School Shootings

Education news, analysis, and opinion about gun violence at schools and during school events

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School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where
Education Week is tracking K-12 school shootings in 2024 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. She alluded to proposals to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education during her acceptance speech.
Gabrielle Lurie/AP
Federal Video WATCH: 5 Key Education Moments From the Democratic National Convention
Calls to end gun violence, Tim Walz's background as a teacher, and Project 2025 all made for key K-12 moments at the 2024 convention.
Libby Stanford, August 23, 2024
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7 min read
In this March 8, 2017 photo, Logan Cole walks down a hallway decorated with signs supporting him and his school at West Liberty-Salem High School, in West Liberty, Ohio. Logan, who was shot twice by a fellow student at the high school on Jan. 20, was adjusting to his first full week back at school after spending 15 days in Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus fighting for his life and then eventually returning to school part-time.
In this March 8, 2017 photo, Logan Cole walks down a hallway decorated with signs supporting him and his school at West Liberty-Salem High School, in West Liberty, Ohio. Logan, who was shot twice by a fellow student at the high school on Jan. 20, was adjusting to his first full week back at school after spending 15 days in Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus fighting for his life and then eventually returning to school part-time.
Jonathan Quilter/The Columbus Dispatch via AP
School Climate & Safety In Their Own Words How a Principal Who Stopped a School Shooting Learned to Be Vulnerable
Principal Greg Johnson talks about how his life changed after a school shooting.
Olina Banerji, August 8, 2024
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6 min read
A makeshift memorial with crosses for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre stands outside a home on the first anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2013.
A makeshift memorial with crosses for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre stands outside a home on the first anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2013. A teacher who survived the shooting discussed how she encouraged her students to write after the tragedy.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
School Climate & Safety How Teachers Who Survived Columbine and Sandy Hook Helped Their Students Recover
Teachers who survived the Sandy Hook and Columbine shootings had to find a way to help their students process trauma.
Libby Stanford, August 2, 2024
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5 min read
City of Hialeah Police Commander Orlando Salvat, right, and Sgt. Rolando Rios, left, rush to a simulated active shooting as instructor Vincent Torres, center, follows during a training session, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Hialeah, Fla.
City of Hialeah Police Commander Orlando Salvat, right, and Sgt. Rolando Rios, left, rush to a simulated active shooting as instructor Vincent Torres, center, follows during a training session, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Hialeah, Fla.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
School Climate & Safety Video Active Shooter Drills That Prepare But Don't Traumatize: Advice From Principals
Striking a balance is essential, principals say.
Olina Banerji & Sam Mallon, July 31, 2024
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4 min read
A tangled jumbled line leads from a moment of impact to a clear conclusion: a ban symbol.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School Climate & Safety Opinion ‘We Cannot Stop a Bullet’: A Principal Demands Better Gun Laws
When guns are easily accessible, not even the Secret Service can prevent every threat. Why would we expect teachers to do better?
Tracey Runeare, July 16, 2024
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5 min read
People hold signs in the gallery against a bill that would allow some teachers to be armed in schools during a legislative session in the House chamber on April 23, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
People hold signs in the gallery against a bill that would allow some teachers to be armed in schools during a legislative session in the House chamber on April 23, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
George Walker IV/AP
School Climate & Safety Video Should Teachers Carry Guns? How Two Principals Answer This Question
One has two armed school employees. The other thinks arming teachers is a bad idea.
Olina Banerji & Sam Mallon, July 8, 2024
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4 min read
Frank DeAngelis, center, greets well-wishers during a vigil at the memorial for victims of the massacre at Columbine High School more than 20 years earlier in Littleton, Colo. on Friday, April 19, 2019. DeAngelis was principal of the school at the time of the attack. The school district is considering razing the current building and putting up a new structure.
Frank DeAngelis, center, greets well-wishers during a vigil at the memorial for victims of the massacre at Columbine High School more than 20 years earlier in Littleton, Colo. on Friday, April 19, 2019. DeAngelis was principal of the school at the time of the attack. The school district is considering razing the current building and putting up a new structure.
