27 School Shootings In The First Half of 2022

 

May 30, 2022 ~ By Shari Rose 

In 2022, more children have been shot and killed than police officers on duty in the U.S.

So far in 2022, there have been 27 school shootings in the U.S. This year, more children have been killed by guns than on-duty police officers. While the atrocities committed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde earlier this month remind us of some of the largest mass shootings at schools in recent years, including Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 and Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, school shootings on a smaller scale are increasingly common, even normalized, in America. 

Which is to say, unless you live in a county where these shootings took place, you likely didn’t hear about them. Here’s a brief look at the 27 school shootings that have taken place in the first five months of 2022.

Robb Elementary School – Uvalde, TX

May 24, 2022

After shooting his grandmother at home, an 18-year-old man drove to Robb Elementary School with the intent to kill students. With police following closely behind, he entered the school, eventually shooting and killing 19 students and two teachers. For over an hour, officers with the Uvalde Police Department did not attempt to stop the gunman from killing students at the school. 

Students inside their classrooms called 911 a dozen times, but police refused to enter the classroom where the gunman had barricaded himself. Instead, they opted to wait for Border Patrol, who took over an hour to arrive on the scene. As parents arrived outside the school and begged officers to save their kids, police threatened, shoved, and even arrested them. Video after video has surfaced of authorities threatening parents outside Robb Elementary as an 18-year-old systematically kills their children with an AR-15-style rifle inside the school. 

In total, 21 people were killed and 17 were injured before authorities finally entered the classroom and killed the gunman. 

East Kentwood High School – Kentwood, MI

May 19, 2022

As students and families from Crossroads Alternative High School finished up their graduation ceremony on East Kentwood High School’s campus, a shooting between the occupants of two cars broke out in the parking lot. Two bystanders, a 16-year-old boy and 40-year-old woman were shot in the crossfire. They sustained non-life threatening injuries and were taken to hospitals. 

Less than a week later, two 18-year-olds were charged with felonies. On May 26, high school students from East Kentwood attended their own graduation ceremony with heightened security measures. 

When asked about the shooting, one parent of a recent graduate said, “It’s unfortunate that it happened here. But I mean, it’s happening everywhere.”

Walt Disney Magnet School – Chicago, IL

May 17, 2022

After an 8-year-old found a loaded gun under his mother’s bed, he brought the weapon to school. During his second grade class, it discharged in his backpack. The bullet hit the ground and debris ricocheted, hitting another 8-year-old student in the abdomen. The child suffered minor wounds. 

The boy’s mother was charged with 3 counts of child endangerment. She owned the gun legally.

Heights High School – Houston, TX

May 12, 2022

During lunchtime, a 17-year-old student stopped another student’s car in the school’s parking lot and shot the driver. He shot a total of 8 times, but the teenage victim survived the attack with non-life threatening injuries. 

Police arrested the 17-year-old the following day and found an “AK pistol” in his car. The alleged shooter was previously charged with two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in March 2022. 

Edmund Burke School – Washington, D.C.

April 22, 2022

As school was ending for the day, a 23-year-old man in a fifth-story apartment that faced the school began shooting. He legally bought four rifles, two handguns, and over one thousand rounds of ammunition for his attack. He fired more than 200 bullets at the school building and shot four people, including a 12-year-old girl. All victims survived the shooting. 

It took police five hours to find the shooter in his apartment. He posted multiple updates about the attack on 4chan and eventually shot himself in the head as police arrived at his door. 

After police found the shooter’s body, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee appeared before members of the media and said, “Our communities are now safe.”

Nearly two weeks later, Edmund Burke School reopened for classes. 

Erie High School – Erie, PA

April 5, 2022

In a hallway during the school day, a 14-year-old student shot a 15-year-old boy with a 9mm pistol. The victim was shot three times in abdomen and thigh, and a school nurse quickly found him to provide first aid. The child survived the shooting. 

The alleged shooter turned himself into police the next day. After the shooting, Erie School District announced it would install metal detectors at five different schools, including Erie High School. The district used pandemic relief funding to pay for the $1 million project. 

Brian Polito, Erie Schools superintendent, said in a statement, “We are devastated and angered by this senseless tragedy, and we are all hoping for the full and speedy recovery of the student involved.”

Tanglewood Middle School – Greenville, SC

March 31, 2022

In the school’s hallway between classes, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed another 12-year-old boy named Jamari Jackson. The alleged shooter was charged with murder, and authorities filed a waiver with family court to charge the middle schooler as an adult. It will ultimately be up to a judge to decide how the minor will be charged.

An attorney for Jamari’s family said in a statement, “This is a child and his family is going to grieve him forever.”

Jamari would have turned 13 in May.  

Oakdale Elementary School – Charlotte, NC

March 28, 2022

During a teacher workday in which no children were present on campus, a 16-year-old was shot on the elementary school’s athletic field. The teen survived the attack. An 18-year-old man and two minors were arrested in the shooting. The adult was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, and other charges. The minors were hospitalized with unspecified injuries, but may face future charges as well. 

