In the wake of two August mass shootings that claimed the lives of 31 people in one weekend, Americans are more worried about themselves or a family member being the victim of a mass shooting than they were after two previous massacres. Currently, 48% of U.S. adults are “very” or “somewhat” worried, compared with 39% in 2017 after one gunman killed 58 people in Las Vegas and 38% in 2015 after a San Bernardino shooter left 14 dead.
The most recent poll was conducted August 15-30, less than two weeks after back-to-back shootings in a 13-hour period — 9 people were killed in Dayton, Ohio and 22 were killed in a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. The 2015 and 2017 polls were conducted in the immediate aftermath of the shootings; the latest readings may have been even higher had the poll happened closer to the shootings.
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