gray shot that neighbor, targeted his daughters and girlfriend, and then started shooting at a utility vehicle full of locals. Gray was found the next day and shot dead by police. The incident resulted in New Zealand passing new legislation in 1992 that tightened gun control.

14. 2009 Fort Hood Shooting

Deaths: 13 

On November 5, 2009, Nidal Hassan, a US Army major and psychiatrist killed 13 people and injured over 30 others at the Fort Hood military post in Kileen, Texas. The attack was the worst mass shooting at a US military base. Hassan was shot and paralyzed from the waist down and was charged and later found guilty on all 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to death in 2013.

15. 2012 Aurora Shooting

Deaths: 12

The 2012 Aurora Shooting took place on July 20 inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. During a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises, a gunman dressed in tactical clothing, identified as James Eagan Holmes, threw tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70. Holmes was later arrested in his car outside the cinema. In 2015, Holmes was convicted of 24 counts of first-degree murder, 140 counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of possessing explosives. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

These are the 15 biggest mass shootings in the world that were carried out either by lone gunmen or by gunmen acting in small groups. Unfortunately, they represent only a fraction of all the mass shootings that took place in the last couple of decades. Even though some countries, like New Zealand, Australia, and the UK promptly responded to the mass shootings by severely restricting gun ownership, in the U.S the issue still remains a very big one, despite the higher number of mass shootings than in other countries and the many debates and proposals that take place after every such dreadful incident.

Disclosure: None