In 1999, a violent event completely shocked the country, creating a massive amount of news coverage as well as future copy-cats: the Columbine massacre. This shooting was unique because it featured both young victims and young perpetrators, forcing Americans to question a great deal about their culture. The subsequent moral panic caused us to question everything, from video games to music to fashion.
Those late-90s fads are long gone, but the violence has remained. Since Columbine, within the past two decades, there have been 231 more school shooting events within the US, and a subsequent 304 fatalities and 485 injuries. Mapping on-campus gun violence from the past 20 years, this comprehensive timeline reveals an increase in in both the severity and the frequency of school shootings.
They happen so often that these smaller events rarely get headlines, and some horrific massacres, like the 2018 Santa Fe shooting, are dwarfed by the coverage of other shootings, like the Parkland massacre, which drew in more media attention due to student activism on behalf of the survivors. Just within 2018 alone, there were 35 different incidences. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, it’s important to look at the facts honestly, and this timeline can help keep things in perspective.
infographic by: securitybaron.com
