A History of School Shootings in America
Context
What defines a school shooting? Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit against gun violence and pro-gun control, defines it as any time a firearm discharges a live round inside a school building, or on a school campus or grounds. Based on this definition, Everytown has logged almost 300 school shootings since 2013 (after Sandy Hook).
However, Time.com analyzed school shootings with a different definition: where at least one victim is either injured or killed, the attack occurred on school property, either the shooter or at least one of the victims was a student or teacher, and injuries are only counted if they resulted directly from gunfire. With this more restrictive definition, Time found 63 incidents of school shootings since 2013.
Overall, there is certainly a debate over what constitutes a school shooting. Yet that doesn't change the fact that they are still happening, and that 2 mass school shootings this year alone left at least 10 dead.
As there are too many school shooting incidents in America to analyze (an unfortunate realization), we will only be analyzing the most deadly mass school shootings: UT Austin, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and Parkland.
WHAT HAPPENED: August 1, 1966--Charles Whitman, a 25-year-old architectural engineering major, ascended to the top of the University of Texas (college in Austin, Texas) Tower carrying multiple weapons. He had already murdered his mother and wife earlier that day. On a 96 minute rampage beginning at around noon, Whitman shot and killed 15 people, including an unborn child. Counting himself, (Whitman was shot by police) his wife and mother, and a man whose injuries caused him to die in 2001, this incident resulted in 20 deaths. Additionally, 31 people were injured. Prior to the attack, Whitman looked for professional help with his "violent impulses". Apparently, he had fantasized about shooting people from the top of a tower. Upon his death, it was discovered that he had had a brain tumor. Some speculate this tumor may have been the cause of these impulses that led him to open fire on a college campus.
UT Tower Shooting
IMPACT: This was one of the first major modern (20th century and beyond) school shooting. At the time of the shooting, nothing similar had really ever happened before. Whitman "introduced the nation to the idea of mass murder in a public space" according to Pamela Colloff, who did a 2006 oral history of the shootings. The shooting brought about international attention and was on the cover of the next week's Life magazine. In 2006, a Memorial Garden was dedicated to the victims and those affected. In 2016 a monument listing the victims' names was added for the 50th anniversary of the shooting. The incident remains to be a very painful moment in UT's history. It is the 4th deadliest school shooting in America.
The memorial for the victims of the shooting at the University of Texas. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
Columbine High School Shooting
IMPACT: The massacre started a debate over gun control laws, along with high school issues like cliques and bullying. There was also a higher emphasis on school security and zero tolerance policies after this tragedy, along with panic over issues like violence in video games, teenage internet use, and gun culture. Police tactics changed after the shooting with the introduction of the Immediate Action Rapid Deployment Tactic, utilized in situations with an active shooter. Officers using this tactic are trained to move toward the sound of gunfire and neutralize the shooter as quickly as possible to save more lives. In 2000, federal and state laws were introduced which required safety locks on firearms and banned the importation of high-capacity ammunition magazines. In the early 2000s, The HOPE Columbine Memorial Library replaced the original one where most of the shooting had taken place, and there was an added memorial on school grounds as well. Columbine is the 5th deadliest school schooting in America.
WHAT HAPPENED: April 20, 1999--at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, two students went on a shooting rampage, killing a total of 13 people (15 including themselves). Additionally, 24 were injured. Dylan Klebold, 17 and Eric Harris, 18 were the perpetrators behind the massacre. Harris had a psychiatrist and both had attended a juvenile diversion program after robbing a van--they had been troublesome and shown signs of violence well before this shooting. In fact, after the incident, the FBI concluded that Harris was a clinical psychopath and Klebold was depressive. On that fateful day of April 20, Klebold and Harris planted a firebomb in a field a few miles away from the school, set to detonate at 11:14 a.m, intended as a distraction to keep emergency personnel away from the school. It only partially denotated and was extinguished quickly. At 11:10, the students arrived separately at the school. The school cafeteria was their main bomb target and between their parking spots. The cars contained secret bombs set to blow at 12:00. The students then placed duffel bags containing bombs inside the cafeteria, set to detonate at 11:17. They then returned to their cars to wait for the explosion and planned to shoot those fleeing the building. However, the cafeteria bombs failed to explode. So, wearing trenchcoats and armed with guns and other weapons, the students left the parking lot and proceeded to go on a murderous rampage through the school and library until they finally killed themselves at 12:08 p.m.
Students hug outside Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colorado. Photo by Hector Mata.
Virginia Tech Shooting
WHAT HAPPENED: April 16, 2007--23-year-old Seung Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech (university in Blacksburg, Virginia) who later committed suicide, killed 32 people at the university in a rampage that lasted from 7:15 a.m to 9:51 a.m. 23 were injured. Cho was a South Korean citizen with U.S permanent resident status. He had a troubled past of disturbing behavior and was diagnosed with severe depression in eighth grade, although his psychological diagnosis at the time of the shooting remains to be speculation. There were two separate shooting incidents. First in West Ambler Johnston Hall, where Cho killed two students. After, Cho returned to his room to change out of bloodstained clothes and then delete his email and remove his hard drive from his computer. Then he went to a post office to mail a package of videos and writings to NBC News and then walked to Norris Hall, where the rest of the shooting occurred. Cho chained the three main entrance doors shut and then went to shoot students and faculty on the second floor. He went into various rooms and opened fire, killing 30 people in Norris Hall. Finally, about ten minutes after this second rampage started, Cho killed himself and the shooting ended, leaving 27 students and 5 faculty members dead.
