This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
This is a partial list of massacres in the United States; death tolls may be approximate.
Name | Date | Location | State | Deaths, including any perpetrators | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Happy Land fire | 1990 March 25 | New York City | New York | 87[1] | Arsonist Julio González set the blaze at a South Bronx social club that resulted in 87 people killed, and 6 injured. |
Guadalupe Canyon massacre | 1881-08-13 | Guadalupe Mountains | Arizona Territory | 5 | 1 wounded; cowboys ambushed while sleeping. Perpetrators disputed.[2] |
Election riot of 1874 | 1874-11-3 | Eufaula | Alabama | 8 | 70 injured. White League Democrats drove African American Republicans from the polls. |
Chinese massacre | 1871 Oct 24 | Los Angeles, California | California | >18 | Killed by hanging and unknown injured in mob violence against people and property in Chinatown.[3][4] |
Golden Dragon massacre | 1977 Sep 4 | San Francisco | California | 5 | 11 injured.[5] |
Camp Sumter | 1864–1865 | Andersonville | Georgia | 13,171[6] | Confederate operated POW camp |
Elmira Prison | 1864–1865 | Elmira | New York | 2,963[7] | Union prison camp. |
Ludlow Massacre | 1914 Apr 20 | Ludlow | Colorado | 19 | Killed by Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company camp guards on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families.[8] |
Columbine Mine massacre | 1927 Nov 21 | Serene | Colorado | 6 | Miners killed with machine guns during coal mine strike.[9] |
Ocoee massacre | 1920 Nov 2 | Ocoee | Florida | 56~ | Black population of Ocoee, a town near Orlando, was nearly obliterated during the 1920 election season.[10] |
Rosewood massacre | 1923 Jan | Rosewood | Florida | 8 | The entire population of African-Americans in and near Rosewood, about 350, were forced from their homes and never returned.[11] |
Hanapepe massacre | 1924 Sep 9 | Hanapepe | Hawaii | 20 | 101 arrested.[12] |
Haymarket affair | 1886 May 4 | Chicago | Illinois | 11 | More than 130 injured by dynamite bomb and crossfire of bullets.[13] |
Herrin massacre | 1922 Jun 21 | Herrin | Illinois | 23 | Strikebreakers and union guards at coal mine.[14] |
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre | 1929 Feb 14 | Chicago | Illinois | 7 | Prohibition gang killing.[15] |
Brown's Chicken massacre | 1993 Jan 8 | Palatine | Illinois | 7 | Store robbery with murder. |
Lane Bryant Shooting | 2008 Feb 2 | Tinley Park | Illinois | 6 | 6 injuries |
Aurora, Illinois shooting | 2019 Feb 15 | Aurora | Illinois | 6 | 5–16 injuries |
Spirit Lake Massacre | 1857 March 5–12 | West Okoboji | Iowa | 35–40 | A band of Dakota people led by Inkpaduta conducted a series of raids on white settlers. |
Villisca massacre | 1912 Jun 10 | Villisca | Iowa | 8 | Unsolved axe murders of members of 2 families.[16][17][18] |
Pottawatomie massacre | 1856 May 24–25 | Franklin County | Kansas | 5 | John Brown and followers killed 5 pro-slavery settlers during the Bleeding Kansas period.[19][20] |
Marais des Cygnes massacre | 1858 May 19 | Linn County | Kansas | 5 | Last major outbreak of violence in Bleeding Kansas.[21] |
Lawrence massacre | 1863 Aug 21 | Douglas County | Kansas | 185–200 | Pro-Confederate Guerrillas killed civilians and burned a quarter of the town.[22] |
Wichita Massacre | 2000 Dec 8–14 | Wichita | Kansas | 5 | Two black males, brothers Reginald and Jonathan Carr, committed multiple acts of assault, robbery, rape and murder of several people, all white, over the course of a week.[23] |
Bloody Monday | 1855 Aug 6 | Louisville | Kentucky | >22 | Scores injured in religious mob violence and arson.[24] |
Colfax massacre | 1873 Apr 13 | Colfax | Louisiana | 83–153 | Blacks killed at courthouse and as prisoners afterwards.[25] |
Coushatta massacre | 1874 Aug | Coushatta | Louisiana | 11–26 | Six whites, remainder black killed as political intimidation.[26][27] |
Thibodaux massacre | 1887 Nov 22 | Thibodaux | Louisiana | >35 | Perhaps as many as 300 killed, 5+ injuries to striking black sugar-cane workers.[28][29] |
Opelousas Massacre | 1868 Sep 28 | Opelousas | Louisiana | 300+ | Democrats resisted the joining of Opelousas African Americans into the political party and went on a hunt for African Americans, killing at least 200–300 African Americans and 30–50 Democrats.[30] |
Boston Massacre | 1770 Mar 5 | Boston | Massachusetts | 5 | 11 civilians injured by British Army soldiers.[31] |
Haun's Mill massacre | 1838 Oct 30 | Fairview Township | Missouri | 19 | Mob/militia attacked Mormons.[32] |
Kansas City massacre | 1933 Jun 17 | Kansas City | Missouri | 5 | The dead include law enforcement officers and a criminal fugitive shot by members of a gang.[33] |
