I don’t know about whether the definition of mass shooting is appropriate or not, but at least for me when I think of the phrase mass shootings the image evoked is of the senseless killing sprees that happen in churches and schools that always make national news. I imagine most people also have that definition in their head and so when these statistics make the headlines, and a headline like this is supposed to shock, so there is a mismatch of what the numbers say and their reality.

That matters because to most Americans gun violence is still something that isn’t a salient issue in American politics and the public opinion for gun control is relatively much lower in intensity. It also matters how many of these shootings take place in minority communities compared to white neighborhoods.