Kingman Unified School District – Kingman, AZ

March 23, 2022

A 14-year-old student from Lee Williams High School brought a loaded .32-caliber pistol to school and took it out on the bus ride home after classes. Police believe he accidentally fired it and shot a 15-year-old sitting near him. The teenager was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. It’s not clear if authorities have charged the 14-year-old with any crimes in the shooting. 

Eisenhower High School – Yakima, WA

March 15, 2022

After school ended for the day, a 15-year-old boy shot and killed his 16-year-old cousin in the school’s parking lot. The victim, named Shawn Dwight Tolbert, was shot multiple times and later died at a hospital. An 18-year-old was also shot with non-life-threatening injuries. 

The 15-year-old was charged with second-degree murder, among other serious charges. 

Shawn’s obituary reads in part, “He was one of the most amazing, energetic, loving, caring, and biggest hearted men to so many, including a son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend.”

TechBoston Academy – Boston, MA

March 15, 2022

While standing in front of a bus after school, a 17-year-old student and 31-year-old teacher were shot in TechBoston Academy’s parking lot. They both survived with serious injuries. Two suspects, ages 16 and 17, were arrested a week after the shooting. Police later found a loaded Glock 19 handgun and .22 handgun in the teens’ possession.  

In a statement, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, “An event like this shakes a school community — and the larger community — to its core. But in talking to students and staff at TechBoston I came away convinced of their strength and resiliency.”

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School – Baltimore, MD

March 15, 2022

While standing outside the high school’s gym with other students, an 18-year-old was shot by an unknown assailant. The 18-year-old survived the attack with non-life threatening injuries.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, “We will be vigilant … in tracking down these individuals who saw it fit to be so cowardly and hazardous to come on school grounds to shoot a student right outside the school building. This is something as a city, a community, we cannot accept.”

It does not appear that police have charged anyone in the shooting. This is the third school shooting that happened on the same day in 2022. 

Justin F. Kimball High School – Dallas, TX

March 9, 2022

While sitting on a team bus after basketball practice, an 18-year-old student trainer was shot with a gun owned by a member of the team. Police say the loaded gun was hidden in a player’s bag and accidentally went off. The 18-year-old underwent surgery the following day and survived the shooting. 

The player who owned the gun was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Kimball High School’s basketball team played their scheduled game a day after the accidental shooting. 

This was unfortunately not the school’s first incidence of gun violence. During a 2020 basketball game between Kimball High School and South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, an 18-year-old was shot and killed. 

North Gardens High School – Miami Gardens, FL

March 9, 2022

While sitting in their classroom, an 18-year-old and 17-year-old student were shot in a drive-by shooting. Two other teens had opened fire on the school building from their car in the parking lot. Both victims were hospitalized but survived the attack. A third person who was walking past the building at the time of the shooting was also injured. 

The two teens were arrested the same day and charged with attempted first-degree murder. Police say they found a Glock handgun and rifle in the car. 

East High School – Des Moines, IA

March 7, 2022

A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting as he stood on a sidewalk in front of the high school. The teen, Jose David Lopez-Perez, was not a student of East High School. Two other teenagers, East High students, who were standing next to him during the shooting were also shot, but survived with serious injuries. 

A total of 10 teens were charged in Jose’s killing. They are all charged with first-degree murder, among other charges. 

In response to the shooting, President Joe Biden released a statement that reads in part, “Our young people should be safe in and around school, in their neighborhoods, and in their homes. Every American should be able to visit a house of worship, a grocery store, a night club, or any other place without fear of being gunned down.” 

Olathe East High School – Olathe, KS

March 4, 2022

After a school counselor received a tip that a student brought a gun to school, two assistant principals pulled the 18-year-old into their office. They called in a school resource officer to help search the teen’s backpack, but the 18-year-old pulled out a gun and fired five times when the officer arrived. He shot both the officer and one of the assistant principals.

Despite his injuries, the RSO shot the student and school officials were able to subdue him. All four people survived the shootings.

The 18-year-old had a ghost gun. He is charged with attempted capital murder. 

McKinley High School – Buffalo, NY

February 9, 2022

While a 14-year-old boy was being stabbed by a 17-year-old student in the school’s parking lot, a security guard with the school tried to intervene. However, he was shot by a different 17-year-old, who then shot a 13-year-old student as well. All victims survived the attacks, including the 14-year-old who was stabbed 10 times. 

The student who stabbed the high school freshman was charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault. The other 17-year-old who shot the security guard was charged with second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

In the immediate aftermath of the violence, Buffalo Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash spoke to members of the media, and said in part, “Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to continue to keep all of our students safe … We certainly want to pray for the young man in the hospital.”

