The number of students, staff, and non-student school-associated violent deaths in U.S. schools since 1992 has remained relatively steady. During the 2019-2020 school year, 25 people were killed or committed suicide in an elementary, middle, or high school.

About SSOCSThe School Survey on Crime and Safety is a national survey of principals in U.S. public elementary, middle, and high schools. The survey covers topics such as:Frequency and types of crimes occurring at schoolDisciplinary actions allowed and used in schoolsPolicies and practices designed to prevent or reduce crime in schoolsCharacteristics of school climate related to safetyThe SSOCS was first conducted in the 1999-2000 school year. Data has been collected every other school year from 2004 to 2010 and from 2016 to 2020. The SSOCS data collection in the 2021-22 school year is the final planned collection.About SCSThe School Crime Supplement (SCS) is part of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which is led by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) at the U.S. Department of Justice. NCES collaborates with BJS to survey students ages 12 to 18 years old in grades 6 through 12 about crime and safety at school and in the surrounding neighborhood.The SCS asks students about topics such as:Fighting, bullying, and hate-related behaviorPrevalence of guns and weaponsGangs at schoolAvailability of alcohol and drugs at schoolFear and avoidance behaviorsThe SCS was first conducted in 1989, followed by administrations in 1995 and 1999, and was conducted every other year thereafter, from 2001 to 2019. Data collection was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2022. The next collection of SCS is scheduled for 2025.Data OrganizationThe categories from the original tables library are represented as folders. Each table has its own folder within the category folders. Each table has an excel (XLS) and excel SE file associated with it. The catalog CSV in the top level folder provides a crosswalk between the original table names and the current folder names.Additionally, there are folders for Questionnaires and Reports from the SCS and SSOCS, which were downloaded from the NCES website. There is also a folder of SSOCS data users manuals, also downloaded from the NCES resource library. The SCS users manuals are already available in ICPSR, see listing here: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crime/scs/data/.

According to a survey published in Italy in 2020, 36 percent of middle schools' teachers believed that they did not receive adequate training on the procedures to report cases of violence, danger, and prejudices. Moreover, 52 percent of high schools' teachers claimed the same. Overall, 46 percent of all surveyed teachers thought that they did not receive an appropriate training to manage such situations.

School violence, including violence en route to and from school, can make students afraid to go to school and frequently results in serious injury. These assaults occur in a context where the landscape that students navigate each day often includes bullying, substance use, and weapon carrying. Understanding the locations and times when students are vulnerable to assault as they proceed through their school-day routine could identify opportunities for more targeted, evidence-based prevention strategies. The research team employed a mixed-methods, case-time-control design with GIS-assisted activity path mapping to understand risk factors and protective factors for school assault in the United States. Children aged 12-18 years requiring treatment at the emergency department of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) for an assault-related injury, or who attended Philadelphia schools serving as recruitment sites during the study period, were recruited for the study (n=63). Participants were interviewed using a survey questionnaire and GIS technology to recreate details of the path of their activities, indoors during school and outdoors before and after, from the time they awoke in the morning up until the time they were assaulted. In addition, participants were asked to describe their activities sequentially during that period, including companions and weapon carrying, and site-line features of each location (prospect, refuge, and escape). To include individual- and environmental-level context, participants' paths were appended with data characterizing streets, buildings, neighborhood populations, and the weather that day. This collection contains data from the quantitative survey measures (DS1) and qualitative interview transcripts (DS2) from the path mapping section of the interview. While GIS data were collected, they were not deposited to ICPSR. Qualitative data will be released at a future date.

As of June 2022, there were 153 school shootings in total in the United States in that year. Of these incidents, only two were active shooter incidents. The largest number of active shooter incidents in schools was in 2018, with 11 active shooters.

The source defines a shooting as any time a gun is brandished, fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason.

