Gun Violence Archive reports drop in shootings for 2022

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Mark Bryant runs the Gun Violence Archive, a national database based in Lexington.

Bryant says overall, numbers are down compared to last year, especially the number of mass shootings. However, for the second year in a row, more than 20,000 Americans were murdered.

Bryant is preparing his year-end report on gun violence in the U.S. It’s the 10th one for the Gun Violence Archive, and numbers are down in almost every category.

“We started out believing we were going to have a downward trend, and then it started in the summer, it started really cranking up again,” said Bryant.

Mass shootings like at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago are fueling those concerns. However, overall the number of mass shootings dropped slightly compared to 2021, the deadliest year on record for gun violence.

“If we look at last year, 2021, as an outlier, then maybe this year was just normal,” said Bryant. “For all we know, last year was just the start of a new bad trend, and this year was a little slower.”

An alarming trend nationwide is the number of teens shot is up, from 3,100 last year to 5,000. However, in Lexington, it is the opposite. The numbers are down by about 10.

But the city is seeing a rise in domestic violence, which tracks with a nationwide trend.

“Literally, on a daily basis, there’s at least one. We’re seeing a trend where they’re killing their kids now. That’s one that is new, where you’ll see a mother who killed her kids. That, you never saw years ago,” said Bryant.

This year in Lexington, police say 10-year-old Landon Hayes was killed in a murder-suicide. In May, Nikki James was arrested after investigators say she stabbed her children to death.

As for what 2023 holds, Bryant says it’s too early to tell and is full of unknowns.

Bryant says Kentucky’s overall numbers were also down. There were about 60 fewer killed this year compared to 2021.

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