Analysis: How Real Is The Threat Of Political Violence?

Monitors at ShotSpotter picked up the increase of automatic weapons fire in the course of the company’s surveillance of 761 square miles in 105 cites from Birmingham to Milwaukee. The increase comes in the context of a rise overall in shots fired nationwide, which are up 44% in 2020 compared with 2019, with a sharp spike in shots fired after riots in the wake of George Floyd’s killing on May 25. “Riots are generally triggered by visceral reactions to an event… Elections typically don’t – at least, they haven’t, in the United States.” said Ralph Clark, the CEO of ShotSpotter.