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Articles on US gun violence

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Two mourners embrace at a memorial for those killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Five years after Parkland, school shootings haven’t stopped, and kill more people

Some Americans hoped the Parkland shooting in 2018 would herald a turning point for gun violence in schools. Shootings, and deaths, have continued – and gotten more frequent.
The mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, Calif., is the latest in an endless string of gun violence tragedies. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Horror and anguish are playing out on repeat following the latest mass shooting – and the mental health scars extend far beyond those directly affected

Even people who are only indirectly exposed to these repeat tragedies, such as first responders and those affected by media coverage, can experience profound and long-lasting grief.
Reenactments of Old West gunfights, like this one at a tourist attraction in Texas in 2014, are part of the mythology underpinning the United States’ gun culture. Carol M. Highsmith via Library of Congress

American gun culture is based on frontier mythology – but ignores how common gun restrictions were in the Old West

A scholar of gun culture looks at the roots of Americans’ love affair with firearms – and their willingness to accept gun violence as a price of freedom.
In this photo from 2016, students pass through a security checkpoint at William Hackett Middle School in Albany, N.Y., with guards, bag inspections and a metal detector. AP Photo/Mike Groll

Does hardening schools make students safer?

Surveillance cameras, metal detectors, door-locking systems and armed guards have not prevented school shootings. A school safety scholar examines other possible approaches.
Restrictive gun laws bring down the murder rate. Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

5 ways to reduce school shootings

Risk assessments and rigid gun laws are among the tools that can help prevent school massacres, a specialist in youth aggression says.
The latest mass shooting, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has plunged the country into yet another cycle of collective trauma. Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Mass shootings leave behind collective despair, anguish and trauma at many societal levels

People who are directly affected by mass shootings may develop PTSD and depression. But those who are indirectly exposed to these tragedies can also experience profound and long-lasting grief.
The archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, comforts families following a deadly school shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills

What we know about mass school shootings in the US – and the gunmen who carry them out

Of the 13 mass school shootings that have taken place in the US, the three most deadly occurred in the last decade. Data from these attacks helped criminologists build a profile of the gunmen.

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