Join my reader's list!

For the first time, A Safe Place: How to Prevent the Next School Shooting and The Ultimate U.S. School Shooting Reference Guide, Volumes 1-3—four companion volumes—present the most comprehensive, event-level study of every school shooting in the United States from 1990 through 2019. These books are written for parents, students, educators, and community leaders who want practical, community-centered steps they can take now without any new federal legislation required.

As a research librarian, I compiled a dataset that documents more school-shooting incidents across that 30-year span than any single public report I reviewed from major news outlets and government agencies. The methodology, sourcing, and event-level detail are explained in the books so readers can evaluate and use the findings themselves, based on their community needs.

These volumes are dedicated to the countless victims of school gun violence, those we have lost and those who continue to live with the long, rippling consequences.

Luis D. Aponte is a librarian, U.S. Air Force veteran and author. 

Luis' research has been published in Virginia’s Mt. Vernon Gazette and Fairfax Connection newspapers, the peer-reviewed EDUCATION journal, and in Florida Libraries—the official journal of the Florida Library Association.  Sign up for his newsletter on www.ASafePlaceBook.com for book tour events, blogs, and more!

Luis attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 1992–1993 and left during his junior year because of a threat of gun violence on campus. Twenty-five years later, that school suffered one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. Since then, Luis has used his research skills as a librarian to identify patterns across 1,204 U.S. school-shooting incidents spanning 30 years, with the goal of helping protect children’s lives.

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Luis holds a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida, a Bachelor’s degree in Communications (Film & Video) from Florida Atlantic University, and an Associate's degree in Computer Science from Broward College, all earned with honors. When he is not writing, he performs in films and murder mystery plays, practicing martial arts, and exploring Virginia’s state parks and animal sanctuaries with his wife, Eileen. They live in Northern Virginia with their eight-year-old orange-and-white tabby cat, Ellie, whom they adopted from a local shelter.

Luis hopes these books will help unite the country around practical steps to save lives. Children, teachers, and school resource officers deserve to feel safe from gun violence in their schools.