Shootings in American schools... a record year in 2023, and incidents will continue in 2026

(CNN) - The United States witnessed at least 52 school shooting incidents from the beginning of the year until October 15. Of these, 16 incidents occurred on university campuses, while 36 incidents occurred in school facilities (including grades kindergarten through twelfth grade). These incidents resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people and the injury of 50 others, according to an analysis conducted by CNN based on data and reports issued by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

CNN is matching reports of these shootings with accounts from schools, police and media reports. All incidents of armed violence that occur within school facilities - from kindergartens to colleges and universities - are included provided that at least one person (other than the shooter) was injured by a gunshot. The term “school facilities” includes, but is not limited to, buildings, playgrounds, parking lots, stadiums, and school buses. Accidental firearm discharges are also included if they result in at least one person being shot, except in cases where the lone shooter is a member of law enforcement or school security.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with schools closed, there was a significant decrease in gun violence incidents within school facilities. But since then, recent years have seen a sharp rise in school shootings; At least 84 incidents were recorded in 2023, a record number not seen since at least 2008. However, 2022 is considered one of the deadliest years, with 48 people killed according to a CNN analysis, and that year witnessed the shooting incident at Rupp Elementary School in the city of Uvalde, Texas, which resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two education workers, as well as the injury of more than a dozen other people.