Latest news with #Pyrooz
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Health
- CBS News
1 out of every 15 American adults have been at a mass shooting, according to University of Colorado study
Stories from mass shooting survivors and their loved ones, as well as new research, are creating more awareness of gun violence. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that 1 in 15 American adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting. This study defines a mass shooting as an incident when four or more people are shot in a public space. The research comes as those in the Boulder community gathered four years later to remember the 2021 King Soopers shooting that took the lives of 10 people and impacted countless others. That impact includes Erika Mahoney, whose father Kevin was killed while grocery shopping that day. Four years later, it's easy to see Mahoney's strong bond with her dad in family albums and frames throughout the house. Mahoney showed CBS News Colorado some of those photos, describing them as she thumbed through. "Here we're in the kitchen, and dad, I'm wearing my dad's giant jacket," Mahoney said. "It's motivating to see his face, but I also hear him saying, like, keep going." As a former journalist, Mahoney is now dedicating her life to sharing stories like his and documenting the lasting impact of gun violence. "The news covers [mass shootings] in the beginning, and the hardest part is those years in between where you're crying in the corner, or you can't go grocery shopping, or you are, you know, missing your dad and it's Father's Day," Mahoney said. To showcase those moments and the generational pain that can follow a mass shooting , she's releasing a new podcast this spring. Senseless will feature more than a dozen people affected by gun violence in Boulder. "At its heart, this podcast is truly a love letter to my dad, and it's about how we move forward after tragedy," Mahoney said. One of her podcast guests will be David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminologist at the Institute for Behavioral Science at CU Boulder. His episode will break down his new study that came up with the data behind the 1 in 15, or about 7% of U.S. adults on average that have been at the scene of a mass shooting. "It means you were in the direct vicinity to where you could see the shooter. There were bullets that were fired in your direction, or if you couldn't directly see the shooter, that you could hear the gunshots," Pyrooz said. The study came to that number by surveying 10,000 people last year. The research also details that more than 2% of U.S. adults have been injured during a mass shooting. Pyrooz explains, "Mass shootings, you know, I know they occur across the world, but, you know, in the United States, there's just such a concerted interest and focus on it, and we should aim to understand this better." Meanwhile, Mahoney continues to remember who her dad was and hopes the new data and personal stories together can showcase the realities of mass violence -- and move the needle towards stopping them. "If we can realize that this affects so many people far beyond really any number can show, because I'm not included in the data, and I was traumatized, and so, you know, we I think that the ripple effect is even so much bigger than we can imagine," Mahoney said.
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
New University of Colorado study shows 1 in 15 American adults have been at a mass shooting
Stories from mass shooting survivors and their loved ones, as well as new research, are creating more awareness of gun violence. A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that 1 in 15 US adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting. This study defines a mass shooting as an incident when four or more people are shot in a public space. The research comes as those in the Boulder community gathered to remember the anniversary of the 2021 King Soopers shooting that took the lives of 10 people and impacted countless others. That impact includes Erika Mahoney, whose father Kevin was killed while grocery shopping that day. Four years later, it's easy to see Mahoney's strong bond with her dad in family albums and frames throughout the house. Mahoney showed CBS News Colorado some of those photos, describing them as she thumbed through. "Here we're in the kitchen, and dad, I'm wearing my dad's giant jacket," Mahoney said. "It's motivating to see his face, but I also hear him saying, like, keep going." As a former journalist, Mahoney is now dedicating her life to sharing stories like his and documenting the lasting impact of gun violence. "The news covers [mass shootings] in the beginning, and the hardest part is those years in between where you're crying in the corner, or you can't go grocery shopping, or you are, you know, missing your dad and it's Father's Day," Mahoney said. To showcase those moments and the generational pain that can follow a mass shooting, she's releasing a new podcast this spring. Senseless will feature more than a dozen people affected by gun violence in Boulder. "At its heart, this podcast is truly a love letter to my dad, and it's about how we move forward after tragedy," Mahoney said. One of her podcast guests will be David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminologist at the Institute for Behavioral Science at CU Boulder. His episode will break down his new study that came up with the data behind the 1 in 15, or about 7% of US adults on average that have been at the scene of a mass shooting. "It means you were in the direct vicinity to where you could see the shooter. There were bullets that were fired in your direction, or if you couldn't directly see the shooter, that you could hear the gunshots," Pyrooz said. The study came to that number by surveying ten thousand people last year. The research also details that more than 2% of US adults have been injured during a mass shooting. Pyrooz explains, "Mass shootings, you know, I know they occur across the world, but, you know, in the United States, there's just such a concerted interest and focus on it, and we should aim to understand this better." Meanwhile, Mahoney continues to remember who her dad was and hopes the new data and personal stories together can showcase the realities of mass violence– and move the needle towards stopping them. "If we can realize that this affects so many people far beyond really any number can show, because I'm not included in the data, and I was traumatized, and so, you know, we I think that the ripple effect is even so much bigger than we can imagine," Mahoney said.