Sacking of Osceola | 1861 Sep 23 | Osceola | Missouri | 9 | Tried by drumhead court martial and executed, town of 3,000 sacked and burned in a raid by Jim Lane's Kansas Brigade.[34][better source needed] |
Centralia massacre | 1864 Sep 27 | Centralia | Missouri | 24 | Unarmed U.S. soldiers murdered by their Confederate captors including Jesse James. 123 killed in ensuing Battle of Centralia.[35] |
Baylor Massacre | 1778 Sep 27 | River Vale | New Jersey | 15 | 54 captured or wounded by British.[36] |
Greensboro massacre | 1979 Nov 3 | Greensboro | North Carolina | 5 | Violent clash between Ku Klux Klan and Communist Workers' Party demonstration. |
Shelton Laurel massacre | 1863 Jan 18 | Madison County | North Carolina | 13 | Unarmed Unionists, including three boys, were shot by Confederates after capture.[37] |
Greenwood massacre | 1921 May 31 and Jun 1 | City of Tulsa, | Oklahoma | 39–300 | ≥ 800 wounded. One of the nation's worst incidents of racial violence. |
Goingsnake massacre | 1872 Apr 15 | Tahlequah | Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) | 11 | Died in a shoot out in a crowded courtroom, the dead included 8 Deputy US Marshals and 3 Cherokee citizens. Six Cherokee were wounded including the defendant and the judge.[38] |
Chinese Massacre Cove | 1887 May | Wallowa County | Oregon | 10–34 | Chinese gold miners ambushed and murdered by a gang of horse thieves. |
Paoli massacre | 1777 Sep 20 | near Paoli | Pennsylvania | 61 | Patriots under command of General Anthony Wayne killed by British Soldiers under command of General Charles Grey. |
Lattimer massacre | 1897 Sep 10 | Lattimer | Pennsylvania | 19 | Coal miners killed by sheriff's posse. |
Ponce massacre | 1937 Mar 21 | Ponce | Puerto Rico | 19 | protestors killed by police |
Hamburg massacre | 1876 Jul 4 | Hamburg | South Carolina | 7 | Town looted in a racially motivated incident during Reconstruction. |
Waxhaw massacre | 1780 May 29 | Lancaster | South Carolina | 118 | 150 wounded, 53 captured by British against American Revolutionary soldiers. |
Fort Pillow massacre | 1864 Apr 12 | Henning | Tennessee | 277–297 | Federal (and mostly black) troops were killed by Confederate soldiers while trying to surrender. |
Nueces massacre | 1862 Aug 10 | Kinney County | Texas | 34 | German Texans killed by Confederate soldiers. |
Mountain Meadows Massacre | 1857 Sep 7–11 | Mountain Meadows | Utah Territory | 100–140 | Emigrant wagon train annihilated by the Mormon Utah Territorial Militia. |
Pinhook massacre | 1881 June 1 | Southeastern Utah | Utah | 13 | Started when Ute Indians allegedly killed ranchers and stole horses in Colorado. As the Ute moved into the southeastern Utah, a battle between the Indians and a band of ranchers and cowboys who blamed Utes for the loss of their livestock was fought, resulting in the death of 13 cowboys in the gunfight.[39] |
Midnight Massacre | 1945 Jul 7–8 | Salina, Utah | Utah | 9 | German POWs killed by an American guard |
Saltville massacre | 1864 Oct 2–3 | Saltville | Virginia | 45–50 | Wounded/captured Federal black troops by Confederate soldiers and guerrillas.[40] |
Everett massacre | 1916 Nov 5 | Everett | Washington | 5 | 27 injured and scores of labor unionists arrested by police and vigilantes. |
Centralia massacre | 1919 Nov 11 | Centralia | Washington | 6 | American Legionnaires killed by Industrial Workers of the World members. |
Wah Mee massacre | 1983 Feb 18 | Seattle | Washington | 13 | 1 injured by 3 perpetrators during an armed robbery. |
Bay View massacre | 1886 May 5 | Bay View | Wisconsin | 7 | Labor protesters killed by National Guardsmen. |
Battle of Blair Mountain | 1921 Aug 25 | Logan County | West Virginia | 10–33 | Private army and US Troops against union organizers. WWI gas bombs used against union organizers. |
Matewan massacre | 1920 May 19 | Matewan | West Virginia | 11 | The confrontation resulted in the deaths of Matewan Mayor Cabell Testerman, two striking coal miners, seven men from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, and an unarmed bystander. |
Rock Springs massacre | 1885 Sep 2 | Rock Springs | Wyoming | 28 | 15 injured in a racial dispute between white and Chinese miners. |
September 11 Attacks | 2001 Sep 11 | New York City; Arlington, Virginia; Shanksville, Pennsylvania | New York; Virginia; Pennsylvania | 2,996 | Four airplanes hijacked by muslim terrorists, two of which were crashed into the World Trade Center, one crashed into The Pentagon, and the other missed its target in Washington, D.C. and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. |
Thousand Oaks shooting | 2018 Nov 8 | Thousand Oaks | California | 13 | 12+ injured. |
Camden Shootings | 1949 Sep 6 | Camden | New Jersey | 13 | Included three children in a 12 minute walk through his neighbourhood. |
