Every Incident of Mishandled Guns in Schools
Editor’s Note: This list is comprehensive as of December 10, 2019. We will make periodic updates to keep it up to date.
Armed adults frequently mishandle their guns in schools. Arming teachers wouldn’t decrease risk to students—it would increase their risk.
Our comprehensive analysis finds there have been more than 85 publicly-reported incidents of mishandled guns at schools in the last five years, including:
- A teacher’s loaded gun falling from his waistband during a cartwheel.
- A student grabbing an officer’s gun while the officer attempted to subdue the student.
- A teacher unintentionally firing a gun in class during a safety demonstration.
Until very recently, educators and policymakers across the country have rejected the idea of arming teachers. But last summer, President Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that the administration is considering allowing states to use federal funding to arm teachers in schools.
Arming teachers is an incredibly unpopular proposition, opposed by seven out of ten teenagers, eight out of ten teachers, and seven out of ten parents. And for good reason.
A study published in March 2019 found “no evidence that the presence of resource officers in schools lessened the severity of school shooting incidents.” And there is no evidence that armed teachers would be any more effective. In fact, a robust body of public health research strongly CONTINUE READING: Every Incident of Mishandled Guns in Schools - Giffords