Axios
12-03-2025
- Axios
Study: 1 in 15 US adults has experienced a mass shooting firsthand
About 1 in 15 U.S. adults has been on scene at a mass shooting, a new University of Colorado Boulder study published in JAMA Network Open reveals. Why it matters: The study underscores the pervasiveness of gun violence in the U.S. and the increasing likelihood that everyday Americans could be caught in the crossfire. The big picture:"Our findings lend credence to the idea of a 'mass shooting generation,'" senior author David Pyrooz said in a statement. "People who grew up in the aftermath of Columbine have these unique experiences that are really distinguishable from the older population," he said. By the numbers: About 7% of 10,000 U.S. adults surveyed in January 2024 said they had been present at a mass shooting — defined as an incident where four or more people were shot. 2% reported being injured, whether by gunfire, by shrapnel or in the chaos of people fleeing. Among those uninjured, about 75% said they suffered psychological distress. More than half of those who had witnessed a mass shooting said it happened within the last decade. Between the lines: Gen Z and men were at the highest risk, the study found. And for most survivors, the violence hit close to home. More than three-fourths of mass shootings took place in their own communities. Zoom in: Colorado has experienced at least 61 mass shootings in the last 10 years, killing 82 people and injuring 246, according to data on the state health department's website. In 2023 alone, there were 16 mass shootings in the state — the highest in at least a decade, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Data for 2024 is not readily available. What they're saying: "It's not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore, but when," Pyrooz said. "We need to have stronger systems in place to care for people in the aftermath of this tragic violence." The other side: Despite the grim reality, mass shootings actually declined nationwide last year — dropping nearly 25% from 2023. The U.S. reported 503 mass shootings in 2024, down from 659 the year before, per the Gun Violence Archive. The decrease could be attributable to the waning social and economic upheavals set off by the coronavirus pandemic, Giffords Law Center's research director Kelly Drane told Axios last year. What we're watching: Colorado lawmakers are considering a controversial gun control bill that would restrict the sale of most semiautomatic firearms, like the one used by the Boulder King Soopers shooter in 2021. The legislation — sponsored by Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat whose son was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting — has been amended more than a dozen times, Colorado Politics reports.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
One in 15 U.S. adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting, report finds
One out of every 15 adults in the U.S. have been present at the scene of a mass shooting, researchers have revealed. More alarming is that over 2 percent of that group — or over five million of the 258 million adults counted in the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 — have been injured during one. 'These are really high numbers for this seemingly unique and small subset of gun violence,' David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminologist at University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement. The authors also found that younger generations of Americans were significantly more likely to have been exposed than previous generations were. Gen Zers, who were born after 1996 and are in their late to mid-twenties, were at greatest risk. More than half of respondents said the incident had occurred in the last decade, which Pyrooz said led 'credence to the idea of a 'mass shooting generation.'' According to the National Gun Violence Archive, there were 505 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2024. That figure is down from 2023 when there were 659. Both figures are up significantly from 2014 - the first year the archive kept tally - when there 272 mass shootings. The study - which was published in the journal JAMA Network Open and revealed Friday - surveyed 10,000 adults in January of last year, asking them if they had ever been 'physically present on the scene of a mass shooting.' While there is no single, agreed-upon definition of the term 'mass shooting,' this study defined it as a gun-related crime where four or more people had been shot in a public space - similar to the one used by the Gun Violence Archive database. Being physically present was defined as 'in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting occurred at the time it occurred, such that bullets were fired in your direction, you could see the shooter, or you could hear the gunfire.' While some respondents who said they were injured had been shot, they were also hit by shrapnel or trampled in the panic that followed. How many people die in mass shootings every year depends on the definition used. With the Gun Violence Archive's definition, and that used by study authors, 722 people died in these incidents in 2023. There were nearly 47,000 gun deaths that year: the third-highest total on record, although it was down for the second consecutive year. In 2020, gun violence had surpassed car crashes as the No. 1 killer of children in the U.S. Pyrooz said he was not surprised by the results of his survey, noting that the 2017 Las Vegas shooting had impacted hundreds more people than the 61 killed or 867 injured. 