Between 1970 and June 16, 2020, 175 school shootings were perpetrated by 17-year-olds. 16-year-olds perpetrated the second highest number of school shootings, with 163 shootings.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) partnered with educators in 46 middle schools to implement Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS). SCSS seeks to prevent and reduce behavioral incidents, address mental and behavioral health concerns, and increase prosocial behavior in the school setting through three core program components: developing a functioning multidisciplinary school team, building capacity around data use, and selecting and implementing evidence-based programs. The study explored research questions in three areas: readiness (whether schools met baseline criteria and experienced changes in readiness over time), implementation (whether the SCSS model was implemented as intended; whether it is feasible, acceptable, and effective when implemented schoolwide), and associated outcomes (effects on school climate, safety, related behavioral and mental health indicators, and academic outcomes). To explore questions in these three areas, CSPV and external evaluators from American Institutes for Research conducted a mixed-methods randomized control trial with a staggered implementation design using qualitative data (open-ended questions on implementation surveys, focus groups) and quantitative data (staff and student school climate data, attendance/truancy rates, and suspension rates, and academic achievement data). This collection is organized into 12 parts and includes administrative school record data, student and staff climate surveys, and fidelity data. School record data from years 1 and 2 of the study include school-level attendance, truancy, and suspension rates, as well as student-level assessment data. Qualitative focus group data is not currently included in the collection.

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a biennial (i.e., every other school year) survey required by the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) since 1968. The CRDC collects a variety of information including student enrollment and educational programs and services, most of which is disaggregated by race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency, and disability. The CRDC is a longstanding and important aspect of the ED Office for Civil Rights (OCR) overall strategy for administering and enforcing the civil rights statutes for which it is responsible. Data was reported directly from the school districts to the Office of Civil Rights. This data process is not managed by OSPI and therefore the data is not validated or reviewed by OSPI before being reported to OCR. For this reason data presented in this file will not mirror OSPI reports on similar student and school measures. In some cases data was unavailable or suppressed by OCR to protect student privacy, for more information on this please visit the CRDC webpage. In addition, directory information for some schools is incomplete, as the names of the organizations provided in the CRDC data files did not match the names of organizations on record with OSPI. For additional information or questions about this data please visit the CRDC webpage at https://ocrdata.ed.gov/.

As of July 14, 2025, there have been a total of 277 school shootings in California since 1966, the most out of any state. Texas had the second highest number of school shootings within this time period, with 237 shootings. The source defines a school shooting as every time a gun is brandished, fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims (including zero), time, day or the week, or reason, including gang shootings, domestic violence, shootings at sports games and after hours school events, suicides, fights that escalate into shootings, and accidents.

This data reports crime statistics for 4-year public and private post-secondary schools. The source of the data is Department of Education, The Campus Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool: http://ope.ed.gov/security/

In 2020, two-thirds of the Hungarian population found the employment of school officers a good way of dealing with violence at schools. Another ** percent of respondents did not agree with the government's plan of introducing such measures.

The Code of Virginia requires school divisions statewide to submit data annually to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on events of student behavior and the administrative responses to the behavior. These events shall include those that occurred on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity. Unlike the Discipline, Crime and Violence collection (DCV) that was retired after the 2020-2021 school year, SBAR captures all the behaviors of each student in each event. Additionally, the administrative response to each student can include one or more behavioral interventions, institutional supports or disciplinary sanctions.

This data explores 8th grade writing scores as measured by the Nation's Report Card. This report presents the results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment. It was administered to a nationally representative sample of more than 165,000 eighth- and twelfth-graders from public and private schools. In addition to national results, the report includes state and urban district results for grade 8 public school students. Forty-five states, the Department of Defense schools, and 10 urban districts voluntarily participated. To measure their writing skills, the assessment engaged students in narrative, informative, and persuasive writing tasks. NAEP presents the writing results as scale scores and achievement-level percentages. Results are also reported for student performance by various demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for the National School Lunch Program. The 2007 national results are compared with results from the 2002 and 1998 assessments. At grades 8 and 12, average writing scores and the percentages of students performing at or above Basic were higher than in both previous assessments. The White -- Black score gap narrowed at grade 8 compared to 1998 and 2002 but showed no significant change at grade 12. The gender score gap showed no significant change at grade 8 compared with previous assessments but narrowed at grade 12 since 2002. Eighth-graders eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch scored lower on average than students who were not eligible. Compared with 2002, average writing scores for eighth-graders increased in 19 states and the Department of Defense schools, and scores decreased in one state. Compared with 1998, scores increased in 28 states and the Department of Defense Schools, and no states showed a decrease. Scores for most urban districts at grade 8 were comparable to or higher than scores for large central cities but were below the national average.

