Almost 50 individuals affected by gun violence in K-12 schools across the U.S. in 2024
Since the beginning of 2024, over 20 schools nationwide have experienced gun-related incidents, with a Georgia high school being the latest to face threats from firearm violence.
On Wednesday morning, a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, a suburb of Atlanta, resulted in four fatalities and nine injuries. This incident marks the 23rd occurrence this year of a school shooting that led to injuries or deaths, according to a compilation of data by Education Week, a news outlet focused on K-12 education.
Education Week is among several organizations that gather statistics regarding gun violence in educational settings. However, unlike the National Gun Violence Archive or K-12 School Shooting Database, their tracking focuses on specific criteria:
- Incidents where a firearm was discharged
- Instances involving any person, other than the accused shooter, who sustained a bullet wound
- Occurrences on K-12 school premises or school buses
- Events that took place while school was in session or related to school-sponsored activities
According to this strict set of definitions, there were 38 school shootings recorded in 2023, which is 15 more than the 23 incidents counted so far in 2024, including the recent shooting in Georgia.
Since Education Week started documenting school shootings in 2018, there have been around 205 such instances.
What is the tally of school shootings in 2024?
Before Wednesday’s incident in Georgia, there had been 22 school shootings in 2024, leading to seven fatalities and 29 injuries, as per the records from Education Week. Among the deceased, three were students or minors, while four were adults or school staff members.
With the additions from Wednesday’s events, a total of 49 individuals have either lost their lives or been injured in school shootings this year, comprising 11 deaths and 38 injuries.
Here is a breakdown of the number of individuals, both children and adults, who have been killed or injured in school shootings since 2018:
- 2024: 49 individuals affected in 23 school shootings
- 2023: 63 individuals affected in 38 school shootings
- 2022: 140 individuals affected in 51 school shootings
- 2021: 70 individuals affected in 35 school shootings
- 2020: 12 individuals affected in 10 school shootings
- 2019: 40 individuals affected in 24 school shootings
- 2018: 114 individuals affected in 24 school shootings
- Total: 488 individuals affected in 205 school shootings since 2018
When and where did the other school shootings take place this year?
Education Week’s records of school shootings in 2024 include incidents that occurred on K-12 campuses nationwide, each resulting in fatalities or injuries from gunfire.
While all reported events occurred at K-12 school locations, not every school shooting placed students, teachers, or staff in direct danger. Some incidents, particularly those noted in New Mexico or Oregon, happened after school hours.
Below is a chronological list of school shootings in 2024, from January 1 to September 4:
- Jan. 3, 2024: 1 injured at Manchester High School parking lot in Midlothian, Virginia
- Jan. 4, 2024: 2 deceased, 6 injured at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa
- Jan. 11, 2024: 1 injured at Miami Northwestern Senior High parking lot in Miami, Florida
- Jan. 29, 2024: 1 injured at Connally High School parking lot in Austin, Texas
- Jan. 30, 2024: 2 injured at LeFlore High School in Mobile, Alabama
- Jan. 30, 2024: 1 injured at Grant Union High School parking lot in Sacramento, California
- Feb. 2, 2024: 2 injured at McEachern High School parking lot in Powder Springs, Georgia
- Feb. 14, 2024: 4 injured at Benjamin E. Mays High School parking lot in Atlanta, Georgia
- Feb. 26, 2024: 1 injured at Odessa High School parking lot in Odessa, Texas
- March 2, 2024: 2 injured at North Kansas City High School parking lot in North Kansas City, Missouri
- April 12, 2024: 1 injured at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas, Texas
- April 22, 2024: 1 deceased at William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland, Washington
- April 24, 2024: 1 deceased at James Bowie High School in Austin, Texas
- May 5, 2024: 1 injured at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C.
- May 7, 2024: 1 injured at Parkland High School in Winston-Salem, N.C.
- May 10, 2024: 1 injured at Hastings High School in Houston, Texas
- May 22, 2024: 1 deceased at North Marion Middle School parking lot in Citra, Florida
- May 23, 2024: 2 injured at Skyline High School in Oakland, California
- May 24, 2024: 1 deceased at Gadsden High School parking lot in Anthony, New Mexico
- June 6, 2024: 1 deceased at Garfield High School parking lot in Seattle, Washington
- June 30, 2024: 1 injured at Klamath Union High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon
- Aug. 19, 2024: 1 injured at Bossier High School parking lot in Bossier City, Louisiana
- Sept. 4, 2024: One person was killed and nine were wounded at Apalachee High School located in Winder, Georgia.
