Mass School Shootings Rapidly Rising Since 1980s: Study

More people have died in mass school shootings in the United States in the past 18 years than during the entire 20th century, according to a new study that shows such incidents have been steadily increasing since 1979. The study, published Thursday, suggests that shootings like the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are predictable and part of a deadly epidemic that deserves national attention.

During the entire 20th century, 55 people were killed and 260 other were injured in mass school shootings, which are defined as one in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are killed. That contrasts to 66 people who have been killed and 81 who have been injured in 13 school shootings in the first 18 years of the 21st century.

“In less than 18 years, we have already seen more deaths related to school shootings than in the whole 20th century,” Antonis Katsiyannis of Clemson University, the lead author of the study, said in a statement. “One alarming trend is that the overwhelming majority of 21st-century shooters were adolescents, suggesting that it is now easier for them to access guns, and that they more frequently suffer from mental health issues or limited conflict resolution skills.”

According to the study, published in Springer's Journal of Child and Family Studies, school shootings were sporadic during most of the 20th century. In 1940, a junior high principal killed six adults, including the school's district business manager, and no similar mass shootings occurred in the 1950s and 1960s.

Since 1979, though, school shootings have been on the upswing. A dozen people died in school shootings in the 1980s, and 36 died in the 1990s.

Some other findings:

• During the 20th century, most of the shootings occurred in the American West.
• The majority of the 25 school school shooters were white males who acted alone, and only nine were diagnosed as suffering from mental illnesses at the time.
• Sixty percent of shooters were between 11 and 18 years old.

Deliberate and sensible public policy is needed to mitigate school shootings, according to the authors, including expanded background checks for gun purchases and assault weapon bans.

The authors also said the trend also points to more comprehensive mental health services, both for adolescents and adults. School-based services should support students’ social, emotional and behavioral well-being, the authors said.

"Preventative efforts not only require policy and legislative action but increased and targeted funding across federal, state, local and private sectors," Katsiyannis said.

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