Report Highlights: Mass shootings accounted for 0.08% of gun deaths in the U.S. between 1968 and 2025. This report analyzes the genders of mass shooters.
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Between 1968 and 2026, there were 197 male mass shooters in the U.S.
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Between 1968 and 2026, there were two female mass shooters in the U.S.
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Between 1968 and 2026, there were two confirmed transgender mass shooters in the U.S.
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Methodology
This analysis examines U.S. mass shootings using a narrow, event-based definition. Incidents that did not occur in public places with fewer than four fatalities (excluding the shooter) were not counted. Incidents involving family or domestic violence, gang or criminal activity, and spree shootings were also excluded, as these types of shootings have varying causes and factors.
The historical dataset on mass shootings spans 1968 through early 2026. It is compiled primarily from The Violence Project and FBI active shooter reporting, and supplemented by Mother Jones for cross-referencing and recent updates. Qualifying 2025-2026 incidents were added manually based on verified fatality counts and public reports.
Shooter gender was identified using official court records, law-enforcement statements, and consistent reporting by reliable news outlets. Transgender or non-binary classifications were included only when gender identity was explicitly documented in court filings or widely reported by credible sources; rumor-based or contested claims were excluded.
Per capita rates are based on modern U.S. population estimates. Gender identity (outside of male and female) was inconsistently recorded in earlier decades. Adopting a broader definition of “mass shootings” produces larger incident counts, but does not alter the overall gender distribution of shooters.
Male Mass Shooters 1968-2026
There were nearly 2 million gun deaths in the U.S. between 1968 and 2025. Of those, mass shootings accounted for 0.08% of all gun deaths (1,450). Males committed the largest percentage of them.
How Many Mass Shooters Are Male?
Of the 201 mass shooters in the U.S. between 1968 and 2026, 197 were male.
What Percentage of Mass Shooters Are Male
Males committed 98% of mass shootings in the U.S. since 1968.
Female Mass Shooters 1968-2026
Female mass shooters are rare. All reported female mass shooters acted with male accomplices.
How Many Mass Shooters Are Female?
Females account for two of the 201 mass shooters since 1968.
What Percentage of Mass Shooters Are Female
Females committed 1% of mass shootings in the U.S. since 1968.
Transgender Mass Shooters 1968-2026
Of the 201 mass shooters in the U.S. between 1968 and 2026, two were committed by transgender individuals.
Transgender people account for 1.2% of the U.S. population in 2026. Only two confirmed transgender individuals committed a mass shooting (where four or more people were killed in a public place) since 1968.
Note: A broader definition of “mass shooting,” such as that used by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), yields 5,748 mass shootings in the U.S. since 2012. Of those, five shooters were transgender. Expanding or narrowing the definition has no statistically significant impact on the overall rates of the genders of mass shooters.
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