Crime
The federal data available on active shooter incidents, mass killings and domestic terrorism
In the wake of the school shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, USAFacts has collected recent data about school shootings in the United States. Here’s what current data has to say about these incidents.
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security maintains a collection of metrics on school shootings: the K–12 School Shooting Database (or K–12 SSDB).
How many people have died in school shootings?
From the 2000–01 to 2021–22 school years, there were 1,375 school shootings at public and private elementary and secondary schools, resulting in 515 deaths and 1,161 injuries.
The definition of a school shooting is provided by the School Shooting Safety Compendium (SSSC) from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. The SSSC defines “school shootings” as incidents in which “a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week.” During the coronavirus pandemic, this definition included shootings that happened on school property during remote instruction.
The highest number of school shootings and casualties occurred during the 2021–22 school year, with 327 incidences resulting in 81 deaths and 269 injuries.
Between the 2000–01 and the 2021–22 school years, 70.8% of the 1,375 school shootings resulted in deaths or injuries.
Approximately 61.0% of recorded school shootings occurred at high schools, followed by 23.6% at elementary schools, 12.0% at middle or junior high schools, and 3.4% at other educational institutions.[1] School shootings at college-level institutions are not included in this dataset.
Where do school shootings occur most often?
The most common spot for a school shooting was the parking lot, accounting for 28.3% of recorded cases, followed by any area directly outside the front or side entrances of the school (20.4%), and then “elsewhere inside of the school building,” meaning any area outside from the classroom, hallways, or basketball court (12.5%).
Where does this data come from?
The K-12 SSDB aims to compile information on school shootings from publicly available sources into a single comprehensive database. It defines school shootings as situations when someone brandishes or fires a gun on school property or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time or day of the week, or motivation.
For a fuller picture of crime in the US, read about how many high schoolers in the US carry guns, and get more USAFacts data in your inbox by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
Violent Deaths at School and Away From School and School Shootings
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Digest of Educational Statistics: School Crime Victims
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- [1]
Includes schools for which school-level information was unknown or unspecified as well as those whose school level was "other."
