School Climate & Safety Interactive

The School Shootings of 2019: What’s Behind the Numbers

By Education Week Staff — December 18, 2019 | Updated: February 28, 2020 | Corrected: October 25, 2021 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Corrected: A shooting during a high school football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., on Aug. 30, 2019, has been removed from this tracker. The incident occurred on a property that is owned by the city of Mobile, not the school district.

In 2019, eight people were killed and 32 were injured in 24 shooting incidents that occurred on school grounds or during school-sponsored events, according to Education Week’s school shooting tracker. This is the second year Education Week has kept count of school shootings that killed or injured people. While the death and injury tolls are smaller than in 2018 when there were two mass school shootings, in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Texas, the devastation to school communities and families is no less profound. In 10 incidents, gunfire erupted during or just after school-sponsored athletic events, exposing critical vulnerabilities K-12 leaders face in keeping students, staff, and community members safe from violence outside school buildings and outside the hours of the regular school day. Six times this year, high school football games were the venue for a shooting that injured multiple people and sent spectators into a panic. In one incident, a 10-year-old boy attending a high school football game in New Jersey was shot and later died.

For the most recent data on school shootings, click here.

2019 TOTALS

web shooting tracker 109 totals update

WHERE THE SHOOTINGS HAPPENED

Ten shootings took place during, or just after, a high school sporting event where, in some cases, hundreds of panicked people fled the sounds of gunfire. The year’s deadliest school shooting was in a Santa Clarita, Calif., high school, where a 16-year-old male student killed two classmates and injured three others before shooting and killing himself.

Size of the dots correlates to the number of victims. Click on each dot for more information.

TIMES AND PLACES INCIDENTS OCCURRED

Eleven shootings took place during the regular school day, and 10 shootings occurred in evenings during a school-sponsored athletic event. Two shootings involved school buses.

web shooting tracker 109 location update2

ABOUT THE SUSPECTS

This year, the number of school shooters who were students was similar to the number of school shooters who were not students. But because school shooters are often students, safety experts recommend that schools invest in prevention efforts, not just hardening security.

web shooting tracker 109 suspects update

THOSE KILLED IN SCHOOL SHOOTINGS IN 2019

Eight people—4 of them under the age of 18—died in school shootings in 2019. One victim’s identity has not been released. Of the known victims, the youngest was 10. The oldest was 48.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For media or research inquiries about this page, contact library@educationweek.org.

Related:

The Heartbreaking Work of Tracking School Shootings
The School Shootings of 2018: What’s Behind the Numbers
Should Schools Be Able to Detect Every Would-Be Shooter?
How Gun Violence Is Changing Friday Night Football
A 10-Year-Old’s Shooting Death and the Challenge Schools Face Keeping Football Games Safe

Contributors: Evie Blad, Stacey Decker, Hyon-Young Kim, Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Lesli A. Maxwell, Holly Peele, and Denisa R. Superville
Design & Visualization: Marty Barrick
Images: Getty

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Creating Resilient Schools with a Trauma-Responsive MTSS
Join us to learn how school leaders are building a trauma-responsive MTSS to support students & improve school outcomes.
School & District Management Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: We Can’t Engage Students If They Aren’t Here: Strategies to Address the Absenteeism Conundrum
Absenteeism rates are growing fast. Join Peter DeWitt and experts to learn how to re-engage students & families.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety As Wildfires Devastate Los Angeles, Educators Offer Help and Refuge
As wildfires rip through the region, educators band together for support as they work to help students and families.
9 min read
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2025.
Ethan Swope/AP
School Climate & Safety School Shootings in 2024: More Than Last Year, But Fewer Deaths
Education Week recorded the second-highest number of school shootings in 2024 since it started tracking the incidents in 2018.
4 min read
Photo of no gun sign on door.
iStock
School Climate & Safety Opinion 'Get Out of the Building Now': A Teacher Reflects on Violence
A bomb threat brings home to a veteran educator why schools and teachers matter.
Adam Patric Miller
3 min read
Illustration of dark tunnel with figure at end.
francescoch/Getty
School Climate & Safety Teacher and Teen Student Killed in Wisconsin School Shooting
At least six others were injured in what is the 39th school shooting of 2024 in which someone was killed or hurt.
5 min read
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
Emergency vehicles parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where policy said a teenage student shot and killed a teacher and a classmate and injured several others on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
Scott Bauer/AP