Washington State Patrol Reports Sharp Increase In Roadway Shootings

Not being from Washington it's easy to see that Washingtonians have their own way of driving, especially around here. but a scary statistic has come to light, road rage shootings in Washington State have surged since 2014, mirroring a national trend of increased gun violence.  

National Trend: 

Analysis by The Trace using Gun Violence Archive data shows a 450% spike in road rage shootings nationwide between 2014 and 2023. This is a terrifying number. What is interesting to me though is how much Washington state has jumped up.  

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Washington State Statistics: 

In Washington, incidents per million people rose from .14 to 1.28 during this period. Given the population size of Washington 7.786 million, 1.28 is a large amount. The Washington State Patrol faces challenges in directly attributing incidents to road rage due to complexities in determining motivations. 

Escalating Reports: 

Official data indicates a significant increase in roadway shootings, with reports surging from 465 in 2018 to 1,058 in 2022. Chris Loftis of the Washington State Patrol emphasizes the severity of the situation, with 936 reports of shots fired and 1,267 incidents of brandished weapons in 2023 alone. The trend continues in 2024, with 324 reported shots fired and 424 incidents of brandished weapons between January 1 and May 13. 

National Injury Statistics: 

Nationally, 51% of road rage shootings between 2014 and 2023 resulted in injuries or death. Urgent action is needed to address the root causes of road rage to prevent further escalation of violence.