Gun Violence at U.S. Schools Rises Sharply

The Commercial Appeal A fatal shooting in Oregon on Tuesday was the 31st firearms attack at a U.S. school since the  by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">start of the year, marking a sharp acceleration in the rash of violence that has occurred on campuses across the nation. The incidents range from the 20 people shot near UC Santa Barbara less than  by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">threeweeks ago to gunfire that resulted in no injuries at all. The frequency of attacks has picked up since the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., where 20 first-graders and six adults were gunned down. In the 18 months since that tragedy, 41 deaths have occurred in 62 documented incidents at U.S. schools. In the 18 months before that attack, there were 17 deaths in 17 incidents. Everytown.org, a group that promotes gun  by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">safety, lists 72 incidents since Sandy Hook. The increase comes at a time when all types of violent gun deaths have been essentially  by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro"> by Freeven pro">flat since about 2000, following a sharp drop since the 1980s, when such deaths peaked in the U.S.