NEW YORK, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The latest mass shooting in the United States, which happened in Georgia on Wednesday killing four people, was the country's 30th mass killing this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

At least 131 people have died this year in those mass killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer -- the same definition used by the FBI.

Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass killings in the United States, making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record.

Four people, including two students, were fatally shot and nine others were injured at a high school in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.