Hospital-Based Shootings in the US, 2000-2024: A Systematic Review

Hospital-based shootings represent an extreme form of workplace violence, with notable consequences for staff, patients, and visitors. Despite growing concern, these events remain poorly understood.

To categorize hospital-based shootings from 2012 to 2024 and incorporate prior published events between 2000 and 2011 to examine trends in shootings over a 25-year span.

Events in this systematic review of acute care hospital-based shootings in the US from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2024, with subgroup analysis of previously published data trending shootings over 25 years (January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2024), were identified using EBSCO Regional Business News, ProQuest US Newsstream Collection, Gun Violence Archive, and Google News Search. Selected shooting events involved at least 1 injured person (a nonperpetrator or perpetrator) that occurred within or on the immediate property of the hospital.

A total of 327 news articles of unique hospital-based shooting events (5.2 per year per 1000 hospitals) were included from a review of 6658 articles, spanning 47 US states (94.0%). There was an overall incidence of 25.2 hospital-based shootings per year. Between 2012 and 2024, shootings increased by a mean (SD) of 1.7 (0.5) events per year, from 14 to 34 events (8.4% increase per year). Large hospitals accounted for the highest rate of shootings (258.1 events per 1000 hospitals). Events primarily occurred in urban settings (314 [96.0%]), and 161 (49.2%) occurred in the US South. Nearly one-third (105 [32.1%]) were potentially preventable by weapons screening. From 2000 to 2024, shootings increased by a mean (SD) of 1.1 (0.2) events per year, from 6 to 34 events (6.4% increase per year). A positive correlation was found in annual firearm fatalities in hospital settings and US firearms fatalities overall between 2012 and 2023 (r = 0.42).

This systematic review found that hospital-based shootings in the US have increased steadily over the past 25 years, representing an intersection between broader national trends in workplace and firearm violence. Large hospitals, those in the US South, and hospitals in urban communities are particularly at-risk settings. These findings underscore the need for hospital-specific prevention strategies, including consideration of weapons screening technology, alongside broader societal efforts to address rising firearm violence.