Wednesday’s gun attack at a social services agency in the southern Californian city of San Bernardino, which killed 14 people and left 17 wounded, was the latest of many deadly rampages in the United States.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the worst shooting incidents in the country in recent years.
Columbine, 20 April 1999 - 12 students and a teacher are killed in an attack by two heavily armed teenagers at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorade. More than 20 others are wounded in the attack before the attackers take their own lives.
Washington, DC, October 2002 - Two men ambush 13 people, killing 10 of them, in a string of sniper-style shootings that terrorize the Washington area.
Virginia Tech, 16 April 2007 - A gunman kills 32 people before killing himself at Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Immigration centre, 3 April 2009 - A Vietnamese immigrant opens fire at an immigrant services centre in Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people and wounding four. He then kills himself.
Fort Hood, 5 November 2009 - A gunman opens fire at Fort Hood, a US Army base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32. The gunman, an Army major and psychiatrist, was sentenced to death for the rampage.
Congresswoman assassination attempt, 8 January 2011 - Then-US Representative Gabrielle Giffords is the target of an assassination attempt by a gunman in Tucson, Arizona, in which six people are killed and 13, including Ms Giffords, are wounded.
Oikos University, 2 April 2012 - A former student kills seven students at Oikos University, a small Christian school in Oakland, California. The suspect is awaiting trial.
Colorado movie theatre, 20 July 2012 - A masked gunman kills 12 people and wounds 70 when he opens fire on moviegoers at a midnight premiere of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, a Denver suburb. A former graduate student is sentenced to life in prison for the rampage.
Sikh temple, 5 August, 2012 - A white supremacist walks into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, shoots six worshippers and wounds four others, including a policeman. The gunman kills himself after being shot by a police officer.
Sandy Hook, 14 December 2012 - A gunman kills 20 children and six adults before killing himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Florida apartment, 26 July 2013 - A man goes on a shooting spree at an apartment complex in Hialeah, Florida, killing six people. The shooter is killed by police.
Washington Navy Yard, 16 September 2013 - A former Navy reservist working as a government contractor kills 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. Eight people are injured. The gunman was killed by police.
Grandfather kills family, 18 September 2014 – A man kills his daughter and six grandchildren in Bell, Florida, before killing himself.
Waco bikers, 17 May 2015 - Rival motorcycle gangs kill nine people at a restaurant in Waco, Texas. More than 170 people are arrested.
Charleston church, 17 June 2015 - A white supremacist gunman kills nine black churchgoers during a Bible study session at a historic, predominantly black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The suspect is awaiting trial.
Television journalists, 26 August 2015 - A reporter and a cameraman are fatally ambushed by a former employee of their Roanoke, Virginia, television station while they are interviewing a woman on live TV. The woman is wounded. The gunman later kills himself as police pursue him on a highway hours after the shooting.
Oregon College, 1 October 2015 - A gunman enters the campus of Umpqua Community College in southwest Oregon and opens fire, killing nine people and wounding seven others before police shoot him to death.
Planned Parenthood, 27 November 2015 - A gunman storms a Planned Parenthood health clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing three people and wounding nine. Police arrest the gunman.
