As defined by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (or as many know as the FBI), a mass shooting is defined as “[an] event in which one or more individuals are actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter’s use of a firearm.” A crime is qualified as a “mass killing” if “3 or more killings [occur] in a single incident.” Because in the world we live in today, a word like “mass killing” or “mass shooting” exists. Because even in a tiring 9 to 5 job, or a long day of sitting at a wooden desk in a dull classroom, there is an added task of worrying for the threat against our own safety.
The Georgia School Shooting
Two months have passed since schools just began to reopen after a long, and placid summer break. However, the burgeoning issue with school shootings is rather becoming a routine aspect for many adolescents. Just as what happened in Georgia.
On September 4, at around 10:20 a.m., the first shots had been fired at the Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Minutes later, law enforcement would arrive on the scene, with resource officers at the school having already responded to the early rounds of shooting. Students idly watched from the football stands as their parents dashed across the streets in order to reach their terrified children. Lives were instantly changed within a matter of minutes. What once was a serene Wednesday morning had turned into a moment of chaos and gut-wrenching loss for the Apalachee community and the world.
The Statistics
In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in school shootings, going from 48 in 2016-2017, to an all time high of 327 in 2021-2022. With each year, the numbers have only been growing, making safety in schools and prevention of such vile acts a priority. According to recent data from the Pew Research Center, several K-12 schools around the country have been “tighten[ing] security, including outfitting classroom doors with interior locks, drafting active shooter preparedness plans and hiring sworn law enforcement officers to patrol buildings”. However, not every school is alike in the security protocols, with safety protocols being “unevenly adopted” around the nation.
An additional statistic pointed the growing number of gun purchases, with 16.7 million firearms being purchased in 2023. 2024 hasn’t proven to be different, with “nearly 1.4 million firearms” being purchased every month.
Even as appalling as it may seem, these numbers alone are not the exact pinpoint to the excessive amounts of school shootings. Americans purchasing firearms isn’t something new. But what has changed are the hands in which these weapons fall into.
Adolescents with Guns
A surprising discovery has been made among adolescents, aged 12-17: since “2015-2019”, a reported “rate 41 percent higher than in the period between 2002-2006” was found of “adolescents carrying a handgun”. In a more recent research, “4.6 percent of teens” carry handguns, which increased from the last report of “3.3 percent”. Depending on which states adolescents live in, they may be able to carry guns while they are in “the supervision of an adult”. Many may assume the growing number is due to an increasing interest concerned with armed weapons, or an act to look popular and strong. Or it may be due to the existing problem within society: the persistence of school shootings.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention pointed to surprising data, showing of all high school students, around “13.2%” carried a gun, “2.8%” carried a weapon on school property, and “4.4%” carried a gun.
The growing number may be due to a number of reasons: maybe adolescents are experiencing an increased interest concerned with armed weapons, or are trying to look popular and strong. Or it maybe, it’s due to the existing problem within society: the persistence of school shootings.
In a study conducted on New York students, “young people overwhelmingly carry guns out of fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.” How are students supposed to feel safe if the issue surrounding school shootings still hasn’t been resolved? It’s worrisome to think teenagers carry weapons to school, but who could blame them? No longer are students worrying on getting to school on time, being prepared for the History test next period, or even if they have money for a school lunch. Now, students are worried if they will be the next victims to a school shooting, worried for the time they have left until another mass shooting strikes their hometown. Worried if they will ever be able to graduate, worried if they will ever see their family again. Worried that life will cut short.
A New Change
Many have heard of the gruesome details to the case of the Oxford High School shooting, with then 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley being the one responsible for claiming the lives of “four students in 2021”. However, an unprecedented change came from such a crime. The fault for such a disastrous event would also land in the hands of Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley. Even with Ethan’s “deteriorating mental health”, his parents would go on to keep an unsecured “newly purchased gun” in their residence. For the first time in history, the parents of a school shooter had also been charged. The same action was taken with Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray. Colin Gray was subsequently indicted on several charges, including “second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.” This is a step forward. These two cases will set a precedence, serving as a warning to parents to take more precautions with the weapons they supply their children with. Parents will become more vigilant in perceiving if their children are at a higher risk of partaking in violent behavior.
