Are schools still a safe place for our children?

When it comes to security, there are a few things that society undoubtedly considers particularly vulnerable. Top 1 is child safety. We live in an era where birth rates are declining, as are infant mortality rates. Especially in developed countries, fewer children are born each year, but they have a high potential to reach life expectancy. The value of a child’s life is higher than ever, and therefore it is well protected.

On the other hand, the number of school shootings is increasing every year. The place where children spend more time than at home, and which should be maximally protected, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to shootings. And what may seem like an American phenomenon is spreading even to “safe and well-protected” Europe.

Let’s summarize the events that occurred during 2023 on the most developed continent on Earth:

• On December 21, in the last days before Christmas, a 24-year-old student invaded and killed 15 other students at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, in what is considered the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
• A couple of months ago in Offenburg, Germany, a 15-year-old student was shot to death at school by his classmate, another 15-year-old student. In 2009, a 17-year-old gunman killed nine maternity retouching students and three teachers at a school near Stuttgart.
• In May 2023, a 13-year-old boy shot and killed eight classmates and a security guard at a Belgrade school.

Although the number of school incidents in Europe is growing, it still does not compare with the statistics in the United States.

The history of school shootings in the United States dates back to 1840, when a student shot and killed his professor, John Anthony Gardner Davis. The oldest and most famous school shooting of the 20th century occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. In 1999, two students opened fire on the school, killing 13 people and injuring more than 20 before committing suicide. At the time, the Columbine shooting was the deadliest in US history.

In modern history, since 1970

There have been 2,331 school shootings in the United States. Almost 20% of all incidents occurred between 2020 and 2022.

In 2023, there were 346 school shootings nationwide, leaving 57 people dead and 191 injured. Data shows the U.S. averages nearly one shooting every day, the highest rate on record since at least 1966.

There have already been two school shootings resulting 7 alata za grafički dizajn za nedizajnere in injuries or deaths in the first eight days of 2024, according to an Education Week analysis. On January 4, a student was killed and seven others were injured in a shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. Police say the 17-year-old student suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.