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In 2024 there were 5,462<\/strong> gun-related incidents in the U.S., and retail represented the single biggest vertical where these incidents took place (1,459<\/strong>), followed by K-12 schools (1,417<\/strong>). These are scary statistics that will likely (sadly) surprise no one.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, a closer look at the data reveals a picture of gun violence in America, and at retail, that may in fact be surprising. While national news coverage tends to highlight the most horrific events, the reality of most gun violence incidents is much different. Active shooter events, where someone enters a space with the intent to kill, are relatively rare.<\/strong> The most common gun-related incident is a personal dispute that escalates<\/strong>, followed by a weapon being discovered but not used<\/strong> and shooting threats<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Despite the slightly less nefarious nature of these kinds of incidents, gun violence still accounted for 1,642<\/strong> fatalities and 3,295<\/strong> injuries in 2024; 551 of those fatalities happened at retail<\/strong>. This data comes from the ZeroEyes Gun Violence Research Center and is outlined in its 2024 ZeroEyes Gun Violence Report<\/em>. <\/em>ZeroEyes creates a human-verified AI gun detection software solution that integrates into existing digital security cameras to mitigate gun-related violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way that we started with all of this was we were looking for more information about a shooting that happened at a Kroger<\/strong> grocery store,\u201d said Erin Acheson, VP of Business Intelligence at ZeroEyes in an interview with Retail TouchPoints<\/em>. \u201cI was sitting with a colleague, and we were Googling \u2018shooting at a Kroger,\u2019 thinking that was specific enough \u2014 75<\/strong> results came up. We started scrolling through and that led us down the rabbit hole of shootings at grocery stores [in general]. It was pretty intense in terms of the volume of incidents that are happening at grocery stores. As we started really looking at that and tabulating all retail events alongside other verticals, we found very quickly that retail has a lot of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The ZeroEyes analysis doesn\u2019t cover any and all gun violence in America; for example, domestic incidents \u2014 that is, events that happen inside a residence \u2014 aren\u2019t included in the report. Yet it still paints a dire picture of the situation in America today, one that is of utmost concern to consumers and the merchants who serve them.<\/p>\n Much attention has been given to retail crime recently, focused primarily on shoplifting and theft, perhaps because that kind of crime is easier to thwart than an unpredictable, angry person with a gun. But there are things retailers can do to protect themselves and their customers from gun-related incidents<\/strong>, so Retail TouchPoints<\/em> went down the rabbit hole with Acheson to explore the nuances of gun violence at retail and how it can be prevented.<\/p>\n In August 2023, at Brandon Mall in a suburb of Tampa, Fla., a woman reached into her purse to pay for her Charley\u2019s Cheesesteak order and accidently discharged her gun. No one was injured by the gunshot but it caused mass panic, with customers across the mall fleeing to exits during a busy back-to-school shopping weekend. Alarms went off, law enforcement responded, and the mall was shut down for the day. No one was seriously injured, but the total cost to the operators and merchants was <\/strong>estimated<\/strong> to be around $53 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This is actually a pretty common example of the shape gun violence takes at retail and in general, where false alarms, accidents and personal incidents far outnumber malicious mass shootings<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s so rare that somebody shows up with an AK-47 and is like, \u2018I am going to kill everyone in here,\u2019\u201d said Acheson. \u201cMost of the time what happens is spontaneous gun violence, and it\u2019s the escalation of a dispute<\/strong>. Something like, \u2018You stole my parking spot\u2019 or \u2018You got the last box of Girl Scout cookies,\u2019 that kind of crazy. Someone pulls out a gun and shoots someone else because they got in a fight, and then the whole situation is done and over. But when people hear shots, they yell \u2018active shooter,\u2019 they start to scream and run, panic ensues and places are closed down.\u201d<\/p>\n Acheson herself experienced a gun-related incident prior to her time at ZeroEyes, and it also followed a similar trajectory of a personal altercation that escalated out of control. \u201cFor the most part, you have to take heart in knowing that the vast majority of these things are the escalation of a dispute, and that if you remove yourself and create a good perimeter between yourself and whatever\u2019s happening, chances are it\u2019s going to be over very quickly,\u201d reassured Acheson.<\/p>\n Small solace in the midst of such troubling circumstances, but solace nonetheless.<\/p>\n As for why so many of these incidents happen at retail, it\u2019s simply because \u201cretail encompasses such a large like sector of where people go when they\u2019re not at home<\/strong>,\u201d explained Acheson.<\/p>\n Adding to the complexity of assessing the problem and finding solutions is that retailers tend to keep their data about such incidents very quiet<\/strong>. \u201cWhat that means is, unless it\u2019s national news, for the most part you wouldn\u2019t know that Target <\/strong>has had \u2018X\u2019 number of shootings this year or Walmart has had \u2018Y\u2019 number of shootings,\u201d said Acheson. \u201cAnd because you wouldn\u2019t know that, you don\u2019t know that this is a trend that we should be on top of.