Gun Violence Is Down in Our Cities. Why Not Also in Our Schools?

On May 23, 2024, Skyline High School held its graduation ceremony on its school grounds in Oakland, California. What should have been a celebratory occasion turned violent in an all-too-familiar way. 

Just as the ceremony was wrapping up, a dispute escalated into gunfire, leaving three people wounded. Three minors—one armed with a Glock handgun—fled the scene and were later arrested.¹Amy Larson. “New Details Released on Oakland Skyline High School Graduation Shooting | KRON4.” KRON 4, May 29, 2024. https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/new-details-released-on-oakland-skyline-high-school-graduation-shooting/. This harrowing incident was just one of 18 shootings to occur on school grounds in the last month of the school year and is indicative of gun violence at schools throughout the school year.²Everytown collaborates with the K–12 School Shooting Database to track all incidents where a gun was discharged in or onto a school’s campus or grounds using news reports from reputable media sources. The school year is defined as August 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024. The 18 shootings occurred between May 1 and May 31, 2024. While most people think of planned attacks such as at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida or at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas when they imagine school shootings, the most common situation is a simple dispute that turns into gun violence.³Situation during shootings at schools from 1966 to 2024, K–12 School Shooting Database, “How Many School Shootings? All Incidents from 1966 to Present,” accessed August 6, 2024. https://k12ssdb.org/all-shootings. This spontaneous gun violence usually means that the students involved were habitually carrying guns at school. 

During the pandemic, gun violence in the United States reached record levels. Though gunfire at schools dropped during widespread school lockdowns, as students returned to in-person learning, there was a sharp increase in the number of shootings at schools. To this day, the rate of gun violence in the United States remains unacceptably high, but for the most part, it has been on a steady decline since the pandemic. The same cannot be said for the rates of gunfire at our children’s schools. The impact of missing in-school interactions during critical ages for social development may also be contributing to disputes escalating to gunshots rather than being solved peacefully, without weapons. 

31 percent

There were at least 144 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the 2023-2024 school year, a 31 percent increase from the prior school year.

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund analysis of Gunfire on School Grounds database, 2013–2024.

School is the last place where kids should have to worry about gun violence, yet we saw the number of incidents of gunfire on school grounds increase last year. The 2023–2024 school year saw the second-highest number of shootings at K–12 schools since Everytown began tracking them in 2013. Nearly four in 10 of those shot in these school incidents were students.

Gunfire at K–12 Schools by Year

Source: Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and K–12 School Shooting Database analysis of Gunfire on School Grounds database, 2013–2024.

Last updated: 8.8.2024

The 2021–2022 school year saw both the highest number of shootings and the highest number of shooting victims on school grounds. That was the school year when many students returned after widespread COVID-19 pandemic closures.

The most common shootings at schools this past academic year involved attempted or actual assaults or homicides. In addition, the 2023–2024 school year saw record-high numbers of shootings by police and unintentional shootings.

In one instance, two people were unintentionally shot and wounded during a basketball game at Escambia County High School in Alabama.⁴Kai Davis. “2 Injured after Accidental Gun Discharge in Atmore High School Gym.” WEAR, November 10, 2023. https://weartv.com/news/local/2-injured-after-accidental-gun-discharge-in-atmore-high-school-gym. They were in the gym when a gun fell from someone’s waistband and went off. Another unintentional shooting took place in the parking lot of Atrisco Heritage High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when a 16-year-old student unintentionally shot and killed another student after a school basketball game.⁵Laila Freeman. “BCSO: Teen Dies after Shooting at Albuquerque-Area High School.” KRQE, December 9, 2023. https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/bcso-teen-dies-after-shooting-at-albuquerque-high-school/. The two were playing with a gun when it discharged. In May, a sixth-grader at Alger Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, inadvertently shot his friend when the two kids were outside while class was in session. Their classmates heard screams from outside, then looked through the classroom window to see a bloodied classmate. “I was crying. Like, this has never happened before,” said an 11-year-old girl in their class.”⁶Melissa Frick and John Agar. “Student Traumatized after Seeing Friend, Injured by Gunshot, Outside Classroom Window.” MLive, May 21, 2024, sec. Grand Rapids. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2024/05/student-traumatized-after-seeing-friend-injured-by-gunshot-outside-classroom-window.html.

These shootings offer a window into the devastating impact that gunfire on school grounds has on students. All incidents of gun violence in schools, regardless of their intent or victim count, compromise the safety of students and staff. In addition, they cause a ripple effect of anxiety in the school community, impacting students’ health and ability to concentrate, learn, and feel safe.

“From the fear of school shootings to traumatizing lockdown drills and everyday gun violence in our communities, gun violence has dominated our childhoods and our educations.”

