The rate at which people were shot in the United States of America is 19.5 times higher than other advanced countries of the world. In the last 30 years, Americans have witnessed at least 61 mass murders. Here is the dateline for 2012
February 27, 2012
Three students were killed by a fellow student, Thomas 'TJ' Lane, in a rampage at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio. Three others were injured.
April 2, 2012
One L. Goh, 43, killed seven people at Oikos University, a Korean Christian college in Oakland, California. The shooting was the sixth-deadliest school massacre in the US and the deadliest attack on a school since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
April 6, 2012
Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, shot five African-American males in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in what seemed like a racially motivated shooting spree. Three of the victims died of gunshot wounds.
May 29, 2012
Ian Stawicki opened fire on Cafe Racer Espresso in Seattle, Washington, killing five and himself after a citywide manhunt.
July 20, 2012
During the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, 24-year-old James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 58. Holmes was arrested outside the theatre.
August 5, 2012
Six Sikh temple members were killed when 40-year-old US Army veteran, Wade Michael Page, opened fire in a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Four others were injured, and Page killed himself.
September 27, 2012
Five people were shot to death by 36-year-old Andrew Engeldinger at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three others were wounded. Engeldinger went on a rampage after losing his job, ultimately killing himself.
December 11, 2012
Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, killed two people and himself with a stolen rifle in Clackamas Town Centre, Oregon. His motive is unknown.
December 14, 2012
Twenty-seven people were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. According to witnesses, 18 of these casualties were children. This was the second mass shooting in the US in the same week, after a gunman opened fire in an Oregon shopping mall, killing two. ABC News reported that there have been 31 school shootings in the US since Columbine in 1999, when 13 people were killed.
