# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Artwork created by Ben Jennings on the Parkland, Florida school shooting.

# data[].attributes.body
A student opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland Florida, on February 18, 2018, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

# data[].attributes.body
After a shooting which killed 19 children and 2 adults at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde Texas, this horrific event was the 27th school shooting that occurred in America in 2022.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
UVALDE, TEXAS - MAY 26: A memorial is seen surrounding the Robb Elementary School sign following the ... [+]
Getty Images

Since the horrific shooting that killed 19 children and 2 adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas-the 27th school shooting so far in 2022-there have been at least 15 other mass shootings in the United States, 12 of them over the Memorial Day weekend.

According to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive, there have already been more than 200 incidents in 2022 in which four or more people were shot or killed.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children under age 18 in the United States. Many of these incidents were unintended shootings of children by other children who had found a gun in a relative's home.

A number of politicians have called, once again, for arming teachers in schools and increasing the presence of police or security officers. This is despite the facts that teachers do not want this responsibility and security officers at Robb Elementary were unable to prevent the shooting.

These so-called solutions are badly misguided. A recent study of every intentional school shooting from 1980 to 2019 found that there was no relationship between having an armed officer on the school grounds and the rate of injuries. Furthermore, after controlling for the school region, type, grade level, location, use of lockdown drills, number of and type of weapons and shooters, there were nearly 3 times as many casualties in incidents with armed officers present. The authors concluded that "an armed officer on the scene was the number one factor associated with increased casualties."

As J. Thomas Manger, former president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association cautioned, "The more guns that are coming into the equation, the more volatility and the more risk there is of somebody getting hurt." And, indeed, guns in schools have proved to be dangerous. Aside from shooters coming onto school grounds, in 2022 there have already been at least 85 incidents of gunfire at schools, resulting in 36 deaths and 52 injuries nationally.

Guns in schools can easily find their way into the hands of students. There are many reported cases of guns misplaced when they were allowed in schools: guns left in bathrooms, locker rooms, or sporting events, and even an incident in which a gun fell out of a teacher's pocket while they did a backflip. Some of these guns were later found in the hands of students. There have also been multiple incidents in which guns were accidentally discharged at schools by school resource officers or teachers, as well as events in which guns were deliberately fired. These include multiple firearm suicides by faculty or staff at schools; a janitor who killed two of his colleagues at a performing arts school in Florida; and a Spanish teacher who was fired and then returned to school with an AK-47 in a guitar case. He used the gun to kill the school headmaster and then himself.

Imagine the dangers of having to keep guns available in school, loaded or with ammunition nearby, to be ready in the seconds available in an emergency. We would then likely have to add schools to the places where unintentional shootings by children and youth occur, worry about angry or suicidal young people getting hold of the guns made more accessible by their presence in schools, and experience the predictable agony of children caught in the crossfire between shooters and their own teachers.

Systemic Solutions to a Systemic Problem

The situation at Uvalde confirms, yet again, at least three necessary approaches to stop school shootings: gun controls, reporting of warning signs, and school-based social-emotional and mental health supports.

In the Uvalde shooting, the tragedy followed a familiar form.

Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old who went on a rampage with an AR-15 rifle, was a troubled young man, who attended the local high school until he dropped out. According to news reports, he had had a speech impediment since childhood and had been bullied throughout school. He had a challenging home life with his mother and had already begun missing school before moving in with his grandmother. Ramos developed a violent online presence. He reportedly threatened rape and murder on multiple occasions, posted pictures of his rifles, and expressly noted that he planned to "shoot an elementary school."

The semiautomatic, self-loading assault rifle Ramos used to kill 21 people was also the type of weapon used for 11 other mass shootings in the last decade. When assault weapons are used in mass shootings, they have resulted in far more deaths and injuries, with 6 times as many people shot per incident as when non-assault weapons were used. A study comparing the years in which the federal assault weapons prohibition was in effect (1994-2004) to the years before and after the prohibition estimated that the ban would have prevented more than three-quarters of the mass shooting deaths that occurred when it was not in effect. A growing body of research shows that states that have limited access to assault weapons and high-capacity magazines experience far fewer mass shootings and far fewer injuries and deaths.

The many threats Ramos made and plans he discussed with acquaintances and online are also common, having occurred in more than half (56%) of mass shootings and in 77% of school shootings. These warning signs present opportunities for intervention that could save lives. Extreme Risk laws, now enacted in 19 states (not including Texas) are one such opportunity. Sometimes known as "red flag" laws, these laws empower those who recognize warning signs to petition a court to temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms when they pose a significant risk of using them to cause harm, saving lives in the process.

The fact that Ramos had attended school in Uvalde and had been bullied in school as a child is also common among school shooters. Indeed, more than 90% of school shootings have been perpetrated by current or former students, and 87% of school shooting perpetrators left behind evidence that they were victims of severe bullying within the school.

