Mass shootings may appear commonplace in the USA but according to figures from the FBI the murder rate is in decline.
There were 9.4 murders for every 100,000 people in the US in 1990. In 2012 the figure had fallen to 4.7.
Of 33,363 Americans gunned down in 2013, 21,175 (63 per cent) were cases of suicide.
Source: Justin Webb, The Times, 9th October 2015