By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-07 17:15:30 | Updated at 2025-01-12 19:33:12
5 days ago
The number of children killed by guns in America has risen by 85 per cent in the last decade as school shootings rose year-on-year, data shows.
Preliminary tallies by the Gun Violence Archive found 1,419 children and teenagers were killed by guns last year, nearly double the 765 deaths recorded in 2014.
Youth gun deaths reached a 10-year high in 2022 with 1,694 children and teens dying from guns.
There were at least 83 school shootings in the United States last year, according to a CNN analysis of events reported by the GVA.
This reflected a spike of 130 per cent from 2014's figures, and climbed from 2023's tally of 82 events, and 80 the year before.
Shootings were defined as incidents on school property with at least one person shot, not including the shooter. The government does not track school shootings.
The latest figures on school shootings shows a continuation of a rising trend since the pandemic, and stands in stark contrast to historical data.
By the same definition of a shooting, there were 18, 22, 13, 15 and 13 attacks in schools in the years 2008 through 2012, inclusive.
Washington DC has seen the highest rate of shootings since 2008, with six in total or one per 100,000 people.
Texas had the most shootings overall, at 61.
Tallies only surpassed 30 per year in 2014 and have broadly continued along a rising trend.
The Gun Violence Archive separately brought together comparative data on the number of children killed by guns in the US.
A total of 1,419 young people were killed by gun violence last year alone, up 85 per cent from the 765 recorded in 2014. The data is still subject to change.
As many as 248 children aged 0-11 were killed by gun violence, while 547 were injured.
Police lead students after the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison
Wisconsin Christian school shooter Natalie Samantha Rupnow has been pictured after she killed a fellow student and a teacher at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison
Worshipers at Blackhawk Church gather to pray for victims and survivors of a shooting at Madison's Abundant Life Christian School, in Middleton, Wisconsin, U.S. December 16, 2024
People are seen at a reunification center after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, on December 16
Jeff Rupnow shared a picture of one of his daughters being encouraged to handle and fire guns by her father. Mr Rupnow in August shared a photograph (above) on Facebook at a local shooting range
Some 1,171 teenagers, defined as being 12-17 by the GVA, were killed by gun violence last year. 3,238 were injured, according to the data.
Comparative data from 2014 only counted the number of children killed or injured; 580 children, 0-11, were killed or injured in 2014.
The total for 2024 was 37 per cent higher than in 2014.
In 2014, the GVA recorded that 2,292 teens, 12-17, were killed or injured by gun violence. The total for 2024 was 96 per cent higher.
The population of the US climbed 8.5 per cent between 2014 and 2024, from 318.4mn to 345.4mn.
Last year, there were 40,873 total deaths by gun violence across the country, falling five per cent from 43,334 in 2023 but much higher than the 29,596 recorded in 2014.
More recent data distinguishes between homicide, murder, unintentional or DGU deaths and suicides.
Last year, suicides accounted for 24,156 of the total recorded deaths. This was a slight rise from 2023, but a fall from the 27,038 recorded in 2022 - a post-Covid high.
Georgia high school shooting suspect Colt Gray, 14, is accused of shooting dead two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in WInder, near Atlanta. He pleaded not guilty
Families and students stop by to pay their respects to the lives lost in the tragedy
Teacher Richard Aspinwall was named as one of the four victims of the shooting. Christina Irimie was also identified as a victim
Hundreds of young people in the US have died in shootings over the past decade, but the carnage perhaps hits hardest when it happens in schools.
Natalie Rupnow, 15, killed another teenager and a teacher inside her nondenominational Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin - just a week before the start of its Christmas break.
She also wounded six others and died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police have not disclosed a motive in the December 16 attack at Abundant Life Christian School.
In September last year, 14-year-old Colt Gray opened fire inside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia with an assault-style rifle, killing two other 14-year-old students and two teachers.
Students scrambled for shelter in classrooms - and eventually fled to the football stadium - as officers swarmed the campus.
Gray surrendered and has been charged with murder. His father Colin Gray, who is accused of knowingly allowing his son to have the weapon, has also been charged with murder.
Perry High School student Dylan Butler, 17, opened fire on students and staff at his school in Perry, Iowa just before the start of classes on the first day after winter break.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. Christian Angulo, 14, also lost his life in the senseless shooting
A huge police presence descended on Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday after officials said the student opened fire, injuring nine and killing four
He killed a sixth-grader and wounded the school principal, who risked his life to save students and later died of his injuries. Four others were injured.
Butler - who had arrived at school with a shotgun, revolver, knife and homemade explosive device concealed on him - took his own life with a single gunshot minutes after shooting at others.
Evidence gathered by investigators suggested Butler showed signs of an obsession with violence and school shootings at least a year prior and had begun planning the shooting six or more weeks beforehand.
Separately collected data by Education Week, which also tracks school shootings, recorded 39 incidents that resulted in injuries and deaths last year.
The record-high for school shootings that resulted in injuries and deaths was in 2022, at 51 reported in a year.
There were 38 in 2023, 35 in 2021, 10 in 2020, and 24 each in 2019 and 2018, according to their definition.
They define a shooting as an incident in which a firearm was discharged, any individual other than the suspect/perpetrator has a bullet wound from the incident, the incident happened on school property or a school bus, and that occurred while school was in session or at a school-sponsored event.
