Rampage killings · 1863–present · sized by lives taken
A spree killing or rampage killing is typically defined as someone who kills three or more people in one incident, with no "cooling off" period, not including themselves. These events typically occur in a single location where one or more persons kill several others. This is an animated timeline of rampage killings in the United States from 1863 to present. Events with fewer than 3 confirmed victims are excluded. Each circle represents a single event, sized by death toll and colored by primary weapon type. Events pulse onto the map chronologically.
Data: Wikipedia — List of rampage killers in the United States, which aggregates FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data, court records, and news sources. US state geometry from us-atlas (Census TIGER/Line).
Geocoding: Events are plotted at city/state centroid. Multi-jurisdiction events are plotted at the primary incident location. 15 events (~10%) could not be geocoded and are excluded.
Controls: Click any dot to see details. Use Play/Pause to animate, the timeline to scrub, and Speed to adjust playback rate.