As of August 11, there were four mass shootings in the United States in 2025. This is compared to one mass shooting in 1982, one in 2000, and 12 mass shootings in 2022 and 2023. School shootings The United States sees the most school shootings in the world. Some motivations for school shootings included depression, seeking revenge, and bullying. As a result of the large amount of school shootings, gun control has become a central topic in U.S. politics. This widespread problem happens across the United States; however California saw the highest number of K-12 school shootings in the United States since 1970. However, the deadliest school shooting (as of October 2023) was the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. This tragedy left 33 dead and 23 injured. Mass shooting issues Mass shootings happen when there are several injuries or deaths from a firearm-related violence. Throughout the last century, mass shootings have become an epidemic in the United States. However, despite the increase in mass shootings and number of casualties, the U.S. government has done little to prevent future shootings from happening. As a result of the lack of cooperation in politics, mass shootings have become an important issue for Generation Z living in the United States. Furthermore, having the right to bear arms is a popular belief in the U.S. and the percentage of households in the United States owning at least one firearm has remained somewhat steady since 1972.

This data comes from the Survey on Sexual Violence, 2006, an administrative records collection of incidents of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual violence reported to correctional authorities. This dataset in particular focuses on allegations of inmate-on-inmate sexual violence reported by State or Federal prison authorities by State. Between January 1 and June 30, 2007, BJS completed the third annual national survey of administrative records in adult correctional facilities, covering calendar year 2006. Although the results were limited to incidents reported to correctional officials, the survey provides an understanding of what officials know, based on the number of reported allegations, and the outcomes of follow-up investigations. By comparing results of the 2006 survey with those from 2004 and 2005, BJS is able to assess trends in sexual violence for the first time since the Act was passed. AL, AK, GA, MS, NV, NC, VA, WI: Allegations of abusive sexual contacts could not be counted separately from allegations of nonconsensual sexual acts. MT: Includes consensual contact between inmates. SC, WV: Allegations limited to substantiated occurrences only. For more information on this data please go to: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/svrca06.htm

On Tuesday 22 June 2021, the Ethiopian Air Force targeted the market place of Addilal in Tigray’s Gheralta district (north Ethiopia). Fortunately, the bomb missed the market, but it fell on the school compound. There were no students in school, as all schools in Tigray are closed since 2020. Damages to the school buildings were considerable. Up to date, the bombed-out Addilal school stands unused, as a symbol for these three years without schools in Tigray. Here we share a six exclusive photographs of the Addilal school.

THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 8:11 PM EASTERN ON OCT. 13

OVERVIEW

2019 had the most mass killings since at least the 1970s, according to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings Database.

In all, there were 45 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 were mass shootings . This summer was especially violent, with three high-profile public mass shootings occurring in the span of just four weeks, leaving 38 killed and 66 injured.

A total of 229 people died in mass killings in 2019.

The AP's analysis found that more than 50% of the incidents were family annihilations, which is similar to prior years. Although they are far less common, the 9 public mass shootings during the year were the most deadly type of mass murder, resulting in 73 people's deaths, not including the assailants.

One-third of the offenders died at the scene of the killing or soon after, half from suicides.

About this Dataset

The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed (not including the offender) over a short period of time (24 hours) regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. The database includes information on these and other characteristics concerning the incidents, offenders, and victims.

The AP/USA TODAY/Northeastern database represents the most complete tracking of mass murders by the above definition currently available. Other efforts, such as the Gun Violence Archive or Everytown for Gun Safety may include events that do not meet our criteria, but a review of these sites and others indicates that this database contains every event that matches the definition, including some not tracked by other organizations.

This data will be updated periodically and can be used as an ongoing resource to help cover these events.

Using this Dataset

To get basic counts of incidents of mass killings and mass shootings by year nationwide, use these queries:

Mass killings by year

Mass shootings by year

To get these counts just for your state:

Filter killings by state

Definition of "mass murder"

Mass murder is defined as the intentional killing of four or more victims by any means within a 24-hour period, excluding the deaths of unborn children and the offender(s). The standard of four or more dead was initially set by the FBI.

This definition does not exclude cases based on method (e.g., shootings only), type or motivation (e.g., public only), victim-offender relationship (e.g., strangers only), or number of locations (e.g., one). The time frame of 24 hours was chosen to eliminate conflation with spree killers, who kill multiple victims in quick succession in different locations or incidents, and to satisfy the traditional requirement of occurring in a “single incident.”

