The latest federal report on crime and safety in US schools indicated that school shootings in 2020-21 had the highest increase in two decades.
The 31-page report published Tuesday by the National Center for Education Statistics showed at least 93 cases involving fatalities at public and private schools throughout the country in 2020-21, according to a report from NBC News.
The agency reported that the amount was significantly higher than the 23 incidents recorded in the school year 2000-2001, which is the highest total since data gathering started.
In the 93 incidents reported during the 2020-21 academic year, there were 43 fatalities and 50 injuries.
Latest Data Can Be Useful for Policymakers
In a news release, National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy G. Carr stated that there were more fatalities due to school shootings recorded in 2021 compared to previous years.
"Although the rate of nonfatal violent victimization at school for 12- to 18-year-olds was lower in 2019 than in 2009, there were more school shootings with casualties in 2021 than in any other year since data collection began in the early 2000s, increasing from 11 in 2009 to 93 in 2021," she said.
The official added that though the long-term impact of the crime and safety issues "cannot be measured in statistics alone", the data will be "valuable to the efforts of our policymakers, school officials, and community members to identify and implement preventive and responsive measures."
The definition of shooting-related incidents in the report is broad and includes instances where a gun is pointed at or fired on school premises. It also includes any shootings that took place on school grounds while classes were being taught remotely due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Business Insider reported that despite spending the most on defense in the world ($782 billion in this fiscal year), the US has the highest rate of gun fatalities among high-income nations. Furthermore, firearms are the number one killer of children in the US. The country also has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership globally.
New Gun Safety Law Aims To Bring Down School Shootings in the US
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden signed into law the landmark federal gun reform legislation.
After signing the bipartisan gun safety bill in the White House, he remarked that it will "save a lot of lives."
The significant gun safety measure in three decades came a few weeks since mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde claimed the lives of more than 30 individuals, including 19 kids at an elementary school.
The law has provisions to assist states in keeping firearms away from those regarded as a threat to themselves or others.
As per a Reuters report, the new gun law restricts the sale of firearms to people with domestic violence convictions and bans sales to people convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners. Additionally, it gives funds to states that enforce "red flag" measures meant to take away firearms from those regarded as dangerous to themselves and others.
High-capacity magazines and assault-style rifle sales are not prohibited under the fresh gun safety law. However, it does strengthen background investigation by making it possible to access data on serious youth offenses.
The gun control legislation was enacted the same week that the Supreme Court increased the rights of gun owners by stating on Thursday that a person's right to carry a pistol in public for self-defense is protected under the Constitution.
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