School shootings, such as the one at Evergreen High School in Colorado on Sept. 10, and other shootings, such as the shooting of influencer Charlie Kirk also on Sept. 10, have become a regular part of our society.

So far in 2025, as of Sept. 12, there have been 47 school shooting incidents in the United States, according to CNN. Out of those, 24 were on college campuses, while 23 were on K-12 school properties. When looking at these 47 incidents, 19 people have been killed, and 77 others have been injured.

When looking at data, there has been a clear growth in shooting incidents over the years. From 2008 to 2019, there were 369 incidents. From 2021 to so far in 2025, there were 369 incidents. That means that, in the last five years, there were as many shooting incidents as the previous 12 years before that.

Along with school shootings, general gun violence is continuously rising. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 46,728 people died from gun-related injuries in 2023, which was the most recent year that it had compete data.

Many people are calling for efforts to “fix” this problem, but there is not one easy solution. Some people say that guns just need to be taken away, but you can’t. The Second Amendment guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.” Some people say that adults just need to keep firearms out of access of children, but that is not easily enforceable. Some people say that governments just need to have higher age limits for purchasing guns, but like with alcohol, age restrictions also often don’t work. Some people say that governments just need to have more intense background checks, which could make obtaining a gun more difficult for some, but sometimes, those committing gun violence obtain firearms illegally anyhow. There is not one single way to fix the issue in a way that keeps everyone involved content.

However, maybe a start to solving this problem lies in investing in areas, like education, and addressing other issues, like mental health. When asked, many people say that they believe school shootings happen because of mental health issues. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic left many in poor mental states, but that is just one factor to this violence. But, this constant drumbeat of gun violence could umbrella under mental health issues.

Although, current government officials – people who hold some of the greatest influence on other people – have also shown hesitance or indifference to resolving these issues. President Donald Trump promised in his State of the Union address, “So long as I am president, I will always protect your Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.” Trump has also said, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Likewise, even Charlie Kirk said in 2023, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” If public figures chalk up deaths by gun violence as a normal part of life, it does not bode well for fixing issues.

27aarias@usd489.com