In the United States, the scourge of gun violence has reached epidemic proportions, with children bearing the brunt of this crisis. Shocking statistics reveal that in 2019, gun injuries surpassed all other causes of death for children aged birth to 19 years, marking a harrowing milestone in the nation’s history. Moreover, the stark reality that the US has witnessed 57 times as many school shootings as all other major industrialized nations combined underscores the urgency of addressing this pressing issue.

A comprehensive study spanning a quarter-century sought to shed light on the frequency of school-related gun violence, encompassing both school shootings and school mass shootings. Drawing on publicly available datasets, researchers meticulously analyzed the data to provide a longitudinal perspective on this alarming trend.

The results are nothing short of alarming: between the school years 1997-1998 and 2021-2022, there were a staggering 1453 school shootings recorded. What’s more concerning is that the most recent five school years witnessed a significant uptick in the number of school shootings compared to the previous two decades. In contrast, while school mass shootings have not seen a proportional increase in frequency, they have become deadlier over time.

These findings paint a grim picture of the escalating crisis of gun violence in schools, posing a grave threat to the well-being of the nation’s youth. The implications are far-reaching, affecting not only those directly impacted by school-related gun violence but also every child across the country and their parents, too.

The biggest problem in this country is that we love our guns more than our children. In turn, as long as guns are available, they will find a way to our children.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

LJ Rapa et al. School shootings in the United States: 1997-2022. Pediatrics (2024). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-064311