Mass Shootings in Schools

Mass shootings that occur in schools are rare events relative to other gun violence. However, these events can have a profound impact that pervades every aspect of school, family and community life.

In many cases, these schools are closed or entirely renovated in an attempt to decrease the traumatic reminders that they have become for community members. Families relocate from the towns or neighborhoods in which the shooting occurred and grief pervades the ethos of all connected. We often focus on the number of deaths and injuries of mass shootings in schools, but psychological casualties can also be devastating and often exceed the physical ones.

School Mass Shootings and School Violence

Since 1982 there have been at least 160 mass shootings across the country

Just over half (51%) of these mass shootings have occurred since 2016. (Data accessed on Mother Jones, July 8, 2026). The vast majority of school shootings are perpetrated by students who currently attend the school and sometimes by ex-students. It is rare that individuals from outside the school community perpetrate mass casualty violence. Twenty-seven students and teachers were murdered (and 2 injured) in a school mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT on December 14, 2012. Since then, there have been 12 school/university shootings taking the lives of 90 people and injuring an additional 100 (Data access April 2026 from Mother Jones).

School shootings typically involve a mix of suicidal thoughts, despair, and anger plus access to guns. Solutions to reduce the risk of these events from occurring exist and involve comprehensive strategies.

When we look at nonfatal violence at schools, rates have actually trended downward. National Center for Education Statistics reports that between 2012 and 2022, the total rates of nonfatal victimization both at school and away from school declined for 12- to 18-year-old students. The rates of specific types of victimization—thefts, violent victimizations, and serious violent victimizations—both at school and away from school all declined between 2012 and 2022.

Recent Mass Shootings in the US

Still it’s important to note that, as compared to the number of people killed in daily gun-related violence, the numbers of mass shooting victims are far fewer: In 2024, 30 people were killed in mass shootings in the US of the total 44,447 deaths from firearm injury that same year (Centers for Disease Control Injury and Violence Data, July 2026).

As a children's hospital serving a large diverse metropolitan area, we recognize that gun violence is much larger than mass shootings. Overall, we need policies and programs that reduce the devastating impact of daily gun violence on children and youth.