In the wake of the recent tragedy in Marysville, Washington, many websites and pundits are
calling out the high number of School Shootings that have happened since Sandy Hook.
Many
claim that there have been 87 school shootings since december 2012; a number that’s both
alarming, and misleading.
When we hear “school shooting” we generally think of a person entering campus with the
intent to kill or injure numerous students.
We think of tragedies like Columbine, Virginia Tech
and Sandy Hook.
Since December 2012, there have been 11 of these types of school shootings
- meaning 11 times, in the United States, gunmen have fired upon multiple people, on
school
property, with the intent to kill or injure.
That is a shocking number.
But it’s also way less than
the 87 times the media is reporting.
So, what makes up those 76 other incidents?
Well, the number being quoted comes from a non-profit group called Everytown For Gun
Safety.
Their goal is to end gun violence.
The majority of shootings that they’re categorizing as
“school shootings” are shootings that happen at or near schools, but they’re not
what you tend
to think of when you hear the term “school shooting.”
For instance, their list includes a man who
was murdered at night behind a school, a teenager shot on a school basketball court during
a weekend pickup game, and spontaneous shootings that stemmed from arguments, fights,
and drug deals.
It also includes suicides, attempted suicides, domestic assaults, premeditated
murders, robberies, and accidental gun discharges.
All of these are serious events that bring up
separate issues.
But they don’t bring up the same issues or emotions, that a school shooting
like Sandy Hook or Columbine does.
The fact that there have been 11 tragedies like Sandy Hook, and not 87, doesn’t change
the
way we feel about these tragedies.
Eleven shootings in less than two years, is still a shockingly
high incident rate.
But we also shouldn‘t discount the 76 other incidents.
They all matter.
And
by not lumping them all together, we can address a wider range of issues.
What should we be
doing about gun safety?
Or teen suicide?
Or domestic abuse?
What can we do to keep drugs
and crime out of our classrooms?
How can we deal with teenage anger?
Or staff burnout?
By
focusing on the specifics, we may be able to prevent the next school shooting, but we
can also address these other problems, too.
Plus, releasing a statement saying there
have been 87 school shootings creates more debate about the specific number and less
about the actual problems.