Why do US school shootings keep happening?

Experts weigh in on the reasons that prompt young people to kill their classmates and teachers in schools.

Mass shootings, including school shootings, are the leading cause of death among children in the US. / Photo: AP Archive
AP

Mass shootings, including school shootings, are the leading cause of death among children in the US. / Photo: AP Archive

Washington, DC — On December 16, Americans woke up to yet another gun violence incident, in which a 15-year-old girl opened fire at a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and a student and leaving others wounded.

The incident, however, is a far cry from being an anomaly, as such incidents have haunted schools for years.

In Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, a gunman killed 26 people, six adults and 20 students.

In 2022, a shooter killed 21 people at Uvalde school in Texas; 19 of them were students and two teachers.

In 1999, two students gunned down 13 people, 12 students and a teacher, at the Columbine High School in Colorado.

This pattern paints a grim picture of the nature of gun violence in the US and further raises fears about the safety of children at schools.

Here is a look at some of the reasons why school killings keep happening in the US.

Easy access to guns

It's worth noting that the US has seen a sharp increase in gun violence since Covid-19 in 2020 as the right-wing fervour soared among people who were against the lockdowns.

During the lockdown, millions of students switched to online classes. This was at the same time gun sales hit record highs.

In turn, more children had access to guns in their homes.

To make matters worse, it only needs a person to be an 18-year-old to be able to buy a gun, including assault rifles.

In many states, you don't need a license to carry a gun, also known as permitless carry.

This relatively easy access to guns is viewed as the main reason why school shootings still occur in the US.

"The most important reason remains easy access to guns," David Rosenbloom, Professor of Health Policy and Management at Boston University, told TRT World.

"If the person did not have access to a gun, these rash actions could not occur."

Parents who buy guns for safety assume their children don't know where the gun is stored.

Kerri Raissian, founding Director of UConn's Center for Advancing Research, Methods, and Scholarship (ARMS), referred to the same issue, saying: "Adult owners must practice secure storage of firearms."

"This single step could prevent many public and school shootings," she told TRT World.

Bullying and social media

Usually, there are signs before a school shooting takes place. The majority of people who carry out school shootings are teens and young adults who are students or former students.

Most of them struggle with mental health issues and have a history of anti-social behaviour, and some are even suicidal.

Some are also victims of bullying who decide to respond with extreme violence, although the response isn't necessarily towards the bullies.

The increasing use of social media has added to the problem, as troubled kids are often exposed to the exact information that adds to their anxiety, fears and insecurities.

Rosenbloom said that there is evidence that the use of social media is taking a toll on children's mental health. This, by extension, could lead to such incidents.

"There is a lot of speculation and some evidence that participation in social media is damaging some children's mental health and making childhood/teen social tensions much worse," Rosenbloom said.

"Some recent reporting associates social media use with increases in violence and bullying in schools."

There are no federal laws in particular that apply to bullying unless it's related to race, religion or disability, and the issue remains up to school districts to deal with.

Similarly, the use of social media among children remains largely unaddressed.

Family dysfunction

Another reason why school shootings happen is dysfunctional families.

Many school shooters come from homes where a parent is absent or the family is in the middle of a divorce.

For example, the shooters of Sandy Hook, Santana High School, Chadron High School, and Isla Vista, among others, all had divorced parents.

Poor parenting and the lack of supervision can also lead to kids acquiring guns or, in some cases, stealing the parent's gun.

"There are antecedents to these children's actions, and if those antecedents include elements of family dysfunction, then I'm not surprised," Rosenbloom said.

However, all of those root issues can always be traced back to the fundamental root cause, which is the easy access to guns, Rosenbloom said.

"There can be all family dysfunction in the world. If the kid can't get his/her hand on a gun, it (school shootings) wouldn't happen," he stated.

Mass shootings, including school shootings, are the leading cause of death among children in the US. The number of children killed this year is 236, and the number of teens killed is 1,119, with the number of shooting incidents going up daily.

Raissian said learning and responding to the signs is crucial to stopping school shootings from happening.

"Most school shootings are planned months in advance, and so learning and responding to the warning signs is also imperative," she said.

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