RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Mass shootings are on the rise in North Carolina. According to Gun Violence Archive there were 33 mass shootings in North Carolina last year compared to 21 the year before. That’s a 57% increase.

Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a shooting where at least four people are injured.

Ten of those mass shootings are in central North Carolina. Out of those, the one with the most victims was a shooting at a party in Goldsboro where a 15-year-old girl was killed, and five other people were injured.

“We used to say that this wouldn’t happen in our community, that’s not the case anymore,” Colebrook said.

CBS 17 spoke to Colebrook about what’s changed since the shooting.

“The young folk are leading us, and we’re listening to them on their issues and the things that they want to see,” Colebrook said. “They want to have honest conversations around gun violence, and they want to have honest conversations around the solutions.”

There were calls for change following the shooting.

Dozens fill Goldsboro city council meeting in wake of shooting that killed teen, injured 5 others

John Barnes, the CEO of Rebuilding Broken Places said the push for change isn’t as strong as it was in April.

“There was initial reaction to it and then that reaction kind of died down,” Barnes said.

Like Colebrook, he’s working to create more programs for teens in the area.

“I’m hoping that, you know, in 2024 we can see something  different, but there’s got to be a lot of changes made and it’s going to take everybody working together,” Barnes said.

Other mass shootings in our area last year include a New Year’s Day shooting at a Subway in Durham where five people were injured, a shooting at a birthday party at Wilson County Fairgrounds where four people were injured, and a shooting in a Sampson County home where five people were killed.

CBS 17 reached out to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office Thursday for an update on the case and to see if any arrests have been made. A captain with the department said the investigation is still ongoing and there are no updates.

Gun violence activist Madhavi Krevat fears people are becoming numb to all the violence. She’s pushing for stricter gun laws and background checks, which she hopes will prevent future shootings.

“We need that pistol purchase permit system back in place,” Krevat said. “We need a good, solid background check system in place. We also need a red flag law in North Carolina. We need things like Ethan’s law, which holds people responsible if a child gets their hands on a gun, right now it’s a misdemeanor in North Carolina.”

According to Gun Violence Archive, 33 people in North Carolina were killed and 118 people were injured in the state’s mass shootings in 2023 compared to 17 people killed and 86 people injured in mass shootings in 2022.

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