(AP) – Mass shootings have killed hundreds of people throughout U.S. history in areas such as shops, theaters and jobs, but it’s in schools and colleges where the carnage is reflected, perhaps most strongly – places filled with children of fragile age, older students striving for new heights, and teachers who plant the seeds of knowledge, all their travels were interrupted.
When the mass shooting is defined as the death of four or more people, not counting the perpetrator, 169 people were killed in 14 such events involving American schools and colleges – from the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999 to the shooting on Tuesday in Texas. This is according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, as well as other AP reports:
ROBB’S SIMPLE SCHOOLMay 2022, 21 killed
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in Uwalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults, officials said. Law enforcement officers killed the attacker.
OXFORD SECONDARY SCHOOLNovember 2021, 4 killed
The sophomore is accused of killing four people and injuring others at his school in Oxford, Michigan, near Detroit. His trial is scheduled for September. His parents are accused of manslaughter; authorities say they ignored warning signs.
SANTA FE SECONDARY SCHOOLMay 2018, 10 killed
Authorities said the shooter opened fire at a high school in the Houston area, killing 10 people, most of them students. A 17-year-old suspect has been charged with murder.
MARJORY STONEWMAN DUGLASS SECONDARY SCHOOLFebruary 2018, 17 killed
The attack on a school in Parkland, Florida, killed 14 students and three staff members, and injured many others. A 20-year-old suspect has been charged with murder.
UMPQUA Public CollegeOctober 2015, 9 killed
A man killed nine people at a school in Roseburg, Oregon, and wounded nine others, then killed himself.
MYRSVIL-PILCHUK SENIOR SCHOOLOctober 2014, 4 killed
The 15-year-old used text messages to bring several cousins and friends to his desk in a cafeteria at Marysville-Pilchak High School in Washington. He fatally shot four of them before killing himself.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARAMay 2014, 6 killed
A 22-year-old college student, frustrated by sexual rejection, fatally stabbed or shot six students near a school in Isla Vista, California, and injured several others before killing himself.
SANDY HOOK SITTING SCHOOLDecember 2012, 27 killed
A 19-year-old man killed his mother at their home in Newtown, Connecticut, then went to a nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first-graders and six caregivers. He took his own life.
OIKOS UNIVERSITYApril 2012, 7 killed
A former student nurse has fatally shot seven people at a small private college in East Auckland, California. He died in prison in 2019.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN ILLINOISFebruary 2008, 5 killed
A 27-year-old former student shot five people and injured more than 20 people at a school in DeCalbe, Illinois, before killing himself.
Virginia University of TechnologyApril 2007, 32 killed
The 23-year-old student killed 32 people on a campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, in April 2007; more than two dozen others were injured. After that, the criminal killed himself.
AMISH SCHOOL OF WESTERN NICKELSOctober 2006, 5 killed
A 32-year-old man entered an Amish school near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, released the boys, tied up the girls and shot five of them before killing himself. Five more were injured.
RED LAKE SECONDARY SCHOOLMarch 2005, 9 killed
A 16-year-old student killed his grandfather and fellow man at their home in Minnesota and then went to a nearby Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard, before shooting himself.
COLOMBIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLApril 1999, 13 killed
Two students killed 12 of their peers and one teacher at a school in Littleton, Colorado, and wounded many others before killing themselves.
