School gun incidents are skyrocketing in Texas
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Schools in Texas experienced a soaring number of incidents with guns in the years before and after the Uvalde school shooting, research shows.
Why it matters: Friday will mark two years since a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, killing 19 children and two teachers.
- In the years since, Texas lawmakers have responded with school safety measures that don't restrict access to guns.
How it works: The K-12 School Shooting Database is an open-source research project attempting to quantify gun incidents at grade schools.
- It defines "incidents" as when a gun is fired or brandished with intent to shoot, or when a bullet hits school property.
By the numbers: From 2004 to 2013, there were 30 incidents with guns on K-12 campuses in Texas.
- In the next decade, from 2014 to 2023, there were 96 such incidents — a more than threefold increase.
- In the decade from 1964 to 1973, there were just nine firearm incidents at Texas schools.
Zoom out: School gun incidents have been on the rise across the country.
- Nationwide, there were 1,468 firearm incidents at K-12 schools in the decade ending in 2023 — a 324% increase from the prior decade's 346 incidents.
The latest: 10 incidents have occurred in Texas so far in 2024, as of April 29, per the database.
What they're saying: Few incidents with guns on school campuses are like the Uvalde shooting.
- "The most common circumstance for a gun to be fired is a dispute between students usually taking place in a hallway or parking lot at dismissal," David Riedman, founder of the database, said in a video interview with the Economist.
The big picture: As the Legislature expands gun rights, Texas lawmakers and districts are turning to other measures to protect kids from gun violence.
- Districts are now required to employ an armed guard at each public school campus, although many can't afford the cost.
- Schools are also required to have a silent panic button in each classroom that connects to law enforcement.
- And many districts have experimented with requiring see-through backpacks.
Zoom in: A bill last year to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy certain semi-automatic rifles received an initial green light in a Texas House committee before stalling out.
The other side: "There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that [limit firearms] that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people and peaceful communities," Gov. Greg Abbott said after the shooting in Uvalde.
Between the lines: Nearly a quarter of K-12 teachers experienced a gun lockdown last year, according to a Pew Research Center study.
- Still, some parents, teachers and administrators are reconsidering the post-Columbine emphasis on lockdown drills, which some say may be causing kids undue mental trauma.
The bottom line: "Until (it's) documented and aggregated, there's no way to understand the context of this problem and realize what a big issue it is," Riedman said.