Different definitions of "school shootings" fuel public confusion about school safety and violent crime in the U.S.

Different Data: There are multiple commonly cited sources tracking U.S. "school shootings." The K-12 Violence Project, run by data scientist David Riedman, has a "K-12 School Shooting Database" counting any incident "when a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time, or day of the week." This tracker has counted 46 school shootings in 2025. EducationWeek (Center bias), a news organization, uses more limited criteria and has counted three school shootings in 2025. The K-12 Violence Project counted 330 school shootings in 2024, versus 39 counted by EducationWeek. CNN (Lean Left bias) conducted its own analysis of the data, and concluded that 83 school shootings happened in 2024 as of Dec. 16.

How the Media Covers It: Many sources, especially on the left and center but also some on the right, cite the K-12 Violence Project data when reporting on the "number of school shootings" in a given timeframe. The Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) is among the sources that use the EducationWeek data. The Daily Mail (Right bias) cited CNN's data.

Why the Difference: People on the left are generally in favor of gun restrictions and may gravitate toward data sources that emphasize problems with guns. People on the right are generally less supportive of gun restrictions and may gravitate toward data sources that make gun problems seem less severe. This summary will be updated throughout 2025. Last updated 3/25/25 at 5:17pm ET.