California had the highest number of drive-by shootings in a recent six-month period -- or at least the most coverage of them -- according to a study released today by The Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, working to end gun violence.

The organization tallied news articles about drive-by shootings from July through December 2008 throughout the United States and identified the number of incidents by state, the number of victims killed and injured, and the time, day and location of each incident. 

VPC counted 733 drive-by shootings nationwide, with reportedly 154 deaths and 631 injuries. With 148 shootings, California had the highest number of news reports, followed by Texas with 60, Florida with 48 and Illinois with 38.

These are the organization’s stats for California:

-In the six months covered by the study, the 148 drive-by shootings injured 129 and killed 40.

-17 percent of victims were under the age of 18.

-In more than a third of the shootings, the victims were either inside or outside a residence.

-15 percent of the shootings were targeted at another vehicle.

-42 percent of the shootings occurred between 7 p.m. and midnight. Nearly a third were between noon and 7 p.m.

-Reports mentioned possible gang involvement in 47 of the 148 reports.

You can read more stats and the full study here.