US mass shootings declined in 2024—But 3 deadly cases reveal ongoing security failures

While active shooter incidents across the United States declined sharply in 2024, dropping 50% from the year prior, the year’s deadliest attacks reveal that the threat of mass killings remains disturbingly resilient. According to the FBI’s newly released report, only three of the 24 active shooter incidents in 2024 met the federal definition of a mass killing, defined as three or more individuals killed in a single event, excluding the perpetrator. These attacks—in Arkansas, Georgia, and Wisconsin—each underscored critical vulnerabilities in preparedness, response, and prevention across a spectrum of public spaces: a grocery store, a high school, and a Christian K–12 institution.

What Happened at the Mad Butcher Supermarket in Fordyce, Arkansas?

On June 21, 2024, the small community of Fordyce, Arkansas was devastated when 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey opened fire inside and outside the Mad Butcher #406 supermarket. Armed with a shotgun and a handgun, Posey killed four individuals and injured nine others, including two law enforcement officers. Authorities described the attack as “completely random,” with no apparent motive or known connection between Posey and the victims or the grocery store.

Police arrived quickly and engaged in a shootout with the suspect, ultimately apprehending Posey. He later pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including capital murder and attempted murder, and is currently scheduled to face trial in August 2025. Victims ranged in age from 23 to 81, and the randomness of the attack has intensified calls for improved public safety measures in community-oriented retail spaces.

The Fordyce shooting highlights a preparedness blind spot in small-town America, where retail environments typically operate without dedicated security personnel, metal detectors, or threat detection protocols. While the rapid law enforcement response likely prevented an even higher death toll, the lack of controlled access points and trained security presence left civilians highly exposed during the critical first minutes of the attack.

How Did the Apalachee High School Shooting in Georgia Unfold?

Less than three months later, on September 4, 2024, a 14-year-old student named Colt Gray carried out a planned attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Armed with a rifle, Gray killed two students and two teachers, while injuring nine others. He was apprehended at the scene and is being prosecuted as an adult. Prosecutors also charged his father, Colin Gray, for reckless conduct and allowing a minor to access firearms, further intensifying legal scrutiny over parental firearm storage practices.

The school, which lacked metal detectors and had limited pre-entry screening protocols, became a flashpoint for debates on the efficacy of existing safety infrastructure in public schools. Despite the presence of school resource officers who responded swiftly, the perpetrator had ample time to enter the premises, locate his targets, and inflict widespread damage.

This case exemplifies several interlocking failures: the absence of preventative behavioral intervention, weak access control infrastructure, and insufficient regulation or enforcement of safe gun storage laws in households. Institutional insiders—such as students with social grievances or behavioral red flags—remain the most difficult to detect and the most lethal when oversight fails. In this case, three of the four fatalities occurred within the first 90 seconds of the shooting.

What Went Wrong at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin?

On December 16, 2024, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow entered Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, carrying two handguns. In less than five minutes, she shot and killed one student and one staff member, while injuring six others before taking her own life. Investigators later revealed that Rupnow, who had enrolled at the school just four months earlier, had accessed the firearms through her father. He has since been charged under Wisconsin’s child access prevention laws for knowingly leaving dangerous weapons unsecured.

While the school did have security cameras and basic lockdown procedures, it lacked metal detectors or any formal visitor or student weapon screening. Law enforcement response time was under four minutes, and a second-grade teacher is credited with initiating the 911 call that helped minimize casualties. Still, the event exposed serious deficiencies in threat detection mechanisms. Rupnow had a documented history of emotional distress, and yet no alert was triggered under school or community behavioral intervention systems.

The attack at Abundant Life not only underscores the role of secure gun storage but also raises important questions about mental health intervention in faith-based and private educational institutions. Unlike public schools, many private religious schools operate outside state-mandated behavioral assessment programs and may not employ licensed counselors or threat assessment teams.

What Do These Incidents Say About America’s Readiness?

Though statistically isolated, these three mass killings accounted for over half of the total fatalities from all active shooter incidents in 2024. Each unfolded in a different type of environment—commercial, public educational, and private religious—but shared key commonalities. In all three cases, shooters had direct or indirect insider access. All involved firearms legally obtained or accessed through family members. None of the targeted locations had comprehensive screening protocols in place. And in each case, law enforcement, though swift, arrived only after the first shots had been fired.

Federal and local officials have stressed the importance of community-based threat reporting systems, improved access control, and safe firearm storage. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU-1) confirmed that 58% of active shooter incidents in 2024 exhibited predatory behavior—defined as planned and observable actions taken in the lead-up to the attack. In both the Georgia and Wisconsin cases, behavioral warning signs were reportedly present but not acted upon in time.

In contrast to prior years, none of the 2024 mass killing perpetrators wore body armor or used automatic weapons, yet the lethality remained high. This suggests that even low-tech attacks using standard firearms can yield high casualties in the absence of layered security measures and early intervention.

Are Policies and Training Keeping Up?

The FBI and the ALERRT Center continue to advocate for widespread deployment of the Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness (ASAPP) curriculum across schools, commercial districts, and municipal facilities. However, adoption rates vary widely by state and district, and private institutions often lack resources to implement federal guidelines.

In response to recent incidents, several state legislatures have proposed bills to expand safe storage laws, mandate metal detectors in schools, and increase funding for school counselors and behavioral threat assessment programs. But such measures remain politically contentious in many jurisdictions, particularly where gun rights advocacy intersects with resistance to federal or state mandates.

The “Don’t Name Them” campaign, also supported by the FBI, is gaining broader adoption among media outlets, shifting coverage toward survivor stories and community recovery rather than glorifying perpetrators. This narrative shift aims to reduce the potential for copycat attacks driven by notoriety.

Outlook: Decline in Frequency, Not in Impact

The 2024 data reflects progress in reducing the number of active shooter events nationwide, but the concentrated trauma of the year’s three mass killings demonstrates that the threat has not disappeared—it has merely changed form. Institutions, whether public or private, rural or urban, must recognize that rare does not mean unpredictable. Mass attacks may be infrequent, but when they occur, the cost is devastating, and the failures are systemic.

As the U.S. prepares for the remainder of 2025, law enforcement agencies, educators, policymakers, and communities are being urged to act on the hard lessons these three cases offer—before the next report adds another set of names to a growing list.