By investing in prevention, communities can proactively reduce the risk of gun violence before it occurs. A well-developed curriculum can bridge these gaps, promoting healthier community environments and addressing the complex issues surrounding firearm violence. Youth under 25 face the highest risk of gun violence, making them a critical demographic for targeted educational programs.
This relation held even after we took demographic, economic and educational factors into account. Schools alone cannot address the myriad needs of these students. They are trained to do so within multitiered systems of support, such as Response to Intervention, which promotes learning and sustainability of supports over time.
How Can We Prevent Gun Violence in American Schools?
In 2023, 58% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (27,300), while 38% were murders (17,927). Though they tend to get less public attention than gun-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. The FBI’s statistics include murders and non-negligent manslaughters involving firearms. All CDC gun death estimates in this analysis are adjusted to account for age differences over time and across states. This Pew Research Center analysis examines the changing number and rate of gun deaths in the United States. Here’s a closer look at gun deaths in the U.S., based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the CDC, the FBI and other sources.
#3 for gun laws
Fifteen- to 19-year-olds in urban areas are hospitalized for firearm assaults at a rate eight times higher than 15- to 19-year-olds in rural areas.18Herrin BR, Gaither JR, Leventhal JM, Dodington J. Rural versus urban hospitalizations for firearm injuries in children and adolescents. Ninety-two percent of all hospitalizations of children for firearm injuries occur in urban areas (counties with over 50,000 residents).16Herrin BR, Gaither JR, Leventhal JM, Dodington J. Rural versus urban hospitalizations for firearm injuries in children and adolescents. While mass fatality shootings15Those in which four or more people are shot and killed, not including the shooter. Another 29 percent of child and teen gun deaths are suicides—nearly 1,300 per year.9Everytown Research analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, WONDER Online Database, Provisional Mortality Statistics, Multiple Cause of Death (accessed December 16, 2025).
On October 22, 1968, in the wake of a series of high-profile shootings—including the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965), Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), and Robert F. Kennedy (1968), as well as the 1966 University of Texas mass killing—President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) into law. In October 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory passed a law stating that no one could fire a gun without the mayor’s consent. They arose from a myriad of concerns tied to safety, crime, hunting, communal defense, and slavery. A 1643 law in Connecticut and at least five other colonies required “at least one adult man in every house to carry a gun to church or other public meetings” in order to protect against attacks by Native Americans. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 96. Woman finds gun in bleachers at basketball tournament.
Since 2020, the number one cause of death for kids in America are guns. Our findings provide guidance to policymakers in considering whether to use — or expand — visible school security measures in schools.” Of the 349 principals (46 percent) that responded, 17 percent reported a firearm incident at their school in the past 5 years. A 59-item valid and reliable questionnaire was mailed to a national random sample of 800 secondary school principals.
- These professionals play a key role in identifying individuals at risk and connecting them with the support and resources they need.
- Like the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School—and, more recently, at Robb Elementary School—are not commonplace, schools are more likely to experience gun homicides and assaults, unintentional shootings resulting in injury or death, and gun suicide and self-harm injuries.
- Educators can play a pivotal role in breaking the cycle of trauma and fostering a positive school climate.
- The town of Tumbler Ridge, a remote community of approximately 2,400 people, underscores the vulnerability of even seemingly safe and isolated areas.
- Gun violence is preventable through commonsense gun laws and trauma-informed schools that create safe school environments.
Counts noted “this case’s real-world consequences—certainly valid public policy and safety concerns exist,” but countered, “the Government must prove that laws regulating conduct covered by the Second Amendment’s plain text align with this Nation’s historical tradition. District Judge David Counts ruled that a federal law banning people under https://everytownresearch.org/report/school-gun-violence-prevention-response-guide-part-one-gun-violence-prevention/ felony indictments from purchasing a firearm is unconstitutional based on the June 23, 2022, U.S. The bill, signed by President Joe Biden on June 25, 2022, came together in the month after the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead, just after a Buffalo, New York, grocery store shooting that left 10 adults dead. A significant portion of schools in the U.S. were temporarily closed in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Open carry of handguns is generally allowed in most states (though a permit may be required).