School shootings: Which state in the U.S. has the most school shootings?

Saturday marked 12 years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, and on Monday, a shooting at a school in Wisconsin became at least the 82nd school shooting this year.

Here is a look at some facts and statistics about school shootings in the U.S. and how frequently they occur.

5 facts about school shootings in the U.S.

2024 has had the same amount of school shootings as in 2023

According to CNN, there were at least 82 school shootings in 2023. This includes any school from kindergartens to universities.

As of Dec. 10, there had been 81 school shootings this year, with the shooting in Wisconsin on Monday bringing that number to at least 82, per CNN.

Last year, there were eight school shootings that happened in the last 25 days of the year.

2022 was the deadliest year for school shootings

Though there were fewer school shootings in 2022 than in 2023 and 2024, the most deaths from school shootings occurred in 2022, per CNN.

In 2022, there were 46 fatalities from shootings on school properties.

According to CNN, 19 students and two educators were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.

Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the U.S.

According to Sandy Hook Promise, deaths from firearms occur five times more often than drownings.

Sandy Hook Promise is “a national nonprofit organization founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.”

One out of 10 people who die from guns are under the age of 19. There 12 children who die from gun violence in the U.S. every day, and 32 more are injured, per Sandy Hook Promise.

While Texas has had the most overall school shootings, Washington, D.C., has the most relative to its population

According to CNN, since 2008 Texas has had 61 school shootings, the most out of all 50 states. The District of Columbia has the highest rate of school shootings relative to its population, with at least six shootings since 2008, per CNN.

This is about one for every 100,000 people.

The second highest rate per population was Louisiana, with at least 33 shootings, which is 0.71 shootings per 100,000 people.

Louisiana is followed by Maryland. Its six shootings since 2008 equal 0.61 school shootings per 100,000 people, according to CNN.

There are 5 states that haven’t had any school shootings since 2008

According to CNN, the five states that haven’t had a school shooting since 2008 are Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.