Report: Georgia No. 1 State for School Shootings

Photo courtesy of Everytown for Gun Safety

By Sherri Lonon

There have been at least 95 school shootings across America since Adam Lanza walked onto the Sandy Hook Elementary School campus in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, and killed 20 children and six educators before turning the gun on himself.

Those 95 shootings have taken place in 33 states across the country and include fatal and nonfatal assaults, unintentional shootings and suicides, according to a report released by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

According to the report, Georgia has the dubious distinction of ranking No. 1 with 12 shootings. The shootings caused at least three deaths, the report states.

The groups behind the report are calling for tougher gun laws. 

“School shootings – no matter the circumstances – corrode the sense of security we should expect from our educational institutions in this country,” the media release quoted Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt as saying. “Two years ago, the NRA called for arming teachers – that’s their solution – more guns for everyone, everywhere, anytime. Instead, we can and should do more to prevent gun violence – that’s why we’re fighting for common-sense public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and keep guns out of the wrong hands.”

Key findings of the report include:

• Of the K-12 school shootings in which the shooter’s age was known, 70 percent (28 of 40 incidents) were perpetrated by minors. When it was possible to determine the source of the firearms, nearly two-thirds of the shooters (10 of 16) obtained their guns from home.
• In 35 of the reported shootings, at least one person was shot following an argument that escalated while a gun was on hand
• Fifty-two percent of the shootings occurred at K-12 schools while 48 percent took place on college or university campuses
• The combined school shootings resulted in 45 deaths and 78 nonfatal gunshots
• In 65 of the shooting incident, the shooter intentionally killed or injured another with a gun. Sixteen of the incidents involved attempted or completed suicide. Six of the incidents were deemed accidental while 14 involved gunfire with no injuries.
• In the last three months alone there have been 17 school shootings including one week that witnessed five incidents in five different states

Check out the full report on the Everytown website.

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