151 Victims of Mass Shootings in 2012: Here Are Their Stories
Bearing witness to the worst year of gun rampages in modern US history.
—By Mother Jones staff
| Fri Dec. 21, 2012 1:16 AM PST
Update, December 21, 2pm EST: The Associated Press reports that a shooting rampage in Pennsylvania has left four people dead, including the shooter and two state troopers. If confirmed, the incident will add to the victim count for a year that has already seen a record number of lives lost to shooting rampages. Reports of the killings emerged just as National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre concluded a press conference on the Newtown massacre.
The media coverage tends to linger on the killers. But as the nation mourns the excruciating losses in Newtown—and finally begins to confront an epidemic of mass shootings amid the worst year for them in modern US history—it is equally important to bear witness to the victims. What follows are portraits of 151 people physically wounded or killed in the rampages of 2012. In addition to the victims of this year's seven mass shootings, we've included the victims of similar but less lethal rampages in a Portland shopping mall, a Milwaukee spa, and a Cleveland high school.
The total number of lives devastated by these attacks far exceeds 151, of course, starting with survivors who narrowly escaped physical harm, such as the unidentified six-year-old girl who played dead and walked out of Sandy Hook Elementary School against all odds. Mother Jones has only included photos of those injured and killed that were shared publicly by the families or survivors themselves, or for which we were granted specific permission. For essential context and findings from our in-depth investigation, also see our guide to mass shootings in America.
Scroll down to begin, or jump directly to any of these attacks of 2012:
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