School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports

This Substack focuses on data-driven analysis and reports on school shootings, leveraging the K-12 School Shooting Database and other sources to propose preventive measures. It includes insights on patterns, security failures, legislative impacts, parental responsibility, and the efficacy of school safety protocols and training.

School Safety and Security Legislative Impacts on School Shootings Data Analysis and Trends in School Shootings Parental Responsibility in Preventing School Shootings Crisis Management and Response to School Shootings Community and School Preparedness Impact of Social Media and Online Platforms School Shooting Prevention Efforts

The hottest Substack posts of School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports

And their main takeaways

Ohio is buying mobile shoot houses to train armed teachers

39 implied HN points • 29 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Safety Education Training Policy
  1. Ohio is purchasing mobile shoot houses to train armed teachers. These structures don't align with real-world school shooting scenarios.
  2. The mobile shoot houses may not effectively train teachers for school shooting situations. The cost and logistics of training teachers to use these facilities can add up to millions of dollars.
  3. The purchase of shoot houses raises questions about budget priorities and effectiveness in enhancing school safety. Prioritizing such equipment over addressing budget deficits may be considered 'security theater.'

Gun violence at high school graduations

39 implied HN points • 23 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Violence
  1. High school graduations have experienced gun violence incidents, turning celebratory events into dangerous situations.
  2. Shootings during school events like proms and graduations have been a consistent trend from 2010 to 2024, creating a concerning pattern.
  3. The tragic consequences of gun violence at high school graduations, such as injuries, fatalities, and cancellations, highlight the urgent need for better safety measures.

Every shooting at a school in May 2024

19 implied HN points • 01 Jun 24
📰 News Gun Violence School Shootings Podcasts Data Analysis Security Measures
  1. The number of school shooting incidents in May 2024 continues a rising trend over the last 3 years, but the increase from 2023 to 2024 is not exponential.
  2. The number of victims in May 2024 is higher compared to 2023 but notably lower than in 2022, when a tragic incident in Uvalde involved multiple fatalities and injuries.
  3. In May 2024, shootings often occurred at night and during school events like graduations, emphasizing the importance of proactive policing, as incidents frequently happened during unauthorized post-graduation parties on campus.

Should I stay or should I go? Combined shooting and bombing threats at schools.

39 implied HN points • 17 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Safety Law enforcement Emergency Response Threat assessment
  1. Assessing threats in schools, especially when faced with combined shooting and bombing threats, can be challenging and lead to inconsistent responses by authorities.
  2. When dealing with bomb threats, schools should assess credibility before action, evacuate in case of high threat, which can conflict with lockdown procedures during shooting threats.
  3. Dealing with swatting calls poses significant challenges, but improved police response and tracking can help mitigate the disruptive effects of these hoaxes.
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Who fires a gun at a school? Data science provides eight archetypes of shooters

39 implied HN points • 13 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Data science School Shootings
  1. Data science can create archetypes to understand different behaviors, like predicting customer preferences or identifying school shooter profiles.
  2. Using data analysis, it's possible to categorize and plan for different scenarios of school shooters based on past incidents.
  3. The first school shooter archetype is 'The Adolescent Insider,' comprising attributes like age, gender, victim count, typical outcomes, and likely circumstances.

Shooting on the last day of school, another graduation shooting, and teacher planned to be the next school shooter

19 implied HN points • 24 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Violence School Safety Security Measures
  1. Shootings at schools, including graduations, continue to be a concerning issue with multiple incidents reported.
  2. Shooting trends include incidents happening during dismissal, fights escalating into shootings, and most commonly in parking lots.
  3. Emergency plans and efforts to prevent attendees from bringing guns to school events are crucial for school safety.

Every shooting at a school in April 2024

39 implied HN points • 02 May 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Violence Schools Safety Youth Mental health
  1. Gun violence at schools continues to escalate despite efforts to increase security measures like fortifying campuses.
  2. Community and home environments play a crucial role in preventing school shootings by securing weapons and teaching conflict resolution strategies.
  3. There has been a concerning trend of school shootings and victims over the years, highlighting the ongoing issue of gun violence in schools.

Why TSA-style security doesn't work for schools

39 implied HN points • 30 Apr 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Security Schools Gun Control Safety Budget
  1. Having teachers perform security screenings at schools can be ineffective due to lack of training and time constraints.
  2. Failure in school security protocols can lead to dangerous situations such as students sneaking weapons past metal detectors.
  3. Implementing TSA-style security at schools is impractical due to the scale of students, cost, and physical infrastructure required.

