The horrific killing of 19 elementary school students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022 served as a reminder of how commonplace school shootings have become in recent years in the U.S. In all, there were 302 school shootings last year, far outpacing 2021’s total of 250. That number marks last year as the most violent for school shootings. In reality, gun violence at primary and secondary schools has increased steadily for four decades.
To find the number of school shootings each year since 1982, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s school shooting database. The Center for Homeland Defense and Security has a broad definition of school shooting, which includes any incident where a firearm is brandished, fired, or a bullet strikes a K-12 school property for any reason at any time of day, regardless of whether there were any victims. It therefore includes gang and domestic violence-related shootings, and shootings occurring at sporting events and after-hours school programs. It includes suicides, fights that turn into shootings, and accidents.
Supplemental data on all mass shootings came from Mother Jones’ Mass Shooting study, which categorizes mass shootings as events where three or more people are killed other than the perpetrator (or where four or more victims are killed prior to 2013). Gun ownership estimates came from historical Gallup polls. (See which Americans own the most guns.)
A notable spike occurred between 2017 and 2018, when school shootings rose from 58 to 119. It was in February 2018 that a gunman opened fire at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 and wounding 17 others.
The list also includes the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two gunmen took the lives of 13, and left 20 more wounded, in what was then considered the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
Each school shooting prompts calls for stricter gun laws. In June, the $750 million Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law. Funds will be used by states to bolster school security and provide mental health programs. The act also encourages states to increase background checks for people aged 18 and 21. Meanwhile, gun ownership rates have hovered between 37% and 47% from 1982 until last year. See the states with the loosest gun laws.
Click here to see the number of school shootings every year since 1980.
Click here to read our detailed methodology.
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1982
> School shootings: 18
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 45% (est.)
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Source: Tony Duffy / Getty Images
1983
> School shootings: 25
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 0
> U.S. gun ownership: 45% (est.)
Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
1984
> School shootings: 25
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 45% (est.)
Source: Space Frontiers / Getty Images
1985
> School shootings: 20
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 0
> U.S. gun ownership: 44%
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Source: Getty Images / Staff
1986
> School shootings: 16
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
Source: Rick Stewart / Getty Images
1987
> School shootings: 25
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
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Source: Getty Images / Staff
1988
> School shootings: 38
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
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Source: Pascal Rondeau / Getty Images
1989
> School shootings: 19
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
Source: Space Frontiers / Getty Images
1990
> School shootings: 18
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 47%
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1991
> School shootings: 32
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 3
> U.S. gun ownership: 47% (est.)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1992
> School shootings: 33
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 47% (est.)
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1993
> School shootings: 47
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 4
> U.S. gun ownership: 47% (est.)
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Source: Phil Cole / Getty Images
1994
> School shootings: 40
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 47% (est.)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1995
> School shootings: 22
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 47% (est.)
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Source: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
1996
> School shootings: 21
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 44%
Source: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
1997
> School shootings: 26
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
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Source: Space Frontiers / Getty Images
1998
> School shootings: 29
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 3
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
Source: USAF / Getty Images
1999
> School shootings: 22
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 5
> U.S. gun ownership: 44% (est.)
Source: NASA / Getty Images
2000
> School shootings: 29
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 39%
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Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
2001
> School shootings: 25
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 40%
Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
2002
> School shootings: 19
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 0
> U.S. gun ownership: 41%
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Source: Scott Barbour / Getty Images
2003
> School shootings: 32
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 43%
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Source: Chris Jackson / Getty Images
2004
> School shootings: 35
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 38%
2005
> School shootings: 47
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 40%
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Source: Wathiq Khuzaie / Getty Images
2006
> School shootings: 59
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 3
> U.S. gun ownership: 43%
Source: David Paul Morris / Getty Images
2007
> School shootings: 44
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 4
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
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Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
2008
> School shootings: 35
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 3
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
2009
> School shootings: 31
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 4
> U.S. gun ownership: 40%
Source: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
2010
> School shootings: 15
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 1
> U.S. gun ownership: 39%
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Source: Majid Saeedi / Getty Images
2011
> School shootings: 16
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 3
> U.S. gun ownership: 45%
Source: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
2012
> School shootings: 20
> Mass shootings (4+ victims killed): 7
> U.S. gun ownership: 43%
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Source: Michael Buckner / Getty Images
2013
> School shootings: 34
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 5
> U.S. gun ownership: 37%
Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
2014
> School shootings: 46
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 4
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
Source: NASA / Getty Images
2015
> School shootings: 40
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 7
> U.S. gun ownership: 41%
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images
2016
> School shootings: 50
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 6
> U.S. gun ownership: 39%
Source: NASA / Getty Images
2017
> School shootings: 58
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 11
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
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Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
2018
> School shootings: 119
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 12
> U.S. gun ownership: 43%
Source: Anthony Kwan / Getty Images
2019
> School shootings: 119
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 10
> U.S. gun ownership: 37%
Source: flyparade / Getty Images
2020
> School shootings: 114
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 2
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images
2021
> School shootings: 250
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 6
> U.S. gun ownership: 42%
Source: romrodinka / Getty Images
2022
> School shootings: 302
> Mass shootings (3+ victims killed): 12
> U.S. gun ownership: 45%
Methodology
To find the number of school shootings each year since 1982, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s school shooting database. School shooting incidents include any incident where a firearm is brandished or fired at a K-12 school property for any reason at any time of day, regardless of whether there were any shooting victims.
Supplemental data on all mass shootings came from Mother Jones’ Mass Shooting study, which categorizes mass shootings as events where three or more people are killed other than the perpetrator (or where four or more victims are killed prior to 2013). Gun ownership estimates came from historical Gallup polls, representing the percentages of respondents who said yes to the question: “Do you have a gun in your home?” Prior to the year 2000, were not conducted every year. In the cases where Gallup gun ownership data was not available for a particular year, the most recent poll results were used. Some years have multiple gallup polls, and in those cases the latest poll for that year was used.
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