David Zalubowski/AP
School & District Management Video 'The Work Is Therapy': Principals Help Each Other Recover From School Shootings
The Principal Recovery Network supports school leaders who've experienced a violent incident on campus.
Olina Banerji & Sam Mallon, June 26, 2024
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2 min read
Forest High School students console one another after a school shooting at Forest High School Friday, April 20, 2018 in Ocala, Fla. One student shot another in the ankle at the high school and a suspect is in custody, authorities said Friday. The injured student was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Forest High School students console one another after a school shooting at Forest High School Friday, April 20, 2018 in Ocala, Fla. One student shot another in the ankle at the high school and a suspect is in custody, authorities said Friday. The injured student was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Doug Engle/Star-Banner via AP
School & District Management Video 'Students Never Forget': Principals Call for Help After School Shootings
School leaders are lobbying Congress for more financial support for schools that experience gun violence.
Olina Banerji & Sam Mallon, June 18, 2024
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2 min read
Students, teachers, victims' families and passersby watch, Friday, June 14, 2024, as crews start the demolition of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. Officials plan to complete the weeks-long project before the school's 3,300 students return in August from summer vacation.
Students, teachers, and victims' families are among those watching on June 14, 2024, as crews start the demolition of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting. Officials plan to complete the weeks-long project before students return from summer vacation.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
School & District Management Photos Six Years After Parkland Tragedy, Crews Demolish a Painful Reminder
The school building in Florida where a gunman killed 17 people is being pulled down. Victims' families have toured the site with lawmakers to push for change.
Evie Blad & Jaclyn Borowski, June 14, 2024
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4 min read
School staff cheer as students returned to in-person classes at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, following a shooting on Oct. 24, 2022, that killed a student and a teacher. Kacy Shahid, then the school's principal, faced the challenge of guiding the school community through recovery as she struggled herself to process the events.
School staff cheer as students returned to in-person classes at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, following a shooting on Oct. 24, 2022, that killed a student and a teacher. Kacy Shahid, then the school's principal, faced the challenge of guiding the school community through recovery as she struggled herself to process the events.
Jim Salter/AP
School Climate & Safety What Helped These K-12 Leaders After School Shootings
School shootings leave deep and lasting impact on the community, including those charged with leading students and staff in the aftermath.
Caitlynn Peetz, May 16, 2024
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5 min read
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School Climate & Safety Video WATCH: Columbine Author on Myths, Lessons, and Warning Signs of Violence
David Cullen discusses how educators still grapple with painful lessons from the 1999 shooting.
Evie Blad & Catriona Ni Aolain, April 19, 2024
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1 min read
A group protesting school safety in Laurel County, K.Y., on Feb. 21, 2018. In the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida high school, parents and educators are mobilizing to demand more school safety measures, including armed officers, security cameras, door locks, etc.
A group calls for additional school safety measures in Laurel County, Ky., on Feb. 21, 2018, following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 14 students and three staff members died. Districts have invested billions in personnel and physical security measures in the 25 years since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
Claire Crouch/Lex18News via AP
School Climate & Safety 25 Years After Columbine, America Spends Billions to Prevent Shootings That Keep Happening
Districts have invested in more personnel and physical security measures to keep students safe, but shootings have continued unabated.
Mark Lieberman, April 18, 2024
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9 min read
Candles burn at a makeshift memorial near Columbine High School on April 27, 1999, for each of the of the 13 people killed during a shooting spree at the Littleton, Colo., school.
Candles burn at a makeshift memorial near Columbine High School on April 27, 1999, for each of the of the 13 people killed during a shooting spree at the Littleton, Colo., school.
Michael S. Green/AP
School Climate & Safety How Columbine Shaped 25 Years of School Safety
Columbine ushered in the modern school safety era. A quarter decade later, its lessons remain relevant—and sometimes elusive.
Evie Blad, April 17, 2024
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14 min read
Image of a school hallway with icons representing lockdowns, SRO, metal detectors.
via Canva
School Climate & Safety Most Teachers Worry a Shooting Could Happen at Their School
Teachers say their schools could do more to prepare them for an active-shooter situation.
Evie Blad, April 11, 2024
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4 min read
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