University of Texas tower Shooting | 1966 Aug 1 | Austin | Texas | 18 including the shooter | 31 others wounded. |
Easter Sunday Massacre | 1975 Mar 30 | Hamilton | Ohio | 11 | All victims were family members of the killer shot and killed by pistols at a family gathering. |
Wilkes-Barre Shootings | 1982 Sep 25 | Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township | Pennsylvania | 13 | 1 wounded |
San Ysidro McDonald's massacre | 1984 Jul 18 | San Ysidro | California | 22 including the gunman | 19 others wounded |
Palm Sunday massacre | 1984 Apr 15 | Brooklyn | New York | 10 | Three women, a teenage girl, and six children. There was one survivor, an infant girl. |
Edmond post office shooting | 1986 Aug 20 | Edmond | Oklahoma | 15 including the gunman | 6 wounded. This incident is the origin of the phrase 'going postal'. |
GMAC shootings | 1990 Jun 18 | Jacksonville | Florida | 10 including the gunman | The attacker began killing the day before killing 2 others. He wounded a total of 6 people over the 2 days. |
Luby's shooting | 1991 Oct 16 | Killeen | Texas | 24 including the gunman | 27 others were wounded although only 19 of those were from gunfire. |
Freddy's Fashion Mart attack | 1995 Dec 8 | Harlem | New York | 8 including the gunman[41] | |
Columbine High School massacre | 1999 Apr 20 | Columbine | Colorado | 15 including both gunmen | 24 others were wounded, 21 of those by gunfire. |
Atlanta shootings | 1999 Jul 29 | Atlanta | Georgia | 10 including the gunman | He also killed his wife on the 27th, his 2 children on the 28th then the main attack occurred on the 29th where he killed 9 victims and wounded 13 others. |
Red Lake shootings | 2005 Mar 21 | Red Lake | Minnesota | 10 including the gunman | He wounded 5 others. |
Virginia Tech shooting | 2007 Apr 16 | Blacksburg | Virginia | 33 including the gunman | 23 Wounded, 17 by gunfire. |
Binghamton shootings | 2009 Apr 3 | Binghamton | New York | 14 including the gunman | 4 wounded. |
Fort Hood shooting | 2009 Nov 5 | Fort Hood | Texas | 13 including the gunman | 30+ wounded, it was the deadliest mass shooting on an American military base. |
Geneva County massacre | 2009 Mar 10 | Geneva and Samson | Alabama | 11 including the gunman | 6 wounded. |
Aurora shooting | 2012 Jul 20 | Aurora | Colorado | 12 | 70 people were wounded, 58 from gunfire, 4 from tear gas, and 8 from injuries sustained fleeing from shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. |
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting | 2012 Dec 14 | Newtown | Connecticut | 28 including the gunman | 27 at the school (including the gunman) and the attacker's mother at her home. 20 of the dead were children aged 6–7 years old. |
Washington Navy Yard shooting | 2013 Sep 16 | Washington Navy Yard | Washington D.C. | 13 including the gunman | 8 wounded, 3 from gunfire. |
Charleston church shooting | 2015 Jun 17 | Charleston | South Carolina | 9 | 1 wounded. |
Umpqua Community College shooting | 2015 Oct 1 | Roseburg | Oregon | 10 including the gunman | 8 wounded. |
San Bernardino attack | 2015 Dec 2 | San Bernardino | California | 16 including both gunmen | 24 wounded. Attackers brought pipe bombs as well as firearms, they targeted a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and Christmas party. |
Orlando nightclub shooting | 2016 June 12 | Orlando | Florida | 50 including the gunman | 53 wounded. |
Las Vegas shooting | 2017 Oct 1 | Las Vegas | Nevada | 59 including the gunman | 851 wounded, 422 from gunfire. |
Sutherland Springs church shooting | 2017 Nov 5 | Sutherland Springs | Texas | 26 including the gunman | 20 wounded and an unborn child not counted in the 26 dead was also lost. |
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting | 2018 Feb 14 | Parkland | Florida | 17 | 17 killed; 17 wounded. |
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting | 2018 Oct 27 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 11 | 7 wounded, including the suspect. |
Santa Fe High School shooting | 2018 May 18 | Santa Fe | Texas | 10 | 14 wounded, including the suspect. |
Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 Mass murder-suicide | 1964 May 7 | Danville | California | 44 including gunman | Attacker shot the pilots mid flight causing the aircraft to crash killing everyone onboard. |
Kent State Shootings | 1970 May 4 | Kent | Ohio | 4 | Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed student protesters at Kent State University. |
Oklahoma City Bombing | 1995 April 19 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | 168 (1 additional possible) | Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Truck bomb planted by anti-government domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh |
Bath School disaster | 1927 May 18 | Bath Township | Michigan | 45 | School Bombing |