Mass shootings in the United States.
The number of mass shooting incidents in the United States continues to rise in 2019.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a total of 279 mass shooting incidents have occurred as of August 31.
A shooting incident that killed at least five people and wounded 21 in West Texas Saturday marked the 279th incident so far this year.
In 2018, a total of 340 mass shooting incidents occurred across the U.S., which is a slight decrease from 346 incidents in 2017.
The number of 2019 incidents is higher than that of the same time period in 2018, in which 237 incidents occurred through August 31, 2018.
There doesn't seem to be an official definition for a "mass shooting" in the United States, but according to the Gun Violence Archive, a mass shooting is described as four or more individuals being shot or killed in the same general time and location.
RELATED: Mass shootings in the U.S.: When, where the occurred in 2018
The F.B.I. defines a "mass killing" as the killing of three or more people in a public place, but the federal agency also defines a "mass murderer" as someone who has killed four or more people in the same location.
The Gun Violence Archive lists itself as a not-for-profit organization that documents gun violence and gun crime nationally.