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There have been at least 1,204 school shootings in America from 1990 - 2020 in which at least one person was killed or injured on an American school property and/or school-sponsored event.  There is no greater pain on Earth for a parent than the death of his or her own child. After 3 years of heart-wrenching research as a librarian, this is my gift to you -- a 30-year comprehensive list for anyone who wants to have a greater understanding of the frequency and patterns of school shootings in America. 

Many government agencies and news organizations only report active and mass shooting events and often do not include shootings in colleges and universities. Unfortunately, this provides an incomplete picture of the greater problem of school gun violence in the United States. Out of a need and desire to fill this information gap, my map includes targeted and spontaneous shootings resulting from feuds and fights, drive-by shootings, stray bullets, gang violence, domestic disputes, accidental firearm discharges, and suicides. As a result, my list features more results in a 30-year period than CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, Education Week, FBI, Congress, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and even Wikipedia.  

This expansive list contains less than half of the information featured in my second book, The Ultimate U.S. School Shooting Reference Guide. To receive updates on the publication of both of my books and upcoming documentary film, please join my readers list at the top of any page on this website. For your convenience, I have also included a bibliography for anyone who wants to verify and further study this topic independently. This map does not feature hundreds of additional school shootings in which, thankfully, no one was injured or killed. It also does not include school shootings involving BB and pellet guns; nor does it include incidents in which an officer shot the alleged suspect before the alleged shooter could injure or kill anyone else.  For more information on how I define a school shooting, go to my "School Shooting Defined" page.

School shootings have a terrifying and rippling effect on children, parents, teachers, and the entire community. The resulting fear and pain often lasts for years. While these terrible events often ignite polarizing arguments on gun reform and school safety demands, political responses rarely, if ever, include a comprehensive study on gun violence in order to identify objective patterns that can actually help save lives in schools. 

I’ve been published in the December 2023 issue of EDUCATION, a peer-reviewed education journal published continually for more than 142 years. I have also been published in Florida Libraries, the official journal of the Florida Library Association and self-published 12 technology-based eBooks on Smashwords.com.  My hope is that my research will help improve school safety policies and create protocols that actually work. Safer schools will help districts attract the best teaching talent again and allow parents to send their kids to school with the peace of mind that they will come home alive. For more information about who I am as an author and why I have chosen to write these books, go to my "About" page.

About my books:

A Safe Place

 A Safe Place scrutinizes commonly accepted conclusions about school shootings; the issue of underage and illegal gun access; how schools are being protected on a daily basis; and how communities and law enforcement can join together to develop more customized solutions to disrupt the juvenile/social patterns that actually lead to school gun violence.  

The Ultimate U.S. School Shooting Reference Guide

The Ultimate U.S. School Shooting Reference Guide is a companion book to A Safe Place. It details every U.S. school shooting from January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2020. Details include the names and ages of every known suspect and victim; types of firearms used; use of high-capacity magazines; how the firearms were obtained; alleged motivations for the shootings; time it took for suspects to be arrested or killed; alleged drug usage; citizenship; and religious background of each suspect. In addition, the well-detailed book covers warning signs; criminal history; reported mental illness; whether or not metal detectors were used or available; time of day and location of the shooting on the school property or school-sponsored event; and bibliographic sources for each shooting incident.  

Here's a link to an interactive version of the School Shootings in America heat map. Please cite this website if you choose to share it online. Thank you!:

https://www.datawrapper.de/_/7mhES/

List of School Shootings in America from January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2020:

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Bibliography for School Shootings in America from January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2020:

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