Citation

Joseph B, Hosseinpour H, Sakran J, Anand T, Colosimo C, Nelson A, Stewart C, Spencer AL, Zhang B, Magnotti LJ. J. Am. Coll. Surg. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, American College of Surgeons, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1097/XCS.0000000000000955

PMID

38445669

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Firearm violence and school shootings remain a significant public health problem. This study aimed to examine how publicly available data from all 50 states might improve our understanding of the situation, firearm type, and demographics surrounding school shootings. STUDY DESIGN: School shootings occurring in the United States over 53 years ending in May 2022 were analyzed, using primary data files that were obtained from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Data analyzed included situation, injury, firearm type, and demographics of victims and shooters. We compared the ratio of fatalities per wounded after stratifying by type of weapon. Rates (among children) of school shooting victims, wounded, and fatalities per 1 million population were stratified by year and compared over time.

RESULTS: A total of 2,056 school shooting incidents involving 3,083 victims were analyzed: 2,033 children, ages 5-17, and 1,050 adults, ages 18-74. Most victims (77%) and shooters (96%) were male with a mean age of 18 and 19, respectively. Of the weapons identified, handguns, rifles, and shotguns accounted for 84%, 7%, and 4%, respectively. Rifles had a higher fatality-to-wounded ratio (0.45) compared to shooters utilizing multiple weapons (0.41), handguns (0.35), and shotguns (0.30). Linear regression analysis identified a significant increase in the rate of school shooting victims (β=0.02, p=0.0003), wounded (β=0.01, p=0.026), and fatalities (β=0.01, p=0.0003) among children over time.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite heightened public awareness, the incidence of school shooting victims, wounded, and fatalities among children has steadily and significantly increased over the past 53 years. Understanding the epidemic represents the first step in preventing continued firearm violence in our schools.

Language: en