A new study published in PLOS ONE offers a sobering look at a common thread running through all school shootings in U.S. history: easy access to firearms — and a culture that often treats guns as more than tools, but as emblems of family, belonging, and identity.
Conducted by sociologist at the University of Erfurt, the study analyzed 83 rampage school shootings between 1966 and early 2024. Rampage shootings are defined as attacks by current or former students targeting random individuals, excluding gang-related or targeted violence.
The researchers’ question was deceptively simple: Why do a few people raised around guns turn violent, while millions do not? While previous research emphasized America’s unusual relationship with guns, this study dives deeper — into what guns meant to the shooters.
“Many school shooters came from a gun culture where firearms are symbols of affection, bonding, and identity,” said Anne Nassauer, head researcher of the study.
The study found that in the vast majority of cases, shooters had grown up in households where guns were part of regular life — used for hunting, sport, or simply displayed openly at home. These weren’t environments where guns were feared or hidden; they were shared, even celebrated.
For younger shooters, guns were often a point of connection with parents or relatives — sometimes received as gifts, and sometimes left in accessible places like closets, drawers, or under pillows. In one case, a parent gave their son a shotgun as a bonding gesture before a hunting trip.
For older shooters, firearms frequently became symbols of independence or emotional security. Many described guns in personal, even loving terms — calling them “friends,” “comfort,” or “the love of [my] life.”
“What also surprised me was how strongly some of the school shooters felt about their firearms,” said Nassauer.
In every case, access to firearms was described as “very easy” or “easy” — even for those with serious mental health conditions. Among adults, legal purchases were common, and most passed background checks despite red flags. Nassauer found no case where a shooter struggled to obtain their weapon.
“The fact that all school shooters in U.S. history had easy access to the firearms they used — even those who were very young or severely mentally ill” stood out, she noted.
The research also traced a shift in how shooters obtained guns over time. Before the mid-1990s, more guns were purchased legally by the shooters themselves. After federal laws tightened, such as with the 1994 assault weapons ban, shooters increasingly accessed guns through their homes. Still, availability remained constant, suggesting that household access is a bigger factor than regulation alone.
But here’s the crucial caveat: plenty of kids grow up with guns and never commit violence. Nassauer emphasizes that gun culture isn’t the sole cause. Mental health challenges, social isolation, bullying, and family dysfunction are also common across cases.
Mass shootings are always devastating, from schools to large public events, but even more devastating is how the issue continues to get weaponized for political and ideological battles.
As the saying goes, “to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Every tool in our hand from a hammer, to a blanket, to a sword, needs to come with strict moral considerations for their uses. It is our relationship to things that matters more than the thing itself. In the case of a firearm, ownership means absolute responsibility to its use rather than it should be a form of identity and symbol to hurt others.
Also for people to think guns are a “friend” or “lover”, that’s just weird. Love people, use things; and not the other way around.
A Nassauer. “The only friend I had was my gun”: A mixed-methods study of gun culture in school shootings. PLoS ONE (2025). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322195
