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Horror in El Paso another in a long list of mass killings plaguing the nation

The massacre in El Paso is the deadliest shooting in the U.S. in 2019. The number of people killed makes it one of the 10 worst in recent American history.
Image: A woman reacts after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso
A woman speaks to police about her missing mother after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2019.Jose Luis Gonzalez / Reuters

The mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, that left at least 22 people dead and 26 injured appears to be the deadliest shooting in the United States this year.

It also falls into the top 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.

The grim tally comes less than a week after another gunman, a 19-year-old, opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, killing two children and a man before being shot by police and ultimately killing himself.

These are the deadliest mass shootings on U.S. soil, and other mass shootings:

58 killed

Around 10 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort on a crowd watching country singer Jason Aldean. Several weapons were found in the shooter's hotel room. Police said 58 people were killed and more than 500 were injured. The gunman killed himself before officers reached his hotel room.

49 killed

On June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and dozens more were wounded after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at Pulse, an LGBT-friendly nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He was killed following a standoff with police. The shooter used weapons he'd purchased legally, according to authorities.

32 killed

On April 16, 2007, a Virginia Tech student shot 32 people to death on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus before killing himself. Another 17 people were injured. Days after the worst school shooting in the nation's history, NBC News received a package from the student that contained a video of him ranting and complaining about being bullied.

27 killed

On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman killed 27 people, including his mother, 20 elementary school kids and six school staff and faculty at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He also took his own life. The shooter suffered from extreme mental health issues that weren't treated, and was preoccupied with violence, a report from state officials found. He also had easy access to weapons, the report said.

26 killed

On Nov. 5, 2017, a gunman entered a rural Texas church and opened fire, killing 26 people. At least 19 people were hospitalized with injuries. His victims' ages ranged 5 years old to 72 years old, authorities said. The gunman was later found dead inside his vehicle.

23 killed

On Oct. 16, 1991, a 35-year-old man crashed his pickup through Luby's Cafeteria, a packed restaurant in Killeen, Texas. He shot and killed 23 people before turning the gun on himself. Twenty-seven others were wounded.

22 killed

On Aug. 3, 2019, a 21-year-old suspect opened fire in a shopping area in El Paso, Texas. At least 22 people died as a result of the shooting and 26 were injured, law enforcement officials said.

21 killed

On July 18, 1984, a 41-year-old former security guard who had lost his job, opened fire at a McDonald's in San Ysidro, California. He killed 21 employees and customers, including children. A police sniper killed him an hour after he started shooting.

17 killed

On Aug. 1, 1966, a former U.S. Marine killed his mother and wife, then went on top of a tower at the University of Texas at Austin and killed 15 others. He also wounded at least 30. Thirteen people died on campus, one died a week later and another victim passed away in 2001, but the cause of death was attributed to the shooting. The gunman had complained of physical and mental health issues before the attack. He was then shot by a police officer. An autopsy revealed he had a brain tumor, but it was not clear whether that had affected his actions.

17 killed

On the afternoon of Feb. 14, 2018, police responded to reports of shots fired at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A former student was taken into custody after the Valentine’s Day massacre that left 17 dead and wounded at least 14 others, both in and outside of the school. The suspect,19, had recently been expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons, officials said. T

14 killed

On Dec. 2, 2015, 14 people were killed in an attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, a state-run facility that provides services to developmentally disabled people and trains social workers who care for them. The husband-and-wife assailants were eventually killed by police in a shootout.

14 killed

On Aug. 20, 1986, a gunman killed 14 fellow postal workers in Edmond, Oklahoma, and then killed himself with a shot to the head. The rampage came a week after two supervisors reprimanded him for lousy performance.

13 killed

On April 20, 1999, two students killed 12 other students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two dozen were injured. The gunmen killed themselves in the school's library.

13 killed

On Nov. 5, 2009, a U.S. Army Medical Corps psychiatrist, killed 13 people and injured 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas. He has been sentenced to death.

13 killed

On April 3, 2009, in Binghamton, New York, a gunman killed 13 people and injured four others at an immigrant services center before killing himself. President Barack Obama called the shooting "an act of senseless violence."

13 killed

On Feb. 18, 1983, three robbers at the Wah Mee gambling club in Seattle killed 13 people. Two of the suspects were convicted of murder later that year and are serving life sentences; the other was deported to Hong Kong in 2014.

12 killed

On July 20, 2012, a gunman opened fire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring more than 70. The shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a jury rejected his insanity plea.

12 killed

On May 31, 2019, a gunman opened fire at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, killing 12 people. Police fatally shot the suspect, a longtime city engineer. All of those killed were city employees except for one person, who was a contractor, officials said. The gunman had submitted his resignation earlier that day.

12 killed

On Nov. 7, 2018, a 28-year-old Marine veteran opened fire at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. Twelve people died, including a sheriff's sergeant, and the gunman, who killed himself. Sgt. Ron Helus was hit five times by the gunman during a firefight, but was ultimately killed by a round fired by a California Highway Patrol officer, officials said.

11 killed

A gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018, killing 11 people. The suspect was arrested. He has been charged with federal hate crime charges.

Early 1900s and prior

Dozens of earlier nonwar massacres in the United States have left hundreds dead. Often racially motivated, these shootings date back to before American independence. A selection of these shootings are believed to have killed numbers between five and 300 people.

In May 1921, approximately 300 black Americans were killed during the Tulsa Race Massacre, which destroyed Oklahoma's "Black Wall Street," according to the Smithsonian.

In November 1887, white vigilantes shot and killed between 30 to 60 unarmed black sugar plantation field hands, who were on strike, according to NOLA.com.

During the post-civil war Reconstruction era, thousands of black Americans were killed in what is considered one of the most violent times in U.S. history. In April 1873, as many as 150 black Americans were killed when a white mob clashed with a black militia during the Colfax massacre.