Reflecting on School Shootings in 2024

Source: Toxic Player / Unsplash

With the summer months upon us, parents have been temporarily freed of the concerns that come with having kids in school. These include whether children have done their homework, how they’re behaving in class, and how they’re testing.

Tragically, today they also encompass horrifying fears tied to school-based gun violence.

Recent School Shootings

According to available data compiled by CNN, at least 34 school shootings took place in the United States between January and June 24, 2024. The incidents left 16 people dead and at least 38 other victims injured, adding to the tragedies of past years, with 2021, 2022, and 2023 all setting records regarding incidents of gun violence on school grounds.

In the last days of June, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy put these tragedies in a new light, declaring gun violence a public health crisis. This came before the assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump.

To curb this violence, Dr. Murthy called on the United States to ban “assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use,” introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces, and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons.

While such actions are critically needed, none can advance without Congressional legislation. The lessons of history make it challenging to feel optimistic about the ability of our representatives to do the right thing. That said, new developments are unfolding, with the Republican Party having recently dropped gun rights promises from its 2024 platform. Time will test this level of commitment.

Liabilities tied to shootings are also evolving. This year marked the first time a parent had been criminally convicted for failing to prevent a mass shooting carried out by a child in their custody, setting a new legal precedent and putting parents who own guns on notice.

Keeping Schools Safe

The fact of the matter is that there’s work to be done to keep schools safe regardless of public policy and industry regulations or the decisions of the court. Educators—together with parents and communities—must take more proactive, preventive measures, monitoring for the red flags that have been shown, time and time again, to predict these tragedies. The same approaches can also be used to enhance workplace safety.

Enduring the realities and ongoing potential of school shootings has and continues to have a pronounced negative impact on the well-being of individuals and communities. As a mental health attorney, I witness the stress and anxiety these developments have on parents and children alike, to say nothing of the loss of lives and trauma experienced by victims’ families and friends.

I believe in my ability to meet these challenges with my close collaborators and team members. But there’s a limit to the impact any individual can have without pronounced changes at the federal, state, and local levels.

As September approaches and classrooms begin admitting students again, anxieties about shootings, as well as actual incidents of violence, are certain to rise. Channeling these concerns into action and advocacy, especially during a presidential election year, represents a real means of making a meaningful societal difference.