WASHINGTON — Six in 10 Americans are worried about a mass shooting occurring in their community and the vast majority of Americans back action to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands, a new poll found.

The ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 86 percent of Americans support so-called “red flag” laws that would allow police to take away firearms from people a court found to be a danger to themselves or others — up slightly from 85 percent last year.

And nearly nine in 10 Americans support background checks on all gun sales including private sales and gun shows — the same level of broad support since 1999.

The survey was conducted Sept. 2-5 after an extremely deadly August in which mass shootings killed 10 people in Dayton, Ohio, 22 in El Paso, Texas, and eight in Odessa, Texas. The poll found 60 percent of Americans said they are concerned a shooting could occur in their hometown — up from 55 percent in 2013.

A majority of Americans (58 percent) believe stricter gun control laws could reduce the carnage in the US. And even more Americans (76 percent) are confident that improving mental health treatment could cut down on the number of mass shootings.

The survey comes as Congress returns to work after summer recess and Democrats and activists are demanding the GOP-led Senate and President Trump adopt House-passed bills to improve gun background checks.

Trump previously urged action on background checks immediately after mass shootings. He’s since softened his rhetoric, saying there’s already “very strong background checks right now.”

Republicans want clear guidance from Trump on what he’ll actually support before sticking their necks out on a vote.

“The president needs to step up here and set some guidelines for what he would do,” Sen. Roy Blunt told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.