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting a more holistic view of the situation was a goal of ZeroEyes\u2019 research, and in the process the company uncovered a number of other relevant trends in gun violence that can point to potential mitigation strategies. <\/p>\n For example, the majority of all gun violence incidents (60%, or 3,235 in 2024) <\/strong>originate outdoors, and parking lots in particular seem to be a flash point, with 1,848 incidents occurring in parking lots in 2024.<\/strong> \u201cEven if they end up moving indoors, the person often initially brandishes their firearm and even may take a few shots outside before entering a space, which for retailers is a huge opportunity to be able to protect their outdoor spaces for not just their patrons and staff, but also for things like property damage,\u201d said Acheson.<\/p>\n The worst cost of gun violence is death and injury. Beyond that there are real costs to businesses that happen to be the location of these incidents, even if they don\u2019t result in fatalities or injuries. In the case of the Brandon Mall, for example, since the mall had to be closed for the day, much of the food in the food court was thrown out.<\/p>\n These secondary costs can cover a wide range, said Acheson, such as:<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these things start to stack up and, in the case of [the Brandon Mall] it ends up being about $53 million<\/strong> for this woman who reaches into her purse to pay for a cheesesteak and discharges her concealed carry weapon,\u201d summarized Acheson.<\/p>\n There are also potential future costs, as a new consumer survey from Flock Safey and Zencity revealed, which found that 63%<\/strong> of shoppers who have seen retail crime (which in this case could also include things like shoplifting or a robbery) said they are more likely to shop online after the incident.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t fix stupid or crazy, unfortunately, and because of that retailers tend to focus a lot on loss prevention and shrink and things like that, but there are things retailers can do to be more preventative [in cases of gun violence],\u201d said Acheson.<\/p>\n First and foremost is increasing visibility, particularly in outdoor settings<\/strong> near your business, which tend to be overlooked when it comes to security. \u201cIn a lot of cases a retailer may not own the parking lot or the area outside, but they could have a camera that faces out in that direction installed on the exterior of their building,\u201d Acheson advised. \u201cAnd if retailers are in a strip mall-type situation or there\u2019s a property management group, they should band together and impress upon the group that [the parking lot] is, in fact, the most likely place where something is going to happen \u2014 and that if gun incidents do happen, whether malicious or not, it makes it harder to renew leases for these property managers [so they have a vested interest in prevention].\u201d<\/p>\n Retailers should also look for solutions \u201cthat amplify what they\u2019ve already got going on security-wise,\u201d Acheson added. That could include reconsidering the placement of in-store cameras<\/strong>, adding gun detection software<\/strong> that can be plugged into the existing security infrastructure and even providing additional specialized training<\/strong> for security personnel.<\/p>\n \u201cMy two cents as a human and a person who researches this all the time, and as a person who was in an active gun violence incident myself in a public place, is that if you know what the most likely scenarios are you can work to de-escalate them<\/strong>,\u201d said Acheson. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t actually need to come to shots fired.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is of course an inherent danger to involving yourself in the escalation of a dispute; you don\u2019t want to become the victim, but if you see the situation starting, you can [try to calm it down or move it outside],\u201d Acheson added. \u201cOr you see a fight starting to break out, and nobody has pulled a gun yet, but you still call authorities. If you\u2019re in an authoritative position in the store, or if you\u2019re the kind of person who is physically imposing enough to be like, \u2018Hey, can you all possibly take it outside?\u2019 I think you should do that, as long as it hasn\u2019t escalated to the point where your intervention puts you in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n As Acheson noted, though, beyond the potential safety risk, some associates may risk their jobs by trying to intervene<\/strong>. Many retailers have non-engagement policies to protect their employees, a fact that made headlines in 2023 when two Lululemon<\/strong> employees intervened to stop a theft at the store where they worked in Georgia. Despite pushback, Lululemon stuck by its decision to fire the associates, who it said \u201cknowingly broke the policy,\u201d which is intended to keep employees and customers safe.<\/p>\n Regardless of how people choose to respond, knowledge is power, said Acheson: \u201cIf you can spot the signs of what\u2019s happening you can distance yourself from it, and also take [comfort in the] knowledge that it\u2019s probably not somebody who\u2019s there to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Retail](\"http:\/\/www.retailtouchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Incidents-by-vertical.png\")
First, Let\u2019s Dispel Some Myths (and Hopefully Provide a Little Reassurance)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Why is Retail Such a Lightning Rod for Gun Violence?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Cost of Gun Violence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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What Retailers Can do About Gun Violence<\/strong><\/h2>\n