Offenders who commit mass murder during a spree (before or after committing additional homicides) are included in the database, and all victims within seven days of the mass murder are included in the victim count. Negligent homicides related to driving under the influence or accidental fires are excluded due to the lack of offender intent. Only incidents occurring within the 50 states and Washington D.C. are considered.

Methodology

Project researchers first identified potential incidents using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). Homicide incidents in the SHR were flagged as potential mass murder cases if four or more victims were reported on the same record, and the type of death was murder or non-negligent manslaughter.

Cases were subsequently verified utilizing media accounts, court documents, academic journal articles, books, and local law enforcement records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Each data point was corroborated by multiple sources, which were compiled into a single document to assess the quality of information.

In case(s) of contradiction among sources, official law enforcement or court records were used, when available, followed by the most recent media or academic source.

Case information was subsequently compared with every other known mass murder database to ensure reliability and validity. Incidents listed in the SHR that could not be independently verified were excluded from the database.

Project researchers also conducted extensive searches for incidents not reported in the SHR during the time period, utilizing internet search engines, Lexis-Nexis, and Newspapers.com. Search terms include: [number] dead, [number] killed, [number] slain, [number] murdered, [number] homicide, mass murder, mass shooting, massacre, rampage, family killing, familicide, and arson murder. Offender, victim, and location names were also directly searched when available.

This project started at USA TODAY in 2012.

Contacts

Contact AP Data Editor Justin Myers with questions, suggestions or comments about this dataset at jmyers@ap.org. The Northeastern University researcher working with AP and USA TODAY is Professor James Alan Fox, who can be reached at j.fox@northeastern.edu or 617-416-4400.

This survey of 12th-grade students is part of a series that explores changes in important values, behaviors, and lifestyle orientations of contemporary American youth. Students are randomly assigned to complete one of six questionnaires, each with a different subset of topical questions, but all containing a set of "core" questions on demographics and drug use. There are about 1,400 variables across the questionnaires. Drugs covered by this survey include tobacco, smokeless tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hashish, prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, LSD, hallucinogens, amphetamines (stimulants), Ritalin (methylphenidate), barbiturates (tranquilizers), cocaine, crack cocaine, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), ecstasy, methamphetamine, and heroin. Other topics include attitudes toward religion, changing roles for women, educational aspirations, self-esteem, exposure to drug education, and violence and crime (both in and out of school). Highlights for 2020: All students recorded their survey answers on tablets that the project brought to the schools, preloaded with the MTF surveys. Data collection was halted prematurely on March 15, 2020 when the University of Michigan stopped all projects that involved face-to-face data collection because of COVID-19 concerns. This resulted in a 2020 sample size about 25% the size of a regular data collection. Guidance for combining grades for analysis: see Appendix C of the codebook. Information about potential mode effects for questions on student attitudes and beliefs when comparing previous years' paper-based survey responses to the current tablet method of collection. Please see the codebook Introduction - Survey Mode section for details.

The deadliest school shooting in the United States as of August 11, 2025, was the Virginia Tech massacre, with 32 fatalities and 23 injuries. The next deadliest school shooting (based on fatalities) was the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, with 27 fatalities. School shootings in the U.S. Mass shootings in the United States have become a disturbingly common occurrence, and sadly, so have school shootings. The Columbine school shooting is perhaps the most famous in the country’s history, and since 1999 (when the shooting occurred), the number of school shootings has only increased. Many measures have been used to try to prevent school shootings, including security guards and metal detectors being deployed in schools, and even the suggestion that teachers be allowed to carry guns in schools. Gun control Gun control in the United States is a sticky issue, since gun ownership is enshrined in the Constitution. Some advocate for stricter gun control laws to try to prevent future mass shootings, while others say that this is unconstitutional. Gun ownership rates in the U.S. are high, with the share of American households owning at least one firearm remaining relatively steady since 1972.

This data explores Eighth-grade public school students with disabilities (SD) and English language learners (ELL) identified, excluded, and accommodated in NAEP writing, as a percentage of all students, by state: 2007 Not available. The state/jurisdiction did not participate. # Rounds to zero. NOTE: Students identified as both SD and ELL were counted only once in overall, but were counted separately under the SD and ELL categories. Results are not shown for SD and ELL students assessed without accommodations. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Writing Assessment.