To this end, there is a
concern that restricting firearm access will not fully prevent mass murder, and if policymakers enact responsible firearm legislation, those driven to engage in attacks will simply turn to other weapons. However, while perpetrators using either firearms or knives may aim to incur high victim counts, stabbing attacks are often much less deadly than shooting attacks. My
research has found that between 2000 and 2022, there have been 52 public mass shootings involving 10 or more fatalities worldwide, while there have only been five public mass stabbings with this especially high fatality count. Take for example, two attacks that occurred on the same day in 2012: the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the United States, which involved 27 casualties (fatalities and injuries), and the Chenpeng Village Primary School stabbing in China, which involved 24 casualties. While the Sandy Hook shooting resulted in 26 fatalities and one injury, all 24 Chenpeng Village stabbing victims survived.