More than 40,000 people killed in gun violence so far in 2023

By Kiara Alfonseca

Shootings have continuously made headlines in 2023.

As of Dec. 7, at least 40,167 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive – which is an average of almost 118 deaths each day.

Of those who died, 1,306 were teens and 276 were children.

Deaths by suicide have made up the vast majority of gun violence deaths this year. There's been 22,506 deaths by gun suicide this year, an average of about 66 deaths by suicide per day in 2023.

The majority of these deaths have occurred in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and Louisiana.

The grim tally of gun violence deaths includes 1,344 people killed in police officer-involved shootings. Forty-six police officers have been fatally shot in the line of duty this year.

There also have been 1,472 "unintentional" shootings, the Gun Violence Archive shows.

There have been more than 632 mass shootings in 2023 so far, which is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed. These mass shootings have led to 597 deaths and 2,380 injuries.

The Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, is the deadliest shooting of the year and one of the deadliest in recent decades. It left at least 18 people dead and 13 more injured, according to Maine Gov. Janet Mills.

The U.S. has surpassed 39,000 deaths from gun violence every year since 2014, according to data from Gun Violence Archive. Still, gun deaths are down from 2016, 2017 and 2018, when the total number of deaths each year surpassed 50,000. There were 44,310 such deaths in 2022.

Last June, President Joe Biden signed into law a gun safety package passed by Congress. It was the first gun reform bill from Congress in decades.

But advocates for gun reform continue to push for tougher measures. Florida lawmakers Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Rep. Maxwell Frost spoke with "GMA3" to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and called on Congress to do more to curb gun violence.

"Five years later, we feel like we've made some progress and then we were reminded that nothing has changed," Moskowitz said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide — free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988. Even if you feel like it, you are not alone.