Active Shooter Preparedness Webinar - Region 9 - AZ/CA/HI/NV/AmSamoa
With 26 mass shootings already claiming 32 lives by late January 2026, and California topping national active shooter incidents, the Western U.S. faces escalating risks to public safety and infrastructure.
Key takeaways
- •Mass shootings dropped to historic lows in 2025 but rebounded sharply in early 2026, highlighting the unpredictable nature of these threats and the need for sustained vigilance.
- •California, part of CISA's Region 9, led the U.S. in active shooter events from 2020-2024, affecting thousands through deaths, injuries, and economic losses exceeding billions annually.
- •Long-term data shows rising fatalities despite short-term dips, with tensions between gun rights advocates and control measures complicating prevention efforts.
Escalating Active Threats
Active shooter incidents, defined by the FBI as attempts to kill people in populated areas, have shown volatility in recent years. In 2025, the U.S. recorded just 17 mass killings—the lowest since 2006—down 24 percent from 2024. Experts attribute this to a return to pre-pandemic norms rather than effective interventions. Yet, by February 2026, the Gun Violence Archive tallied 26 mass shootings in the first month alone, killing 32 and wounding 85. This early surge underscores the fleeting nature of declines, as criminologists warn that fluctuations do not signal lasting progress.
Region 9 states—Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and American Samoa—bear a disproportionate burden. FBI data from 2020-2024 ranks California first nationwide with the most active shooter cases. Recent examples include a February 8, 2026, incident in San Jose wounding several, and a Stockton birthday party shooting in late 2025 that killed four. Arizona saw a critical shooting involving U.S. Border Patrol on January 27, 2026. These events ripple through communities, straining hospitals and law enforcement while inflicting lasting trauma on survivors and families.
The stakes are concrete and mounting. Each incident incurs average costs of $1.5 billion in medical care, lost wages, and legal proceedings, per economic analyses. In schools, where active shooter casualties totaled 328 from 2000-2022, 2025 marked the fewest incidents in five years at 18, with seven deaths. But 2026 has already seen two school shootings by mid-February. Risks of inaction include preventable fatalities; armed civilians stopped only 3.7 percent of incidents from 2014-2024, per FBI reports, leaving most to unfold unchecked.
Non-obvious angles reveal deeper tensions. While violent crime fell 9.9 percent from November 2024 to October 2025, long-term trends from 2000-2022 show mass shooting fatalities rising at 0.95 per 100 million population annually. Debates rage over definitions—mass shootings (four or more shot) versus active shooters—skewing public perception. Gun rights groups highlight defensive uses saving lives up to three million times yearly, clashing with calls for stricter laws in high-incident states like California. Infrastructure vulnerabilities add layers; CISA emphasizes protecting critical sectors, as threats evolve from lone actors to potential coordinated attacks.
Sources
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-mass-killings-are-down-in-2025-experts-say-its-likely-a-return-to-typical-levels
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/811504/mass-shooting-victims-in-the-united-states-by-fatalities-and-injuries?srsltid=AfmBOopUv5l2XGLpd8yl4b9jU7aR7GufMGsa-9hiK5VCHkA0ihupE2lW
- https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data
- https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a01/violent-deaths-and-shootings
- https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-in-2025-the-fewest-incidents-and-deaths-in-5-years/2025/12
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002961025003393
- https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security/active-shooter-preparedness
- https://www.sandiegosecurityguards.com/active-shooter-response-security-training
- https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2026
- https://www.thetrace.org/2025/12/data-shooting-stats-gun-violence-america
- https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2026/01
- https://www.cnn.com/us/mass-shootings-2025-vs-past-years-dg
- https://www.k12dive.com/news/school-shootings-2025-school-safety-what-to-know-in-2026/808946
- https://www.livenowfox.com/news/mass-killings-2025-drop-database