Wednesday marked the four-year anniversary of a gunman opening fire at a manufacturing firm in Aurora, killing five employees and wounding five police officers. The shooter, a 45-year-old employee of the firm, Henry Pratt Co., was killed in a shootout with police.
As loved ones still mourn the loss of those killed in the tragic shooting on Feb. 15, 2019, countless families, friends and communities have come to learn what it’s like to lose a loved one to gun violence.
[ Aurora remembers victims on fourth anniversary of Pratt mass shooting in the city ]
In total, there have been 214 mass shootings in the Chicago area since that day, resulting in 143 deaths and 973 injuries, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as four or more people, not including the gunman, shot in a single event.
That translates to approximately one mass shooting every seven days.
And these mass acts of violence have only increased within the last decade: In the six years prior to the Aurora shooting, there were 150 mass shootings in the Chicago area. In comparison, that’s a rate of about one mass shooting every two weeks.
The mass shooting in Aurora was the deadliest in the Chicago area in the past decade, as seen in data recorded by the Gun Violence Archive — until the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting in 2022 surpassed it. In that attack, seven victims were killed and dozens more injured when a gunman opened fire onto paradegoers from a rooftop high above Central Avenue and Second Street.
Browse the map below to see where mass shootings have occurred in the Chicago area since the Aurora mass shooting on Feb. 15, 2019. Hover over each point to see more information about that shooting.
