Bars and Hotels Top List of Deadliest Venues for Gun Violence in Texas

A five-year analysis of more than 17,000 firearm incidents maps where gun violence clusters across the state and which location types carry the highest risk of physical harm.
A new analysis of more than five years of gun violence data across Texas [https://www.hamptonking.com/blog/texas-gun-violence-analysis/] finds that bars and clubs recorded the highest volume of firearm incidents among all commercial and residential venue types studied, while hotels produced the highest share of incidents resulting in physical harm of any location type examined. The study, conducted by Houston-based personal injury law firm Hampton & King in partnership with data visualization firm 1Point21 Interactive [https://www.1point21interactive.com/], analyzed 17,735 gun violence incidents across Texas from January 2021 through April 2026.

Key Findings

* Bars and clubs recorded 734 gun violence incidents over the study period, more than any other location type analyzed. Of those, approximately 93% resulted in physical harm, with 907 patrons injured and 314 killed.
* Apartment complexes accounted for 465 incidents, with 93% causing injury or death. Deaths represented a higher proportion of apartment outcomes (58%) than bar and club outcomes (39%), resulting in 249 injuries and 291 fatalities.
* Hotels recorded the highest share of physically harmful incidents of any location type: 96% of the 56 hotel incidents caused injury or death, with 36 individuals killed and 28 injured.
* Malls and shopping centers ranked among the deadliest venues per incident, with 70% of mall incidents resulting in at least one fatality and 33 total deaths recorded across the study period.
* Houston recorded 522 gun violence incidents across the venue types studied, more than any other city in Texas and more than Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin combined. San Antonio ranked second with 271 incidents, followed by Dallas (132) and Fort Worth (102).

"The concentration of incidents at specific corridor types, particularly bars, apartment complexes, and hotels, points to patterns that property owners and managers are in a position to address," said a Senior Research Analyst. "When multiple incidents occur at or near the same address over several years, that history becomes a factor in evaluating what a reasonable security response should have looked like."

The data also reveal geographic clusters with repeated incident activity. A stretch along Gessner Road in Houston produced nine shootings across bars, a convenience store, a liquor store, and a shopping center over the study period. Austin's Sixth Street nightlife corridor recorded eight incidents at different bars and clubs, while Fort Worth's West Seventh Street district and a cluster near Frio City Road in San Antonio each saw six incidents at nightlife and residential locations. Four individual addresses, including two high schools, an apartment complex, and a bar, each recorded four separate incidents across different years, the highest totals among all single addresses in the study.

Why This Matters

Texas law prohibits licensed firearm carry in establishments where alcohol sales account for more than 51% of revenue, placing a legal responsibility on nightlife venues to maintain patron safety. For apartment complexes, property managers are expected to take reasonable steps to secure common areas and address foreseeable risks of criminal activity. When lighting, access control, surveillance, or security staffing falls short of that standard, the legal concept of negligent security may apply. The concentration of repeated incidents at specific addresses and corridors, documented in this study over multiple years, illustrates the kinds of site-level patterns that courts may weigh when evaluating what a property owner knew or should have known.

Methodology

Hampton & King and 1Point21 Interactive analyzed gun violence incidents from January 2021 through April 2026 using data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization that aggregates firearm-related incidents from more than 7,500 sources across the United States. The study defines gun violence incidents as any event involving the discharge, use, or threatened use of a firearm, including homicides, assaults, accidental shootings, robberies, drive-by shootings, and defensive gun use. The analysis focused on incidents occurring at commercial, public, and shared residential properties where premises liability may be a factor, excluding officer-involved shootings, home invasions, and domestic violence in private residences. The full analysis and methodology are available at hamptonking.com/blog/texas-gun-violence-analysis/ [https://www.hamptonking.com/blog/texas-gun-violence-analysis/].

About Hampton & King

Hampton & King is a Houston-based injury law firm with more than 70 years of combined attorney experience representing victims of negligence and life-changing injuries. Hampton & King focuses exclusively on medical malpractice [https://www.hamptonking.com/], negligent security, and related premises liability claims across Texas. Hampton & King has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of clients and is recognized by Texas Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.

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