How many school shootings are too many? America confronts a grim tally in 2025
School shootings continue to scar the United States in 2025, with dozens of incidents causing fatalities, injuries, and deep psychological trauma for students, families, and educators. As schools reopen this fall, the scale of violence highlights the urgency of creating safer learning environments and rethinking America’s relationship with guns.
Evergreen High School shooting : A fresh tragedy in ColoradoOn September 10, 2025, Evergreen High School in Colorado became the latest site of devastating gun violence when 16-year-old Desmond Holly opened fire both inside and outside the campus. According to ABC News, Holly carried a revolver and reloaded multiple times as he moved between hallways and classrooms. Students and teachers, drilled in active-shooter protocols, locked down, barricaded doors, and ran for safety — actions credited with preventing further deaths.
Two students were injured and hospitalised at St. Anthony Hospital, one in critical condition. The suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities later revealed Holly had been consuming extremist material online and may have been influenced by digital networks that glorify violence. Investigators, assisted by the FBI, searched his phone, locker, and home for evidence of radicalisation.
A nationwide crisis: Tracking school shootings in 2025The Evergreen shooting is not an isolated tragedy — it reflects a national pattern of escalating school violence. Yet, there is no single, universally agreed-upon count of “school shootings,” with totals differing depending on whether one includes only deadly incidents, any gunfire, or even cases of weapons being brandished.
One of the most horrific attacks happened on August 27 at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, the attacker killed two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — and wounded 17 others before dying by suicide. Families and community members have since turned the children’s funerals into moments of both mourning and urgent advocacy for stricter gun laws.
Living in fear: The human impactAccording to ABC News, shootings on school grounds now occur nearly twice a week, leaving children, parents, and teachers traumatised and fearful. Students nationwide describe the constant anxiety of active-shooter drills, which have become as routine as fire alarms. Psychologists warn that these repeated exposures — even to simulated drills — can cause long-term stress, hypervigilance, and depression among children.
Parents, too, feel the weight of uncertainty each morning as they send their children to school. Advocacy groups like Moms Demand Action argue that parents should not have to weigh the risk of violence every time their child leaves home. Teachers, meanwhile, increasingly serve as both educators and frontline defenders, expected to lock down classrooms and protect students with little more than training and courage.
Calls for reform: Guns, policy, and preventionThe repeated tragedies have sparked louder demands for reform. Gun safety organisations, survivors, and lawmakers are calling for:
Improved school safety infrastructure, from secure entryways to increased campus security officers. Still, the debate is polarised. Gun rights advocates argue that the Second Amendment guarantees individual freedoms, while gun control supporters emphasise that America is unique among developed nations in the frequency of school shootings.
A heavy burden on America’s conscienceDespite quick and heroic responses by teachers, administrators, and first responders, the cumulative toll of these tragedies is devastating. Communities cycle through grief, anger, and calls for change, while children carry scars — both physical and emotional — into their futures.
As Al Jazeera highlighted, the lack of a unified national definition of “school shootings” complicates efforts to track and address the crisis. But what remains uncontested is the scale of loss: dozens of young lives cut short in 2025 alone, and countless families forever altered.
The way forward requires balancing constitutional rights, public safety, and mental health priorities. But one fact is undeniable: the urgent need to protect children in schools is more pressing than ever.
Evergreen High School shooting : A fresh tragedy in ColoradoOn September 10, 2025, Evergreen High School in Colorado became the latest site of devastating gun violence when 16-year-old Desmond Holly opened fire both inside and outside the campus. According to ABC News
Two students were injured and hospitalised at St. Anthony Hospital, one in critical condition. The suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities later revealed Holly had been consuming extremist material online and may have been influenced by digital networks that glorify violence. Investigators, assisted by the FBI, searched his phone, locker, and home for evidence of radicalisation.
- Gun Violence Archive : 8 confirmed school shootings this year resulting in injury or death.
- Everytown for Gun Safety: 91 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2025 so far.
- Education Week: 30 school shootings resulting in deaths or injuries, as reported by Al Jazeera in August 2025
One of the most horrific attacks happened on August 27 at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, the attacker killed two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — and wounded 17 others before dying by suicide. Families and community members have since turned the children’s funerals into moments of both mourning and urgent advocacy for stricter gun laws.
Living in fear: The human impactAccording to ABC News, shootings on school grounds now occur nearly twice a week, leaving children, parents, and teachers traumatised and fearful. Students nationwide describe the constant anxiety of active-shooter drills, which have become as routine as fire alarms. Psychologists warn that these repeated exposures — even to simulated drills — can cause long-term stress, hypervigilance, and depression among children.
Parents, too, feel the weight of uncertainty each morning as they send their children to school. Advocacy groups like Moms Demand Action argue that parents should not have to weigh the risk of violence every time their child leaves home. Teachers, meanwhile, increasingly serve as both educators and frontline defenders, expected to lock down classrooms and protect students with little more than training and courage.
- Bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- Stricter background checks and red-flag laws to prevent access for at-risk individuals.
- Investment in mental health services to address the root causes of violent ideologies and radicalisation.
A heavy burden on America’s conscienceDespite quick and heroic responses by teachers, administrators, and first responders, the cumulative toll of these tragedies is devastating. Communities cycle through grief, anger, and calls for change, while children carry scars — both physical and emotional — into their futures.
As Al Jazeera highlighted, the lack of a unified national definition of “school shootings” complicates efforts to track and address the crisis. But what remains uncontested is the scale of loss: dozens of young lives cut short in 2025 alone, and countless families forever altered.
The way forward requires balancing constitutional rights, public safety, and mental health priorities. But one fact is undeniable: the urgent need to protect children in schools is more pressing than ever.
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