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Editor’s Note As this book went to press, three additional senseless tragedies struck the United States. On October 1, 2017, a shooter opened fire on a crowd at the Route 91 Har- vest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. A total of 58 people were killed and 489 others were injured before the shooter committed suicide. Just five weeks later, on November 5, 2017, an armed attacker entered the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. As parishioners were participating in their Sunday morning prayer service, he opened fire, killing 26 people and wound- ing 20 others. The shooter committed suicide after fleeing the scene and being chased by a pair of local residents who heard the attack and responded. Then, on February 14, 2018, a former student entered the freshman building of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire. Within minutes, 14 students and 3 of their educators had been killed. The shooter fled the school and was apprehended a short time later nearby. Though we were unable to incorporate these mass shootings into this encyclope- dia’s coverage due to the timing of the events (as they fell beyond the scope of the section), we believe it is important to recognize these events and those who were impacted by them. We hold the communities of Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, and Parkland, as well as all those affected, close to our hearts and hope that these terrible tragedies will further highlight the need for Americans to engage in serious and somber discussion of the phenomenon of mass shootings in the United States.