Last year, innocent children were brutally murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. According to a new study, before the 1-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre on Dec 14, 2012, some television shows showcased at least 145 acts of violence. It also includes 39 deaths and 101 gun battles, obtained via The Hollywood Reporter.

The watchdog group used ratings to ascertain the top 20 dramas on television and then viewed the episodes that aired from Dec 1 to 7. The group noted that "NCIS: Los Angeles, "Sons of Anarchy" and "The Walking Dead" featured major gun fights where it was difficult to count the number of violent acts.

"The Walking Dead" was ranked number 1 for violence in the study with 20 acts of violence (the attacks on walkers are not considered).

However, other reports noted that "The Walking Dead" season 4 has been less violent, except the mid-season finale episode featuring the prison battle between Governor's group and Rick's group. Season 4, so far, has been about Governor's transformation and the flu in the prison.

The study done by the Culture and Media Institute criticised a Hollywood public service announcement advocating more gun control which features stars like Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner. Watch the video below.

(Credit: YouTube/hi5viralnews1)

"Talk about tone-deaf," said Dan Gainor, Media Research Center VP of culture and business.

"Quickly after Newtown, Hollywood released their video about how guns are bad. And now they've had a year to clean up their act, and TV is still a bloodbath," continued Mr. Ganor.

The study also criticised Quentin Tarantino for making the most violent movies that Mr Gainor has ever seen. "Tarantino makes the most violent movies I've ever seen, and he doesn't want to talk about that element of them. That's irresponsible," said Mr Gainor.

"Violence is much more realistic and gruesome on TV today. Maybe normal people can watch it and not be affected, but abnormal people cannot. At minimum, it's coarsening our culture," he added.

Should shows like "The Walking Dead" reduce the level of on-screen violence?

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"The Walking Dead" returns with the second-half episodes of season 4 on Feb 9, 2014 on AMC.