Texas leads the nation in 'family annihilation' cases, study finds
Every five days in America.
That's the rate at which a devastating tragedy known as "family annihilation" has been happening in the United States, according to a report published by the Indianapolis Star. And since 2020, it's happened in Texas more than any other state.
The IndyStar, which like the Austin American-Statesman, is part of the Paste BN Network, conducted an analysis of homicide data to reach their finding. No other comprehensive, public repository for information on these killings exists.
American Annihilation: US families face a unique danger – murder from within
The examination defined family annihilation as cases in which an individual killed at least two kinds of family members. That could be a spouse or partner, children and parents. The data also includes killings involving stepfamily as well as ex-partners or spouses.
In the review of killings from 2020 through the end of this past April, Texas led the nation with 33 cases of family annihilations, with Florida coming in second with 18.
Guns used most frequently in family annihilations in Texas, nationwide
The nationwide death toll was 754 from such cases. Texas accounted for almost 12% of that total, with 89 victims. Among them was a Texan who shot six family members, including his son, who was trying to take him to a mental health facility at the time of the killings in 2022. As a convicted felon, he was barred from owning or possessing guns.
An Austin man shot and killed his wife and six-year-old son in 2021 before killing himself.
Dig into the data: Where and how deadly family annihilations are nationwide
Nationwide, men carried out 94% of those killings and guns were used in 86% of cases. In Texas, only one of the 33 cases was carried out by a woman and 85% of cases involved the use of a firearm.
Texas leads nation in gun deaths
Texas, the second most populous state in the nation, leads the country with the most firearm-related deaths for years. According to the CDC, that rate, like the state's population, has been on the incline. The most recent data says that 4,613 deaths were reported in Texas in 2021, compared to 2,848 in 2014, when the state had about 3.5 million fewer people.