Police officers run from Norris Hall on the Virginia Tech Campus on April 16, 2007. Photo by Matt Gentry.
IMPACT: The incident reignited the gun debate in America, especially for mental health and background checks, and gained international media attention. According to some, Cho's mental health state should have prevented him from obtaining a gun. President George W. Bush signed the NICS Improvement Amendments Act, which reinforced reporting of mental health data for background checks on weapons purchases. However, the shooting also sparked gun advocates to take action, with the idea that if more citizens have guns they could, therefore, prevent mass shootings. 14 states have passed "constitutional carry" laws, allowing gun owners to carry weapons without permits. Most of these laws were passed after the 2007 shooting, which continues to be the deadliest school shooting in American history.
Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting
WHAT HAPPENED: The Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting was one of the most shocking and disturbing events in US History. Living in the small Connecticut town of Newtown, Adam Lanza was a mentally ill man who suffered from depression and anxiety but these conditions did not contribute to his murderous actions, according to a 2014 report. On December 14, 2012, after killing his mother, Lanza drove to the elementary school on December 14th, 2012 armed with various weapons. He shot through a window to get past the school's locked front entrance. This is where he first encountered the school principal and psychologist who had come to investigate; they both died. Lanza then shot and killed 24 more people, 20 of which were first graders. The others included staff members. When the police arrived on scene and closed in on Lanza, he ended his life at around 9:40 a.m.
Mourners express their sorrow at a memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 16, 2012. Photo by John Angelillo
IMPACT: The community of Newtown, Connecticut decided to tear down the Sandy Hook elementary school in 2013, hoping to replace it with a new building on the same site. While this occurred in Connecticut, Barack Obama decided to take action and raise standards for higher gun laws. He had approved a bill that was sent to the capital, however, it was denied permission to pass by the U.S. senate. Sandy Hook remains to be the deadliest school shooting at a high school or grade school and it is the second deadliest school shooting out of any type of school, right behind Virginia Tech which was the deadliest.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting
WHAT HAPPENED: On February 18, 2018, 17 people (14 students and three staff members) were killed by perpetrator Nikolas Cruz in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Prior to this rampage, the sheriff's office received warnings about Cruz's behavior, along with the FBI. However, little was done, and Cruz was, therefore, able to easily walk into the school and open fire on innocent people. Dropped off by an Uber at 2:19 p.m and carrying a duffel bag and backpack, Cruz walked into building 12 and activated a fire alarm. He then began shooting people, and this lasted six minutes until he left his rifle on the third floor and then blended in with other students to leave the school undetected. However, a little over an hour later he was caught by a police officer 2 miles away from the school. Cruz is currently in custody and on trial for his actions.
IMPACT: The school reopened two weeks after the shooting with a heavy police presence. New policies were also implemented within the school in early April, such as requiring clear backpacks, fewer entrances, and identification badges. In March, Florida passed a bill called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act which raised the legal age for buying rifles to 21, established background checks, and banned bump stocks among other things. Following the shooting, some student survivors of the shooting went on to lead protest movements against gun violence nationwide, advocating for stricter gun laws and gun control. They organized a nationwide school walkout on March 14, and a nationwide March for Our Lives protest on March 24. Many cities across the country participated, with Washington D.C bringing in an estimated 800,000 protestors. The Parkland shooting is the third deadliest school shooting in America.
Parkland shooting survivor and one of the March For Our Lives organizers David Hogg speaks at a gun control rally. Photo by Jonathan Drake.
Citations
“How Are School Shootings Defined?” @Politifact, www.politifact.com/california/article/2018/feb/28/how-are-school-shootings-defined/.
“The UT Tower Shooting Articles – Texas Monthly.” Texas Monthly, Texas Monthly, www.texasmonthly.com/category/topics/ut-tower-shooting/.
“These Are the Deadliest School Shootings in U.S. History - NY Daily News.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2018, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/deadliest-school-shootings-u-s-history-article-1.3821513.
“Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/index.html.
History.com Staff. “Columbine Shooting.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/columbine-high-school-shootings.
“Columbine High School Massacre.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 June 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre.
“Virginia Tech Shooting.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massacre-at-virginia-tech-leaves-32-dead.
Jervis, Rick. “10 Years after Va. Tech Shooting: How Gun Laws Have Changed.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 14 Apr. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/14/va-tech-shooting-gun-laws-debate/100458024/.
“Virginia Tech Shooting.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 June 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_shooting.
“Sandy Hook Shooting.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gunman-kills-students-and-adults-at-newtown-connecticut-elementary-school.
“Sandy Hook Elementary to Reopen Nearly 4 Years after Shooting.” UPI, UPI, 30 July 2016, www.upi.com/Sandy-Hook-Elementary-to-reopen-nearly-4-years-after-shooting/8851469883874/.
“Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 June 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoneman_Douglas_High_School_shooting.
Wise, Hona. “Emma Gonzalez Writes Poignant Essay on Parkland Shooting in Harper's Bazaar - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 27 Feb. 2018, www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/02/27/emma-gonzalez-writes-poignant-essay-parkland-shooting-harper-bazaar/IxSjO3YxZ5wo0LWoMw48zM/story.html.