Translation guide
Describes an act of violence where a shooter fires at people indiscriminately, without a specific target. Japanese expressions vary based on context, from news reporting to casual conversation.
A random shooting incident occurred in the city last night.
Similar to 無差別発砲事件, but uses 銃撃 (gunfire/ shooting attack) instead of 発砲 (firing a gun). Slightly more vivid.
The suspect in the random shooting incident has been arrested.
Uses 通り魔 (random attacker/phantom killer) to emphasize the random, senseless nature. More literary or dramatic.
This incident has the appearance of a random shooting spree.
To describe the action of shooting without aiming at a specific person, often in a narrative or explanation.
Verb phrase meaning 'to shoot indiscriminately'. 無差別に means 'indiscriminately', 発砲する is 'to fire a gun'.
The perpetrator fired indiscriminately into the crowd.
More colloquial; 手当たり次第 means 'at random/haphazardly', 撃つ is 'to shoot'. Conveys a sense of reckless shooting.
Literally 'to shoot wildly/randomly'. Often used in compound nouns like 乱射事件 (random shooting incident).
The man fired a gun wildly inside the store.
To refer to a shooting spree where multiple people are targeted randomly, often in public places.
Combines 無差別 (indiscriminate) and 銃乱射 (gun rampage). Common in news for mass shootings.
Random mass shootings have become a social issue in the United States.
Loanword from English 'spree shooting'. Used in criminology or media, but not as common as Japanese terms.
Directly translating 'random shooting' as ランダムな射撃 would sound unnatural and is not used for criminal acts. Use the established terms above.
発砲 (happō) is the general act of firing a gun. 銃撃 (jūgeki) emphasizes shooting as an attack. 乱射 (ransha) implies wild, random firing. For 'random shooting', 無差別発砲 or 無差別銃撃 are standard; 乱射 alone can imply randomness but is often combined with 無差別 for clarity.
He started shooting randomly on the street.
The definition of spree shooting is debated even among experts.