The number of school shootings continued its downward trend in 2025 with a recorded 233 incidents, which is the lowest number since 2020, when 116 school shootings took place at elementary and secondary private and public schools, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. Additionally, the number of shooting victims who were injured or fatally wounded on K-12 campuses last year was 148.
The number of annual school shootings have been recorded since 1966. School shootings are defined as any time a gun is fired or brandished with intent or when a bullet hits school property, regardless of the number of victims, time, day or reason.
David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database and an assistant professor at Idaho State University, said it’s unclear what is contributing to these trends. He wrote that crime trends need to be measured across decades to see patterns.
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