It is quite possible that the shooting at Robb Elementary was a preventable tragedy. Prevention might have come in the form of gun control laws, a more appropriate police response to reported dangerous and threatening behavior from a former student, or more accessible mental health services coupled with stronger, more positive relationships between Ramos and other young people and adults in the school.

A young man who lived across the street from Ramos and tried to befriend him at an earlier time cried when he heard the news about the shooting, and put it succinctly: "I think he needed mental help. And more closure with his family. And love."

Ironically, key approaches that might have helped Ramos in school were represented in Obama-era guidance on school discipline that was repealed by the Trump Administration. This non-binding resource, created to help schools reduce exclusionary discipline strategies like suspension and expulsion, offered information about initiatives that help students develop social and emotional skills and receive mental health supports, so they can understand and manage their feelings (including anger, rejection, and frustration), and learn how to resolve conflicts peaceably.

These social-emotional learning initiatives have been found in hundreds of studies to reduce negative behavior and violence in schools, making schools safer, while also increasing graduation rates and academic achievement. The guidance builds on what we know about how to increase school safety through "conflict resolution, restorative practices, counseling and structured systems of positive interventions." The guidance also provides research-based resources to address students' mental health needs, as well as proven practices that make students feel more connected to school and part of a community-so they are less likely to engage in negative and harmful behavior.

It is clearly time for America to come to its senses about gun violence in our society and safety in our schools. The U.S. has less than 5% of the world's population, but represents 46% of the world's civilian-owned guns; has 31% of the world's mass shooters; and has gun homicide rates that are 25 times higher than those of other high-income countries. Clearly it is time for sensible laws that keep assault weapons out of the hands of civilians and weapons of any kind out of the hands of those who pose known risks to themselves and others.

And in our schools, we need to continue the work done by many states that are pursuing educative and restorative approaches to school safety and student success by leveraging initiatives that strengthen students' social-emotional skills, mental health supports, and sense of safety and belonging. If we genuinely want to ensure safer schools, we should follow the evidence about what works, rather than jeopardizing more lives with more guns where they clearly do not belong.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More Guns In Schools Is Not The Answer To School Shootings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If we genuinely want to ensure safer schools, we should follow the evidence about what works, rather than jeopardizing more lives with more guns where they clearly do not belong.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
US School Shootings: Past, Present, Future | Between Us

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Shooter' takes aim at the terrifying moments of a school shooting | Watch News Videos Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch 'Shooter' takes aim at the terrifying moments of a school shooting Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

# data[].attributes.body
Image of teens protesting and having the courage to fight against the government to change the laws of gun violence in America.

# data[].attributes.body
Four days after a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, five students who survived the massacre created the “March for Our Lives” movement. The movement occurred in Washington DC, where thousands of students walked out of their classes for 17 minutes of silence. The goal for the movement was to help prevent gun violence and to tell society that every school shooting that occurs matter.

# data[].attributes.body
On March 14, nearly a million teens and adults across the country left class for the National school Walkout to protest that “The School Shooting Generation has had Enough.” March Against Gun Violence is a movement dedicated to promoting education, civic engagement, and direct action to eliminate the epidemic of gun violence.

# data[].attributes.body
A Youtube video created by Inside Edition, which puts how often American school shootings occur into real perspective.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Some of America's Deadliest School Shootings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Unsure whether he would be a victim or survivor of the mass shooting taking place outside his Florida classroom, 14-year-old Aidan Minoff sent an eight-word tweet.

"I am in a school shooting right now ... " Aidan said, before the world knew the day would end with 17 students and teachers dead.

Tens of thousands of people locked onto Aidan's feed for the next 86 minutes, where he posted messages from the linoleum floor of his classroom, amid a forest of metal desk legs.

When the carnage ended, Aidan, and other teenagers who survived the attack, faced the cold lens of news cameras, not knowing the fate of all their friends and teachers, but they were sure about one thing.

It was about guns. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings

Carly Novell, shooting survivor

Solutions must be found to tackle US gun violence crisis. "How are we allowed to buy guns at the age of 18 or 19? That's something we shouldn't be able to do," Lyliah Skinner, who survived the shooting, told CNN.

"We're children," David Hogg, a 17-year-old survivor, said. "You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Come over your politics and get something done."

Amid the ritual cycle of despair of congressional inaction on gun violence, these powerful young voices have increased the pressure on politicians only offering "thoughts and prayers".

There is talk of the post-Columbine generation.

These Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school students were all born shortly after the 1999 shooting at Columbine high school in Colorado - which is no longer in the top 10 most fatal mass shootings in the US. They've lived through active-shooter drills at school and have seen the introduction of bullet-proof backpacks in child-friendly bright colors and funky patterns. They have instant access on the internet to the brutal facts and footage of mass shootings in the US - the five most deadly of which took place in the 10-year period from 2007 to 2017.

