During his presidency, President Barack Obama has had to deliver statements on gun violence 15 times.
After a gunman opened fire at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College, killing nine people and injuring seven, a visibly upset Obama said the shootings were becoming all too routine.
The gunman also died, although it’s unclear whether he was shot by police or committed suicide.
“The reporting is routine,” he said. “My response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it. We’ve become numb to this.”
He then asked news organizations to tally up the number of Americans killed through terrorist attacks in the last decade and compare it with the number of Americans who have died in gun violence.
Using numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we found that from 2004 and 2013, 316,545 people died by firearms on U.S. soil. (2013 is the most recent year CDC data for deaths by firearms is available.) This data covered all manners of death, including homicide, accident and suicide.
According to the U.S. State Department, the number of U.S. citizens killed overseas as a result of incidents of terrorism from 2004 to 2013 was 277.
In addition, we compiled all terrorism incidents inside the U.S.* and found that between 2004 and 2013, there were 36 people killed in domestic acts of terrorism. This brings the total to 313.
For every American killed by terrorism in the US and around the world, more than 1,000 died from firearms inside the US during the more recent decade. (Click to enlarge)
*Includes the following incidents for domestic terrorism incidents:
Knoxville church shooting (Tennessee) 7/27/08
Pittsburgh police officers killed (Pennsylvania) 4/4/09
Tiller abortion clinic (Kansas) 5/31/09
Holocaust Museum shooting (DC) 6/10/09
Fort Hood shooting (Texas) 11/5/09
Plane crash into Austin IRS building (Texas) 2/18/10
Fort Stewart Army base killing (Georgia) 12/10/11
Sikh Temple Shooting (Wisconsin) 8/7/12
St. John’s Parish police ambush (Louisiana) 8/16/12
Boston Marathon Bombing (Massachusetts) 4/15/13
LAX Shooting (California) 11/05/13
