Mass shooters have killed hundreds of people throughout U.S. history in areas such as shops, theaters, and workplaces, but it is in schools and universities that the carnage resonates perhaps most intensely: places full of young children , older students aspiring to new heights and teachers planting the seeds of knowledge, their travels all shortened.
If a mass shooting is defined as the result of the death of four or more people, not including the perpetrator, 169 people have died in 14 such events related to American schools and colleges, since the massacre from Columbine High School in 1999 to Tuesday’s shooting in Texas. This is according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, and other AP reports:
ROBB PRIMARY SCHOOL, May 2022, 21 dead
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, killing 19 children and at least two adults while injuring several others, authorities said. The shooter died.
OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL, November 2021, 4 dead
A sophomore is accused of killing four people and injuring others at his school in Oxford, Michigan, near Detroit. His trial is set for September. Her parents are charged with manslaughter; Authorities say they ignored the warning signs.
BACCALAUREATE SANTA FE, May 2018, 10 dead
A gunman opened fire on a high school in the Houston area and killed 10 people, mostly students, authorities said. The 17-year-old suspect has been charged with homicide.
MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, February 2018, 17 dead
An attack left 14 students and three staff members dead at a school in Parkland, Florida, and injured many others. The 20-year-old suspect was charged with homicide.
UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, October 2015, 9 dead
One man killed nine people at the Roseburg, Oregon school, and injured nine more, and then committed suicide.
MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK HIGH SCHOOL, October 2014, 4 dead
A 15-year-old man used texting to lure several cousins and friends to the table at his Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria in Washington state. He shot four of them before committing suicide.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA, May 2014, 6 dead
A 22-year-old college student frustrated with sexual rejection stabbed or fatally shot six students near a school in Isla Vista, California, and injured several before committing suicide.
SANDY HOOK PRIMARY SCHOOL, December 2012, 27 dead
A 19-year-old man killed his mother at his home in Newtown, Connecticut, then went to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first-graders and six educators. He took his own life.
OIKOS UNIVERSITY, April 2012, 7 dead
A former nursing student shot seven people at a small private university in East Oakland, California. He died in prison in 2019.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, February 2008, 5 dead
A 27-year-old student shot dead five people and injured more than 20 at a school in DeKalb, Illinois, before committing suicide.
VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY, April 2007, 32 dead
A 23-year-old student killed 32 people on the Blacksburg, Virginia campus in April 2007; more than two dozen more were injured. The gunman then committed suicide.
WEST NICKEL MINES AMISH SCHOOL, October 2006, 5 dead
A 32-year-old man entered an Amish school near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, fired the boys, tied up the girls, and shot five of them before committing suicide. Another five were injured.
RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, March 2005, 9 dead
A 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and fellow man at his home in Minnesota, then went to nearby Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before firing -se.
COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, April 1999, 13 dead
Two students killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher at a school in Littleton, Colorado, and injured many others before committing suicide.