They have also seen lawmakers fail to stop this from happening even after 192 people and five perpetrators were killed in those five shootings at a music festival, nightclub, church, university and elementary school.

At a federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday afternoon, Stoneman Douglas students took the stage at an anti-gun rally.

Teenager Emma Gonzalez delivered an impassioned speech, holding back tears and challenging the argument that something other than stricter gun laws could have prevented the attack.

"We need to pay attention to the fact that this isn't just a mental health issue," said Gonzalez. "He wouldn't have harmed that many students with a knife."

The failure of US gun laws was obvious when it emerged on Friday that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who was named as the gunman and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, had legally bought the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle and ammunition used in the shooting at a tactical supply store in Coral Springs after passing a background check. The FBI also admitted on Friday it failed to investigate a specific report in January that Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student, could be plotting a school shooting.

And in the 48 hours following Cruz's arrest on Wednesday, schools across the country cancelled class in response to copycat threats. Some students were arrested on suspicion of planning to carry out attacks.

A memorial for Meadow Pollack, one of the victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. Photograph: Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images

During a funeral Friday for 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, her father looked at his daughter's coffin and screamed as Florida's governor Rick Scott and 1,000 others looked on. "Our kids should be safe," Andrew Pollack said.

The Stoneman Douglas students have joined the more than 150,000 students attending at least 170 primary or secondary schools who have experienced a shooting on campus since Columbine, according to a Washington Post analysis. It is a conservative calculation that does not include dozens of suicides, accidents and after-school assaults.

Hogg, a student journalist, said he interviewed people while the shooting took place. "I recorded those videos because I didn't know if I was going to survive," he told the New York Times. "But I knew that if those videos survived, they would echo on and tell the story. And that story would be one that would change things, I hoped. And that would be my legacy."

I knew that if those videos survived, they would echo on and tell the story

David Hogg, shooting survivor

Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old Stoneman Douglas high student, created a "Never Again" Facebook page for his peers and the community to press for action. About 50 students at a nearby high school walked-out in protest of the government's failure to respond to gun violence on Friday.

On Sunday, a group of students from Stoneman Douglas high school announced they were planning a march on Washington DC on Saturday 24 March to demand action on guns. And a National Walk Out is planned for the 20th anniversary of Columbine on 20 April.

At South Broward high school, about 30 miles from Stoneman Douglas, student protesters held signs that said: "It could've been us." and "Your silence is killing us."

Student Ianna Seemungal, 17, said she participated in the protest because she was tired of not feeling safe. "We don't deserve this," she said. "We need to be safe. There's nowhere to be safe. ... We can't even go to school."

When the Huffington Post asked Ianna if she was worried about being punished for leaving class, she shrugged. "No," Ianna said. "And if I do, it was worth it."

When Donald Trump touched down in Florida on Friday night to meet with victims, first responders and doctors, students and the community continued to press for a response.

A gun-control rally in Parkland, Florida, on 17 February. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"I don't want Trump to come but we want more gun safety," said 18-year-old student Kevin Trejos. "It's a dream. It hasn't hit me yet."

The National Rifle Association (NRA) spent more than $30m in 2016 to support Trump's presidential campaign. During the visit, Trump did not respond to a question about whether gun laws need to be changed.

While conservatives who oppose strict gun laws traditionally respond by offering "thought and prayers" and encouraging people to not politicize tragedies, student survivors held them to account in the days after the shooting.

The conservative Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren provided the routine response on Twitter, where she said: "Can the left let the families grieve for even 24 hours before they push their anti-gun and anti-gunowner agenda?"

Carly Novell, a 17-year-old Stoneman Douglas high student, tweeted the cold truth of her experience back at Lahren.

"I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours," Novell said. "It was about guns. You weren't there, you don't know how it felt. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people who had their life abruptly ended because of guns."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Post-Columbine generation demands action on guns: 'We don't deserve this'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Survivors of the Florida attack have grown up in a world where school shootings are the norm, and they want a different future

# data[].attributes.headline
Impacts of School Shootings occurring in America and how society reacts to these situations

# data[].attributes.subject
Impacts of School Shootings occurring in America and how society reacts to these situations

# data[].attributes.body
In the United States, it is legal to carry a handgun in public in all 50 states. But the majority of the states require a person to have a permit to carry a loaded handgun in public. A school shooting occurs every month, killing innocent people at random. There is a brief period of mourning, democrats offer feeble pleas for gun permits, and republicans offer their “thoughts and prayers.” But no substantial laws are passed, and the nation moves on without thought of what happened. People that die are not just a number. But school shootings are still occurring, and it is like nothing in society has changed. A school shooting will be a top headline for a few days, people with mourn, and then a few days later, its forgotten.