School Shootings

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

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Sign indicating school zone.
School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where
Education Week is tracking K-12 school shootings in 2026 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
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Drones fly around a mannequin during a demonstration on how to neutralize a shooter in a school, at the headquarters of the startup "Campus Guardian Angel" on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Drones fly around a mannequin during a demonstration on how to neutralize a shooter in a school, at the headquarters of Campus Guardian Angel, a school safety startup, on May 8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty
School Climate & Safety Drones to Stop School Shootings: Promising Tool or Unproven Strategy?
Schools in two states will test drones meant to respond quickly to school shooters.
Evie Blad, May 21, 2026
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6 min read
There was minimal police presence as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department kept an eye on the Maywood Academy High School graduation ceremony at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, CA on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
Law enforcement kept an eye on proceedings at the Maywood Academy High School graduation ceremony at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif., on June 12, 2025. Graduation ceremonies pose a unique logistical challenge for school districts, with many considerations to take into account.
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty
School Climate & Safety Steps to Follow for a Smooth, Successful, and Safe Graduation Ceremony
Graduation ceremonies pose unique logistical challenges for school districts. Preparation is key.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 23, 2026
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5 min read
A mother holds her children at the memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church after Wednesday's shooting, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Minneapolis.
A mother holds her children at a memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church following the Aug. 27 shooting at the Minneapolis Catholic school. The shooting, in which two children died and 21 people were injured, was the largest school shooting of 2025, a year during which there were fewer school shootings than in any year since 2020.
Ellen Schmidt/AP
School Climate & Safety School Shootings in 2025: The Fewest Incidents and Deaths in 5 Years
The overall number of U.S. school shootings was lower than in any year since 2020.
Mark Lieberman & Hyon-Young Kim, December 31, 2025
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2 min read
A faculty member at Findley Oaks Elementary School holds a Centegix crisis alert badge during a training on Monday, March 20, 2023. The Fulton County School District is joining a growing list of metro Atlanta school systems that are contracting with the company, which equips any employee with the ability to notify officials in the case of an emergency.
A faculty member at Findley Oaks Elementary School holds a Centegix crisis alert badge during a training on Monday, March 20, 2023. Emergency alert systems have spread quickly to schools around the country as a safety measure. The nation's largest district is the latest to adopt one.
Natrice Miller/AJC.com via TNS
School Climate & Safety New York City Is the Latest to Deploy Panic Buttons in Schools
The nation's largest district is the latest to adopt emergency alert technology.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 31, 2025
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4 min read
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media after arriving at the federal courthouse for a hearing in front of a bankruptcy judge on June 14, 2024, in Houston.
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks to the media outside a federal courthouse on June 14, 2024, in Houston. The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear his appeal of a $1.4 billion judgment over his allegations that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., was staged.
David J. Phillip/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Again Declines a Case on School Gender Identity Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a case on purported school gender-identity policies, as well as two other education-related appeals
Mark Walsh, October 14, 2025
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5 min read
People gather at a vigil at Lynnhurst Park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School on Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis.
People gather for a vigil at a local park after a shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School on Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis.
Bruce Kluckhohn/AP
School Climate & Safety Stepped-Up Security and Outreach: How Schools Are Responding to the Minneapolis Shootings
District leaders are working to assuage fears in their communities.
Lauraine Langreo & Maya Riser-Kositsky, August 28, 2025
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2 min read
Parents await news during an active shooter situation at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, Minn., on Aug. 27, 2025.
Parents await news during an active shooter situation at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025. This is the first school shooting of the new academic year.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP
School Climate & Safety Two Children, Ages 8 and 10, Killed in Minneapolis School Shooting
Seventeen people were injured in the new academic year's first school shooting.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, Brooke Schultz & Elizabeth Heubeck, August 27, 2025
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4 min read
Volunteer student actors are led out of a middle school building as the Fountain Police Department conducts a training exercise for law enforcement on June 9, 2017, in Fountain, Colo. A new consensus report recommends schools avoid tactics like realistic simulations or deception when conducting drills for students.
Volunteer student actors are led out of a middle school building as the Fountain Police Department conducts a training exercise for law enforcement on June 9, 2017, in Fountain, Colo. A new consensus report recommends schools avoid tactics like realistic simulations when conducting drills for students.
Dougal Brownlie/The Gazette via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement What Schools Should Do—and Avoid—When Planning Active Shooter Drills
Schools should conduct active shooter drills in a way that minimizes emotional and psychological harm, a new study says.
Evie Blad, August 13, 2025
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5 min read
Abbey Clements, of Newton, Conn., speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago.
Abbey Clements, of Newton, Conn., speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. Clements co-founded an advocacy group, Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, to amplify teachers' voices on issues like gun control.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
School Climate & Safety Sandy Hook Survivor: Teachers Need a Louder Voice in School Safety Debates
Aspiring teachers also need the opportunity to talk about gun violence during their time in college, Abbey Clements said.
Olina Banerji, July 28, 2025
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6 min read
Photograph of crime scene tape and school.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
School Climate & Safety Leading a District After a School Shooting Is Hard. These Superintendents Want to Help
A network of superintendents who've led districts after school shootings plans to support colleagues recovering from similar crises.
Evie Blad, March 18, 2025
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4 min read
Illustration of Covid-19 impacting 3 years of school
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images
School & District Management Infographic 9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 18, 2025
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3 min read
Local residents pray during a candlelight vigil following a shooting at Perry High School, on Jan. 4, 2024, in Perry, Iowa.
Local residents pray during a candlelight vigil following a shooting at Perry High School, on Jan. 4, 2024, in Perry, Iowa. The deaths in school shootings last year have led to new legislation in a half-dozen states.
Charlie Neibergall/AP
School Climate & Safety States Emphasize School Violence Prevention, Not Just Security
In the wake of school shootings in their states last year, legislators hope to avert future tragedies.
Evie Blad, February 14, 2025
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7 min read
Sign indicating school zone.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Interactive School Shootings in 2025: How Many and Where
Education Week tracked K-12 school shootings in 2025 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
January 22, 2025
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2 min read
Photo of no gun sign on door.
iStock
School Climate & Safety School Shootings in 2024: More Than Last Year, But Fewer Deaths
Education Week recorded the second-highest number of school shootings in 2024 since it started tracking the incidents in 2018.
Mark Lieberman & Hyon-Young Kim, December 31, 2024
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4 min read