Minneapolis Public Schools – Minneapolis, MN

February 9, 2022

While driving three students under the age of 10 home after school, a school bus driver was shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital and survived his injuries. The children on the bus were not harmed. Police do not believe the driver was the intended target, but it does not appear that anyone has been charged in the shooting yet. 

Two hours before that shooting, a 15-year-old student from North High School named Deshaun Hill was shot and killed in Minneapolis while walking down the street. 

Catonsville High School – Catonsville, MD

February 8, 2022

After school ended for the day, a 16-year-old student was shot by two other teens, ages 16 and 18, in the school’s parking lot. Police believe they then fled in the 18-year-old’s mother’s car. The teen was shot in the arm and survived his injuries after being taken to a hospital. Both teenagers were charged in the shooting.

Wenonah High School – Birmingham, AL

February 4, 2022

As a basketball game was ending in the school’s gym, a 16-year-old boy was shot outside the building. He survived the shooting. It does not appear that police have arrested any suspects. 

The shooting comes less than a month after Janiya Simmons, a freshman at Wenonah High School, was accidentally shot and killed by an 18-year-old playing with a loaded gun at a home in nearby Bessemer, AL. 

Rufus King High School – Milwaukee, WI

February 1, 2022

While standing outside the school’s gymnasium in a large group of people, four teenage girls and one 20-year-old woman were shot by a 34-year-old man. Police believe the shooter attempted to break up a fight by shooting into the ground, but the bullets ricocheted and hit multiple people. All five young women survived the shooting. The 34-year-old was charged with five counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.

The following week, parents of students at Rufus King High criticized the lack of communication from Milwaukee Public Schools, pointing out that they learned about the shooting from local news, and not the school district. Three days after the shooting, students at the school led a walkout to protest gun violence.

South Education Center – Richfield, MN

February 1, 2022

Around noon during the school day, three teenagers were shot on the sidewalk in front of their high school. A 15-year-old named Jahmari Rice was killed, and a 17-year-old was critically injured. A 19-year-old also suffered minor injuries. 

Two teenagers were charged with second-degree murder in the aftermath of the shooting. 

After Jahmari’s death, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz released a statement that reads in part, “As a dad, I know that hearing of a shooting by a school is a parent’s greatest fear. Minnesotans deserve to know that when they send their kids to school, they will come home safely.”

South Education Center announced in May that it will install metal detectors on campus. 

Beloit Memorial High School – Beloit, WI

January 29, 2022

After a basketball game ended on campus, a 19-year-old named Jion Broomfield was shot and killed in the school’s parking lot. He had graduated from Beloit Memorial High School the previous year. The alleged shooter, also 19 years old, was charged with first-degree reckless homicide.

Broomfield’s mother, Teresa Jackson, spoke with a local newspaper about her son after his death: “He was turning into what kind of man he was going to be and they took that from me. They took everything from me. He was somebody and he was going somewhere.”

Col. Zadok Magruder High School – Rockville, MD

January 21, 2022

In one of the school’s bathrooms during classes, a 17-year-old student shot a 15-year-old boy in the abdomen with a 9mm ghost gun. Since the shooting, the 15-year-old underwent a three-week long coma and has received nine surgeries. While recovering in the hospital, he turned 16. 

The 17-year-old will be tried as an adult. He was charged with first-degree attempted murder as well as second-degree attempted murder, among other charges. 

Oliver Citywide Academy – Pittsburgh, PA

January 19, 2022

While sitting in a school van parked outside campus, a 15-year-old named Marquis Campbell was shot and killed by two unknown assailants who approached the vehicle and fled. He was shot twice as students were let out of school for the day. 

It does not appear that police have arrested any suspects in Marquis’ murder. 

After the teen’s death, Pittsburgh Public Schools Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters met with staff members at Oliver Citywide Academy and spoke highly of Marquis, saying in part, “His sense of humor was infectious, and the staff member said that staff are inconsolable at this time because they loved him so much.”

Seminole High School – Sanford, FL

January 19, 2022

As an 18-year-old student walked out of a school bathroom, he was shot three times by a 16-year-old boy. The young man underwent surgery and survived the shooting. The 16-year-old was charged as an adult for attempted first-degree murder and other serious charges. 

Auburn High School – Rockford, IL

January 4, 2022

As two 17-year-olds sat in a car in the school’s parking lot during the afternoon, two other teens drove up to their vehicle and started firing. Both students survived the shooting with non-life threatening injuries. 

The alleged shooters, a 17- and 16-year-old, will be tried as adults. They face two counts of attempted murder among other charges. 

After the shooting, Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd spoke to the larger Rockford community about growing gun violence in the community: “You all know who the kids are, who are involved with the guns, who have access to guns—they’re your kids, they’re your neighbors, they’re your grandkids, they’re your nieces and nephews. Stop sitting on your bottoms and doing nothing about it. It’s not okay, it’s not okay.”

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