What happened with gun violence during the pandemic?

Data shows violence up but fewer mass shootings

View this email in your browser  This week:  Gun violence statistics analyzed ... Fox's Pirro wrong on open borders ... Biden gets fastest-growing ethnic group wrong ... AR-15 social media post is actually correct ... Could rioters face sedition charges? ... Fact-check: Biden is not a robot A weekly note from the editor-in-chief of    A woman leaves flowers next to a police cruiser at the Boulder Police Department after an officer was one of the victims of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store on March 23 in Boulder, Colo. (AP) Gun violence spiked during pandemic, even as the deadliest mass shootings waned A week after a gunman shot and killed eight people in Georgia, a gunman opened fire in a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., killing 10 people, including a police officer. After a year of social distancing and closures from the COVID-19 pandemic, the tragedy of two mass shootings, less than a week apart, has led people to worry what a return to everyday American life will really be like. "We've been looking forward to so many ways we could return to normal, to the way things were before the pandemic," tweeted Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. "Mass shootings were not what anyone had in mind." Is it true that mass shootings tapered off during the pandemic?  Large-scale public mass shootings, like those that just occurred in Georgia and Colorado, did indeed decline throughout the pandemic. However, other forms of gun violence rose dramatically over the past year.  Competing definitions of mass shootings One common definition of a mass shooting is based on the old FBI definition of a "mass murder" — an incident in which four victims are shot and killed. Gun violence databases that abide by this definition have reported that the number of large-scale public mass shootings declined sharply during the pandemic. One such database, compiled by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, found that two mass shootings occurred in 2020, down from eight or nine per year during the previous three years. And both of the 2020 shootings took place before pandemic lockdowns were instituted in the U.S. However, some researchers prefer a more expansive definition, defining a mass shooting as a firearm-related incident that results in four or more individuals shot, rather than killed.  The Gun Violence Archive, a research group that monitors gun violence, uses the broader definition. This allows the organization to track shootings typically excluded from other mass shooting statistics, such as domestic shootings, as well as forms of gun violence that occur disproportionately in predominantly Black neighborhoods.  By this definition, 2020 was the most violent year since the Gun Violence Archive first started tracking gun deaths in 2013. According to the organization, 611 mass shootings took place in 2020, exceeding any other recent year by more than 50%.  In fact, many forms of gun violence spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of overall gun homicides at its highest rate in over 20 years. Much of the violence was centered in major cities such as New York, Houston and Philadelphia.  However, many of these shootings, which disproportionately featured Black victims, tend to receive less coverage in the media. The reasons for this are varied and complex. University of Texas-Austin professor Michael Sierra-Arévalo said that the phenomenon is rooted in the way that the media often devalues the lives of Black and brown people. As evidence, he pointed to a study that analyzed homicides in Chicago and matched them to media stories to analyze which got the most coverage. The study found that Black victims were less likely to receive media coverage than white victims. It also found that the Black victims who were covered were far less likely to be discussed as complex and sympathetic people than white victims.  Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, an assistant professor who researches violence prevention at the University of California, Davis said that the COVID-19 pandemic likely played a major role in contributing to rising violence. "The COVID-19 pandemic worsened many of the underlying conditions that contribute to community gun violence risk — poverty, unemployment, food and housing insecurity — while also taxing many of the systems and interpersonal networks of support in communities that foster safety, health and wellbeing," she said. "These, in combination with the pandemic's unique effects on feelings of uncertainty and hopelessness, likely had an impact on the increase in interpersonal community gun violence over the past year." Read the full report. >> — Noah Y. Kim and Gabrielle Settles Share Tweet Forward The Latest from PolitiFact Pirro wrong on open borders. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro said the southern U.S. border "is now open to anyone from anywhere in the world who wishes to enter our country." We rated that False. Large numbers of migrants are attempting to cross the border, but it is not open to anyone who wants to enter the U.S. Most of the encounters that CBP recorded at the border in February resulted in quick expulsions under the same public health-related authority that was invoked under the Trump administration. Biden wrong on fastest-growing ethnic group. President Joe Biden said recently, "The fastest-growing population in the United States is Hispanic." We rated that Mostly False. The fastest-growing group is Asian Americans, with Hispanics ranking second. Hispanics did record the largest numerical increase in population of any group between 2010 and 2019, but that's a different measure than "fastest growing." Facebook posts right about AR-15 shootings. A recent viral Facebook post listed 11 mass shootings that involved an AR-15, including Boulder; Parkland, Fla.; and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We rated the statement Mostly True. At least one AR-15 style weapon was used in 10 of the examples. Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help   Yes, I support PolitiFact! Make a tax-deductible donation to make this message go away. Could Jan. 6 rioters face sedition charges? And what would that mean? In recent years, it's been rare to see prosecutors file sedition charges. But participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot could face such charges in the coming months. Michael R. Sherwin, the federal prosecutor who until recently led the Justice Department's investigation into the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, told CBS' "60 Minutes" that some of the participants could soon face sedition-related charges. "I personally believe the evidence is trending toward that, and probably meets those elements," Sherwin said in an interview broadcast March 21. "I believe the facts do support those charges. And I think that, as we go forward, more facts will support that." Under current federal law, a seditious conspiracy is defined as two or more persons conspiring to do one of two things by force. One is to overthrow the government of the United States. The other is "to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States." The law comes with a fine or imprisonment up to 20 years, or both. Conspiring to interfere with the execution of a law could be a vehicle for prosecutions of the rioters entered the Capitol as lawmakers were carrying out their constitutional duty to count the electoral votes for president. The rioters "clearly wanted to shut down by force the execution of the law then being voted upon in Congress," said James Robenalt, a lawyer with an expertise in political crises. The law "doesn't get much more squarely on point." Experts said that if a tangible agreement is proven, a First Amendment defense would likely be weak. "Conspiracy is not speech," Stone said. "If you agree to rob a bank with someone else, you don't get First Amendment protection" for your discussions. Read more about the history of sedition on our website. >> — Louis Jacobson Quick links to more fact-checks & reports  Hate crimes against Asian Americans: What the numbers show, and don't   How many terrorists have attempted to cross the southern border? Data is limited and imprecise   The COVID-19 relief package: Where the money goes   No, the movie 'I am Legend' was not set in 2021 and the outbreak was not caused by a vaccine Do you smell smoke?  Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week:  Video "proves 100% that President Joe Biden is not a 'human' being." If your time is short: Biden is a human being. See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.  Have questions or ideas for our coverage? Send me an email at holan@politifact.com. Put "Fact-checking" in the subject line. Thanks for reading! Angie Drobnic Holan  PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief  Send this link to your friends so they can sign up for this email! Copyright © 2021 PolitiFact, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, attended one of our events, or communicated with us. Our mailing address is: PolitiFact 801 3rd St S 33701 St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Add us to your address book *Update your preferences         *Unsubscribe Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog   *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally