GAO: shootings at K-12 schools most commonly resulted from disputes or grievances
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that shootings at K-12 schools most commonly resulted from disputes or grievances, for example, between students or staff, or between gangs, although the specific characteristics of school shootings over the past 10 years varied widely, according to GAO's analysis of the Naval Postgraduate School's K-12 School Shooting Database. (See figure.)
After disputes and grievances, accidental shootings were most common, followed closely by school-targeted shootings, such as those in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas.
K-12 School Shootings by Kind, School Years 2009-10 through 2018-19
The shooter in about half of school shootings was a student or former student; in the other half, the shooter had no relationship to the school, was a parent, teacher, or staff, or his or her relationship to the school was unknown, according to the data. When the shooting was accidental, a suicide, or school-targeted, the shooter was more often a student or former student. However, when the shooting was the result of a dispute or grievance, the shooter was someone other than a student in the majority of cases. For about one-fifth of cases, the shooter's relationship to the school was not known. (See figure.)
The characteristics of schools where shootings occurred over the past 10 years also varied by poverty level and racial composition. Urban, poorer, and high minority schools had more shootings overall, with more characterized as a dispute or grievance. Suburban and rural, CONTINUE READING: GAO: shootings at K-12 schools most commonly resulted from disputes or grievances | 2020-07-10 | Security Magazine