New Grand Jury evidence from Richneck Elementary school shooting

59 implied HN points • 11 Apr 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Control School Safety Law enforcement Judicial system
  1. A 6-year-old student attempted to shoot his teacher a second time, highlighting the importance of considering elementary school students in school security measures.
  2. School shooting incident revealed lapses in security procedures, such as doors being locked hindering police response and potential prevention of further harm.
  3. School staff need proper training and systems in place to handle emergencies effectively, like searching for weapons or sending timely alerts to parents.

Global Media Award Finalist: Inside a month of America's school shootings

79 implied HN points • 25 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Control School Shootings Journalism Policy Data Collection
  1. The project highlighted the challenges of collecting data on school shootings and the personal stories affected by gun crimes.
  2. The collaboration between The Economist and David Riedman is shedding light on school swatting incidents.
  3. The success of the project demonstrated the effectiveness of combining video reporting, data journalism, and traditional reporting in storytelling.

Columbine influenced dozens of school shooters over the last 25 years

59 implied HN points • 04 Apr 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Mass Shootings School Shootings Media Coverage Gun Violence
  1. Columbine shooting influenced dozens of school shooters over the past 25 years, impacting how police and schools work to prevent future attacks.
  2. The media's coverage of Columbine was criticized for focusing on incorrect narratives, leading to misconceptions about the shooters and the event.
  3. There were school shootings before Columbine, such as in 1989 and 1998, and the iconic trench coat-clad attacker from Columbine wasn't the first in school shooting history, demonstrating a pattern of planned attacks.

Impact of 'noise' on assessing school shooting threats

39 implied HN points • 15 Apr 24
🚌 Education Research School Safety Assessment Training Decision-making
  1. Noise is the unwanted variability in decisions made by different experts looking at the same information.
  2. Variability in assessing threats leads to inconsistency and high costs, such as locking down schools and deploying officers.
  3. Conducting noise audits can reveal inconsistencies in decision-making, highlighting the importance of understanding and reducing noise in evaluating school shooting threats.

New school shooting dashboard created by Tableau's 'Data for Good' award winner

59 implied HN points • 22 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Shootings Data Visualization Community Impact
  1. New interactive data visualizations in the Tableau dashboard help users make data-driven decisions related to school safety. Visualization includes key metrics, trends, and insights on school shootings.
  2. The Information Lab collaborates in creating the data dashboard for free, enabling users to explore trends, incidents, community impact, and gun legislation related to school shootings.
  3. The dashboard offers a breakdown menu for filtering data points, visualizes trends, and provides comparisons for understanding school shooting incidents. For instance, it highlights correlations between state gun laws and rates of school shootings.

Discord Platform: What schools and parents need to know to prevent a school shooting

159 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Safety Extremism Social media Law enforcement
  1. School shooters have used Discord to plan attacks, demonstrating how important it is for schools and parents to be aware of potential threats online.
  2. Discord is a platform with a history of being used by extremist groups for planning violence, highlighting the need for vigilance and monitoring for inappropriate content.
  3. The encrypted nature of direct messages on Discord can make it challenging for authorities to access information, emphasizing the importance of early reporting and proactive intervention.

Did OpenAI create the best weapon detection software available with ChatGPT-4o?

4 HN points • 04 Jun 24
🕹 Technology AI Security Data science Software Development
  1. AI weapon detection software struggles to differentiate between weapons and weapon-shaped objects like umbrellas or sticks, leading to issues in accuracy and efficiency.
  2. OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o offers more advanced weapon detection capabilities from image analysis compared to current market options, recognizing context better.
  3. ChatGPT-4o was successful in identifying guns and gun-like objects in various scenarios, showcasing a high level of performance in image classification and context understanding.

Learning from KC Chiefs Parade: Free virtual exercise for shootings at school events

99 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness School Safety Training Risk Assessment Crisis response
  1. Emergency management exercises help test preparedness for various emergencies, like shootings at school events.
  2. Most school shootings stem from escalated disputes, not deliberate attacks targeting students.
  3. School officials need comprehensive planning beyond 'active shooter' strategies to effectively respond to emergencies.

Near Miss Report: Police shoot at student inside Mesquite, TX high school

79 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Control Law enforcement Safety measures
  1. This incident at Mesquite, TX high school involving a student with a gun showcased multiple failures that led to the escalation of the situation.
  2. The initial situation was a teen in crisis with a weapon in a contained area, not an active shooter scenario, showing the importance of accurate information in such critical events.
  3. The three phases of the incident - pre-police arrival, police arrival in the office, and police firing at the armed student - highlighted the risks inherent in such intense situations.

Were the Oxford school shooter's parents guilty of material support to terrorism?

