A Uniquely American Tragedy
The US has more school shootings than all other developed countries combined
Welcome to the first edition of The Dividing Line.
This new series is going to focus more on interactive data visualizations and analysis, particularly in a time when we are losing access to public data. Let us know your thoughts below.
In no other developed country does sending your child to school feel like a gamble with their life—but in the United States, school shootings have become a grim and recurring reality.
These visuals are all interactive and available with more information at this link!
A Growing Issue
Since 1999, school shootings have continued to grow. After 2018, there was a significant spike and continued increase after the COVID-19 pandemic. This animation highlights each school shooting.
More Children at Risk
It’s not just the sheer number of shootings—it’s the relentlessness. Each shooting has become more violent, with more individuals hurt or killed.
Firearms are the leading cause of child mortality
It’s no shock that with the increase in gun sales, gun deaths are increasing across the United States. 2021 marked the first time motor vehicle deaths were NOT the leading cause of child deaths but rather, firearms.
1 in 25 American five-year olds will not reach their 40th birthday now. Much of that is due to gun violence.
A Crisis of Male Violence
The perpetrators of school shootings also happen to be vastly concentrated in one group — men. 95% of school shooters are men. The youngest perpetrator in the data available across all racial groups was 6 years old.
Disproportionate Victims
The population that is most affected by school shootings are black students. As of 2022, 15% of students in the US are black, 48% of students are white and 29% are Hispanic, but when looking at students who experienced a mass shooting, 33% are black, 32% are white, and 28% are Hispanic. Black students are approximately 3.3 times more likely to experience a school shooting than White students, relative to their representation in the US student population.
Easy Access to Guns
Where are they getting the guns? The most common instances are from people close to the shooters who have already legally purchased the weapon themselves.
Closing Thoughts
Mike Tiede grew up with guns in his childhood home. Here are some of his thoughts: “I went hunting every fall with my family. Before I was allowed to hunt, my dad had me take a firearm safety class where we learned about gun safety. These kinds of classes are available to the public—but they’re not required. Making firearm safety education mandatory could be one of several common-sense steps toward reducing gun violence. It would not only help ensure responsible ownership but could also introduce delays or barriers to impulsive or harmful purchases. Education and increased barriers alone isn’t the answer, but they are tools among many we should be using more widely.”
5 Great Organizations Leading the Charge
Everytown For Gun Safety: The largest gun violence prevention organization in the country.
Sandy Hook Promise: Founded by families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, this nonprofit focuses on preventing school shootings through violence prevention education in schools.
The Trace: A nonprofit newsroom dedicated to reporting on gun violence and publishing in-depth investigations and data stories.
Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence: Focused on public health and evidence-based approaches to gun violence.
Cure Violence Global: Great Organization that treats violence as a contagious disease and focus on intervention and prevention in urban communities.
Thanks for the info and graphics. I hang my head with shame and embarrassment that our country has normalized these shootings. Other countries do it differently and effectively. Yet we are too arrogant and too full of our own bullshit and gun lobby propaganda that we refuse to learn from others.
These murders are OWNED by the people who make unlimited gun ownership a political football. It's NOT a liberal or conservative issue. It's an issue of money over mercy.
And nobody is saying we should take away everyone's guns. But there ARE sensible laws and procedures that could reduce this carnage. Refusing to participate in such common sense regulations makes one COMPLICIT.
For now, we are America the Bloody and we looking pretty fracking stupid to most of the world.
The CDC states that unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death, which encompasses various causes, with motor vehicle accidents being the most significant. According to the CDC, firearm deaths are not classified as a single category; instead, they fall into subcategories of homicides and suicides, with a few also categorized as accidental deaths. This is important because there are large differences by race. The short generalized version that people don't want to hear is that Black males shoot each other, while white males shoot themselves.
2023 Data here: https://briefedbydata.substack.com/p/demographics-and-firearm-deaths
2016-2020 Data here: https://briefedbydata.substack.com/p/child-firearm-deaths-and-other-gun
I would say firearms aren't going anywhere in the US, but if we could get the Black firearm homicide rate down to the white rate and the white firearm suicide rate down to the Black rate, which would seem doable as there is no reason why these rates should be so different, we would go a long way to dealing with firearm issues. These are two different cultural problems that need to be addressed differently, and both exist under current laws, so in theory laws don't need to be changed.