Indeed, mass shootings account for a tiny percentage of the roughly 15K annual homicides in the US. The police kill far more (more than 1K). 'Assault weapons' and other long guns are rarely used. The vast bulk of murders are among young black males (roughly 50%) using handguns (roughly 60%), often involved with drug gangs. But mass shootings often involve suburban white victims, often children, so that's when sleeping Americans open one eye and mumble something silly before going back to sleep.