59 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Crime Gun Violence Terrorism Legislation Government
  1. Parents of the Oxford school shooter were found guilty of manslaughter due to negligence in leaving a gun accessible and ignoring their son's deteriorating mental health.
  2. Michigan prosecutors charged the 15-year-old shooter with terrorism, a novel approach to school shootings influenced by a law enacted post-9/11.
  3. Distinguishing between school shooters and terrorists involves understanding the individualized trauma that drives school violence, highlighting the need for better interventions and resources in schools.

Perry High School Shooting Follows the Same Patterns as Six Decades of Attacks

139 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Violence School Shootings
  1. Planned school attacks can occur before classes start when the school is open but not fully staffed or secured.
  2. School shootings often happen in common areas like cafeterias and hallways, not just in classrooms.
  3. Most school shootings are carried out by individuals with insider knowledge, such as current or former students who have experienced trauma and plan to die during the attack.

575-page DOJ report on Uvalde is a roadmap to make every school safer

119 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Safety Emergency Response Leadership
  1. The 575-page DOJ report on Uvalde provides a roadmap for improving school safety by highlighting systemic failures and offering recommendations that need to be accessible to busy school administrators.
  2. The report emphasizes failures in public safety during a school shooting, including issues like communication breakdowns, lack of training, and poor incident management.
  3. Top recommendations from the DOJ report include active shooter training for police, establishing onsite incident commanders, and ensuring emergency radios are interoperable, pointing to systemic failures that need urgent attention.

Ten shootings in 2023 that every school official should know about

119 implied HN points • 29 Dec 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Safety Gun Violence Law enforcement
  1. Shootings at schools happen in various places and involve diverse individuals, from students to parents and former students.
  2. School officials should question the effectiveness of existing security measures, lockdown procedures, and the involvement of armed staff members during a shooting incident.
  3. Learning from past incidents is crucial, but many official reports remain undisclosed, hindering the opportunity to improve school safety measures and responses.

Perry High school shooting: How long should the school stay closed?

99 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Violence
  1. When a school experiences a shooting, deciding when to reopen involves assessing factors like damage, crime scene processing, and supporting students' needs.
  2. After school shootings, the closure duration varies based on factors like structural damage, community trauma, and extent of investigation.
  3. Extended school closures post-shooting can have significant impacts on students' learning, emotional well-being, and community's economic stability.

Guest Article: Translating the Uvalde DOJ report into plain language

79 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Shootings Policy Recommendations
  1. The Department of Justice report on the Robb Elementary School shooting had 273 recommendations, with some challenging language that needed translating into plain terms.
  2. Key recommendations from Chapter 8 of the DOJ report highlight failures in emergency management preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
  3. Professional emergency management, collaboration, and hiring experienced emergency managers are vital for effective incident management in communities and schools to prevent catastrophic outcomes.

Why school shooting prevention efforts fail

59 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Policy Law enforcement School Safety
  1. In school shooting cases, people often fail to take the situation seriously, leading to tragic consequences.
  2. Authorities should pay attention to clues provided by individuals involved in potential school shooting incidents, such as changes in behavior or conflicting stories.
  3. Efforts to prevent school shootings should involve thorough investigations, use of best practices in interviewing, and always treating the threat seriously.

Near Miss Reports: What schools can learn from the zero fatality goal in aviation

79 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🚌 Education Safety Data Analysis School Shootings Prevention Mental health
  1. Aviation emphasizes near-miss reporting to enhance safety by openly sharing incidents that almost caused harm.
  2. Schools can learn from aviation by implementing a similar culture of prioritizing safety and reporting near misses, as demonstrated in the case of a school shooting incident in South Dakota.
  3. Defining near misses in the context of school shootings involves factors like detailed plans, multiple weapons, excessive ammunition, gun malfunctions, and successful interventions.

What's the 'Use of Force Continuum' for armed teachers?

39 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🚌 Education School Security
  1. The 'Use of Force Continuum' for armed teachers outlines the escalating levels of force options available when dealing with students, emphasizing the importance of minimizing harm and using force proportionally.
  2. Key questions for schools with armed teachers involve whether teachers can shoot unarmed students, use 'soft empty hand control,' make split-second decisions, and handle lost firearms or accidental discharges.
  3. Teachers need clear guidance on when to use deadly force, identify threats like objects resembling weapons, and assess situations involving potentially aggressive students.

Monthly Wrap-up: Shootings at schools in January 2024

59 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics School Shootings Gun Violence Safety measures Government Response
  1. In January 2024, there were twenty-seven school shootings, including a planned mass casualty attack and averted attacks. Each incident provides insights for improving school safety.
  2. The school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa followed patterns seen in planned attacks over the last six decades. This incident prompted $75 million reallocation in Iowa for school security.
  3. Despite national media coverage of some school shootings, many incidents go unnoticed. Learning from each situation can help in preventing gun violence and enhancing school safety.

