Mass murder

Mass murder is the act of killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more persons kill several others.

This article is about killing of multiple people by individuals and non-state groups. For killing of people by governments, see Mass killings.

For broader coverage of this topic, see Massacre.
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Homicide
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Note: Varies by jurisdiction
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Non-criminal homicide

Note: Varies by jurisdiction
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In the United States, Congress defined mass killings as the killing of three or more persons during an event with no "cooling-off period" between the homicides. The Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012, passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, clarified the statutory authority for federal law enforcement agencies, including those in the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, to assist state law enforcement agencies, and mandated across federal agencies a definition of "mass killing" as three or more killings during an incident.

Mass murderers differ from spree killers, who kill at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders and are not defined by the number of victims, and serial killers, who kill people over long periods of time.

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