—Cora Lynn Mundy, Students Demand Action National Organizing Board Member and 2024 graduating senior at Staten Island Academy in New York

Gunfire on school grounds persists at a time of national decline in the total number of gun homicides. This national-level decline coincides with four important efforts:

• Renewed federal action addressing gun violence, including improved background checks to keep guns out of the hands of prohibited people and additional funding to make our schools safer and improve access to mental health services.⁷White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, “A Report on the Implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/A-Report-on-the-Implementation-of-the-Bipartisan-Safer-Communities-Act.pdf; Everytown for Gun Safety, “What is the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act?” June 21, 2022, https://www.everytown.org/what-is-the-bipartisan-safer-communities-act/; Everytown for Gun Safety, “How the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is Already Saving Lives,” July 13, 2023, https://www.everytown.org/how-the-bipartisan-safer-communities-act-is-already-saving-lives/; Everytown for Gun Safety, “Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Recognize Two-Year Mark of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” press release, June 25, 2024, https://www.everytown.org/press/everytown-for-gun-safety-moms-demand-action-and-students-demand-action-recognize-two-year-mark-of-bipartisan-safer-communities-act/. 
• State legislation that strengthens gun safety laws. 
• Increased and sustained funding for local violence intervention programs.⁸White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, “A Report on the Implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” June 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/A-Report-on-the-Implementation-of-the-Bipartisan-Safer-Communities-Act.pdf; US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, “Community Violence Intervention: A Collaborative Approach to Addressing Community Violence,” March 22, 2024, https://www.ojp.gov/topics/community-violence-intervention.
• Resumption of afterschool and summer programs that give young people opportunity, structure, and purpose in their days.

People Shot at K–12 Schools by Year

Source: Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund analysis of Gunfire on School Grounds database, 2013–2024.

Last updated: 8.8.2024

From firearms assaults at graduation ceremonies, unintentional discharges at basketball games, and police shootings of students, shootings at schools have a damaging impact on entire school communities. Measures to prevent them must be comprehensive and evidence-based.

Research on these shootings over decades pinpoints both the place where weapons are originating (often from the home of a parent or close relative)⁹National Threat Assessment Center, “Protecting America’s Schools: A US Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence,” US Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, 2019, https://bit.ly/2U7vnwa. and the identity of most shooters (former or current students at that school).¹⁰New York City Police Department, “Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation,” 2016, https://on.nyc.gov/2nWHM4O. Understanding these facts leads us to understanding solutions. As a start, gun owners must lock every gun securely. This prevents not only school shootings but youth suicides as well.¹¹Michael C. Monuteaux et al., “Association of Increased Safe Household Firearm Storage with Firearm Suicide and Unintentional Death Among US Youths,” JAMA Pediatrics 173, no. 7 (2019): 657–62, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1078. And schools must foster a nurturing and trusting school climate,¹²National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, “School Climate Improvement,” accessed August 7, 2024, https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/school-climate-improvement. so kids have adults to help them if they’re struggling and to whom they feel safe reporting concerning behavior.

So-called solutions to gunfire on school grounds like arming teachers—now allowed in 17 states—too often put the entire community at greater risk. Expecting teachers to neutralize an active shooter—possibly a current or former student—is dangerous and unrealistic. Even highly trained law enforcement personnel see their ability to shoot accurately in split-second situations decrease significantly.¹³Bernard D. Rostker et al., “Evaluation of the New York City Police Department Firearm Training and Firearm-Discharge Review Process,” RAND Corporation, 2008, https://bit.ly/2U9bk0t; Christopher M. Donner and Nicole Popovich, “Hitting (or Missing) the Mark: An Examination of Police Shooting Accuracy in Officer-Involved Shooting Incidents,” Policing 42, no. 3 (2019): 474–89, https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-05-2018-0060. Armed teachers nearly always have a fraction of the training of law enforcement,¹⁴Greg Toppo, “132 Hours To Train Teachers On Guns: Is It Enough?” USA Today, March 8, 2018, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/08/132-hours-train-teachers-guns-enough/408525002/. and they may even complicate the response of law enforcement to already complex, fast-moving emergencies. Finally, unlike law enforcement, teachers also do not have training in the legal framework—known as a “use of force” policy—on which situations justify shooting a student.

The data are clear. Popular “school safety” initiatives like arming teachers have not led to fewer shootings and are bringing new risks into schools. Further, research shows that educators feel less safe on campuses where other staff members are carrying firearms.¹⁵Jason C. Koele, “Differences between Missouri K–12 Educator Perceptions of Safety on Campuses That Allow Teacher Concealed Carry and Those That Do Not,” A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate Education Department, Southwest Baptist University, 2024, https://www.proquest.com/openview/9ac23a6b43eb1153eeb363bc0b85d67d/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y. Arming teachers is ineffective, expensive, and clearly has not prevented violence on school grounds.

Instead, a more comprehensive approach to protecting our youth is necessary. Preventing children’s exposure to gun violence in their communities and stopping guns from coming into schools in the first place are both critical. Solutions must include a combination of gun safety laws, secure firearm storage at home, community-based violence intervention programs, and school-based programs that create a trusting environment for involving students in the solution.