Guns vs. Knives: Five times (5x) more shootings at schools in 2023

79 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Violence Gun Control School Safety
  1. Despite knives being easily accessible, schools experienced 5 times more shootings than stabbings in 2023.
  2. Shootings at schools had a higher fatality rate and more victims compared to stabbings.
  3. Security measures in schools face challenges detecting knives, which are small and easily concealable, potentially impacting the prevalence of gun violence.

Finnish pre-teen has the same profile as US school shooters

19 implied HN points • 06 Apr 24
📰 News School Shootings Bullying
  1. A Finnish 12-year-old school shooter showed similarities to US school shooter profiles, highlighting the commonality between different countries.
  2. Handguns are a significant challenge for school security due to their concealability and difficulty to detect, requiring extensive screening measures to prevent incidents.
  3. Prevention of school shootings involves limiting access to both handguns and rifles, as well as spotting warning signs early to intervene effectively and avoid crisis escalation.

Three Key Findings Every School Should Know from DOJ Report on Uvalde

59 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🚌 Education Safety Security Emergency Response Technology Community Engagement
  1. During a school shooting, hiding in locked classrooms may not be effective as bullets can easily penetrate walls. It is safer for students and staff to evacuate quickly and get far away from the danger.
  2. Having reliable wifi coverage on campus is crucial for emergency alerts to reach all staff and teachers during a crisis. Depending on personal phones and apps may not be dependable under stress.
  3. Collaboration with the community is vital for creating safe evacuation plans during emergencies. Neighbors, businesses, and community leaders should be involved to support rapid evacuations and ensure a safe environment for students.

Analyzing school shootings trends in 2023

79 implied HN points • 27 Dec 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gun Violence School Shootings Security Measures Policy Changes
  1. In 2023, there was a 12% increase in the total number of school shootings compared to 2022, with a focus on shootings happening more during afternoon classes, dismissal, and evening events.
  2. Handguns were the most commonly used weapon type in school shootings, even though debates often revolve around semi-automatic rifles. It's important to address both the most frequent handgun incidents and severe AR-style rifle incidents.
  3. The main driver of school shootings in 2023 was disputes escalating, constituting 67% of the increase in such incidents from 2022. Investments in school security need to consider these trends and focus on areas outside the school building, like parking lots.

Richmond, VA Graduation Shooting Report Released

59 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🚌 Education School Safety Threat assessment Lessons Learned
  1. Lack of planning, 'siloed' information, and not following mandatory threat reporting procedures contributed to the fatal shooting in Richmond, VA.
  2. Security planning needs to include off-campus events and communication of on-campus threats to event staff and security contractors.
  3. Staff should strictly adhere to mandatory reporting procedures, share threat assessments with all team members, and prioritize safety in school events.

Inside an averted school shooting plot

39 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🚌 Education Safety Schools Security Students Incidents
  1. A 14-year-old student in Ohio was arrested for planning a school shooting, targeting specific students and involving anesthetic gases.
  2. The plot involved coordination with an adult in Colorado Springs, highlighting the complex nature of the planned attack.
  3. Despite the detailed planning of this attack, the student was reported, emphasizing the importance of alertness and communication in preventing such incidents.

Parental responsibility and five more school safety issues this week

39 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
📰 News School Safety Gun Violence Data Breach
  1. Parents can be held criminally liable if their child uses a gun purchased by them in a school shooting.
  2. Some states lack laws penalizing gun owners if a child accesses their firearms, leading to legal challenges in holding parents accountable.
  3. School safety issues extend beyond shootings to include threats, fake alarms, and data breaches, highlighting the need for comprehensive security measures and transparency in tech used by educational institutions.

Training armed teachers for real-world school shooting scenarios

39 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🚌 Education Training Safety Prevention Ethics Psychology
  1. Teachers need formal training and practice to effectively handle real-world school shooting scenarios.
  2. Armed teachers must undergo specialized training in areas like firing at moving targets, room clearing, door breaching, counter sniper tactics, etc.
  3. Consequences of lacking proper training for armed teachers can result in deadly outcomes, such as shooting the wrong person or escalating hostage situations.

How do AI security products being sold to schools really work?

19 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Security Education Data Analysis
  1. School administrators are facing pressure to evaluate AI security products but may lack expert knowledge to do so.
  2. Understanding how AI models are trained, the probability threshold, and error rates are crucial when assessing AI security solutions.
  3. The high stakes of AI security decisions for schools underscore the importance of asking detailed questions about the technology being implemented.