'That translates to about one out of every 11,000 Americans who were on the scene of that shooting alone,' said Pyrooz. 'Continue that to other events that have occurred around the country and the numbers, unfortunately, add up.' The shootings weren't just at large events. They were in bars, restaurants, schools, shopping outlets and synagogues. Black people and men were more likely to have witnessed a mass shooting, researchers found. 'This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies, but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences,' Pyrooz added. 'They also highlight the need for interventions and support for the most affected groups.' 'It's not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore, but when,' he said. 'We need to have stronger systems in place to care for people in the aftermath of this tragic violence.'
The Independent
07-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
One in 15 U.S. adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting, report finds
One out of every 15 adults in the U.S. have been present at the scene of a mass shooting, researchers have revealed. More alarming is that over 2 percent of that group — or over five million of the 258 million adults counted in the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 — have been injured during one. 'These are really high numbers for this seemingly unique and small subset of gun violence,' David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminologist at University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement. The authors also found that younger generations of Americans were significantly more likely to have been exposed than previous generations were. Gen Zers, who were born after 1996 and are in their late to mid-twenties, were at greatest risk. More than half of respondents said the incident had occurred in the last decade, which Pyrooz said led 'credence to the idea of a 'mass shooting generation.'' According to the National Gun Violence Archive, there were 505 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2024. That figure is down from 2023 when there were 659. Both figures are up significantly from 2014 - the first year the archive kept tally - when there 272 mass shootings. The study - which was published in the journal JAMA Network Open and revealed Friday - surveyed 10,000 adults in January of last year, asking them if they had ever been 'physically present on the scene of a mass shooting.' While there is no single, agreed-upon definition of the term 'mass shooting,' this study defined it as a gun-related crime where four or more people had been shot in a public space - similar to the one used by the Gun Violence Archive database. Being physically present was defined as 'in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting occurred at the time it occurred, such that bullets were fired in your direction, you could see the shooter, or you could hear the gunfire.' While some respondents who said they were injured had been shot, they were also hit by shrapnel or trampled in the panic that followed. How many people die in mass shootings every year depends on the definition used. With the Gun Violence Archive's definition, and that used by study authors, 722 people died in these incidents in 2023. There were nearly 47,000 gun deaths that year: the third-highest total on record, although it was down for the second consecutive year. In 2020, gun violence had surpassed car crashes as the No. 1 killer of children in the U.S. Pyrooz said he was not surprised by the results of his survey, noting that the 2017 Las Vegas shooting had impacted hundreds more people than the 61 killed or 867 injured. 'That translates to about one out of every 11,000 Americans who were on the scene of that shooting alone,' said Pyrooz. 'Continue that to other events that have occurred around the country and the numbers, unfortunately, add up.' The shootings weren't just at large events. They were in bars, restaurants, schools, shopping outlets and synagogues. Black people and men were more likely to have witnessed a mass shooting, researchers found. 'This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies, but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences,' Pyrooz added. 'They also highlight the need for interventions and support for the most affected groups.' 'It's not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore, but when,' he said. 'We need to have stronger systems in place to care for people in the aftermath of this tragic violence.'
