NCJ Number
130997
Journal
School Safety Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 31
Date Published
1991
Length
1 page
Annotation
This article reports on the results of a study of gun violence in the Nation's schools ("Caught in the Crossfire: A Report on Gun Violence in Our Nation's Schools"), conducted by the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
Abstract
The study focused on the increasing gun violence that is occurring in and around public and private schools since September 1986. Information for the report was abstracted from more than 2,500 school violence-related news stories recorded in newspapers across the Nation during the past 4 years. A total of 227 incidents were identified. The study found that in addition to the 71 people who have been killed with guns at school, another 201 were severely wounded; and 242 persons had been held hostage at gunpoint. Shootings or hostage situations in schools had occurred in at least 35 States and the District of Columbia. Males were most often the offenders as well as the victims. Teens from the ages of 14 to 17 were most at risk of gun violence at school, and such violence occurred most often in the hallways and classrooms. Gang or drug disputes were the leading cause of school gun violence. A handgun was most often the firearm used. One reason why gun violence is increasing in schools is the availability of guns to students. According to the 1987 National Adolescent Student Health Survey of 11,000 8th-grade and 10th-grade students, 40 percent of the males and almost 25 percent of the females reported that they could obtain a handgun.