NATIONAL

74 people have been killed or injured by guns at American schools

this year
March 29, 20232:19 PM ET

By: Manuela López Restrepo

Items are left at a makeshift memorial at the entrance of the Covenant School after the mass
shooting.
Seth Herald/Getty Images

On Monday, three children and three staff members were fatally shot at the Covenant School
in Nashville, which one expert describes as part of an "astronomical increase" in violence on
school campuses in recent years.

There is no universal definition of a school shooting, explains Jillian Peterson, an associate

professor of criminology and the president of the Violence Project, a non-profit research
center.

"In my research, we focus on school mass shootings, which is a really narrow definition
where somebody comes, is heavily armed, fires indiscriminately, and kills four or more
people," she said.

The federal government currently does not track the specifics of shootings that occur in
schools. And while Peterson says they have been relatively rare over the past few years, there
has been an increase in frequency in overall violence on school campuses that is undeniable,
regardless of the methodology involved in data collection.
"I used to say mass shootings are rare, school shootings are rare," Peterson said. "But it's hard
to keep saying that, you know, even though statistically they are, it's getting harder to
convince parents of that."

In 2022, there were more school shootings than in any year since 1999, according to
the Washington Post's tracker.

A boy leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims by the Covenant School building.

By the Post's measure, the total for 2022 was 46 — but that is only during school hours.

If the parameters are widened to incidents after school, over the weekend, when a gun is
brandished, fired, or when a bullet hits school property, that number leaps to 303 in 2022,
according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, an independent research project.
The K-12 database definition also includes gang shootings, suicides, and accidents.

"This information is recorded to document the full scope of gun violence on school
campuses," its website reads.

With gun control far from sight, schools redesign for student safety
Peterson says that the database, which works in partnership with the Violence Project,
demonstrates how community violence is bleeding into schools.

"That includes things motivated by interpersonal conflicts, domestic violence, retaliation, all
of those things, fights that escalate because people are armed," she said.

In 2023, the K-12 database has recorded 89 gun-related incidents at a school so far, nearly
one for every day this year.

It finds that, including the deaths in Nashville this week, there have been 74 people killed or
injured this year alone, not including the shooters. That includes 18 people fatally shot, and
56 more who were injured.

In 2020, firearms overtook auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children between
the ages of 1 to 19.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 130 mass shootings in the U.S. in
2023. That definition includes four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter.
Another category that Peterson says has seen a surge in frequency are threats of violence
made, online or in person, which can be difficult for schools to track and manage.

Peterson, who is the parent of three elementary school-aged children says that community
engagement can be vital in managing those threats, and preventing more tragedies.

"One thing we do know is that the most likely perpetrator of a school shooting is a child in
that school. It is a classmate," she said. "It's somebody that is getting seen every day. And so
they are likely to tell their classmates that they're planning on it. They give out warning signs.

Part of Peterson's research includes studying the life histories and pathways to violence for
the perpetrators. And in many cases, they follow the same steps, including telling others
about their plans, a term called "leakage."

Because of this, Peterson says giving students a clear pathway to sharing any suspicions of
these warning signs is crucial.

"The best thing we can do is actually just have really good relationships with our kids,
making sure that they feel comfortable reporting," she said.

She also says schools need to take steps to have crisis intervention teams, suicide
prevention teams, school based mental health, and anonymous reporting systems to
give at-risk students resources, in addition to campaigning for improved gun safety
among parents that are firearms owners.

"I think pushing for safe storage campaigns [is key] because the majority of school
shooters are taking guns from home. So the more we can help parents who own
firearms make sure those are secured, that's helpful," she added.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/29/1166651590/nashville-school-shootings-
gun-violence-children-cause-death-2023

Here’s a critique of this article:

1. Timely Reporting: The article provides the date and time of the incident,
which is essential for conveying the immediacy and relevance of the event.
2. Statistical Context: It mentions the increase in violence on school campuses,
but it would be helpful to provide some statistics or data to support this claim
and give readers a better understanding of the scale of the problem.
3. Lack of Depth: The article is quite short and lacks in-depth analysis. It could
benefit from additional information, such as the potential causes or
contributing factors to the increase in violence on school campuses.
4. Source Credibility: It mentions Jillian Peterson, an associate professor of
criminology and the president of the Violence Project, as an expert. Including
her insights or quotes about the situation would add credibility and depth to
the article.
5. Lack of Solutions: The article doesn’t offer any insights into potential
solutions or actions being taken to address this concerning trend in school
violence. Providing information on preventative measures or policy initiatives
would be valuable.
6. In summary, while the article provides a brief overview of a tragic incident
and mentions the increase in school violence, it lacks depth, statistical context,
and potential solutions to the problem.