109 incidents. That’s how many reports there have been of gunfire incidents on school grounds in the United States since the beginning of 2025. These tragic shootings took place on both college campuses and in K-12 schools across the nation. Killing 33 people and injuring at least 106 victims, gun violence continues to be a rising issue in our society today, instilling fear in staff, students, families, and the nation as a whole.

2025 itself has had a spike in school shootings, but it corroborates the trends over the recent years. There has been an increase in school shootings, and the number of shootings has skyrocketed in the years after the pandemic, higher than ever before. 

According to CNN, the majority of the United States has had school shootings, except for Wyoming, Montana, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, which haven’t encountered any school shootings since 2008. 

Junior Anusha Arun speaks on gun violence, and she believes it is becoming a more prominent issue in today’s society.

“It’s obviously a rising issue, and it has been an issue in the past too, but I think recently it’s been getting worse,” Arun said.

Coverage is a prominent part of making sure the details of events like shootings are reported and acted upon. Some believe that the news coverage of shootings contributes to its domino effect. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, some school shootings have more media coverage compared to others. However, findings related to the shooter’s background have contributed to the amount of coverage an incident gets.

“The findings reveal that school shooters with a criminal record, who have psychological issues, committed a shooting post-Columbine, and who injured or killed more victims received more coverage,” the study said.

Ratheesh believes that these incidents don’t receive enough coverage, stating that certain political events are receiving more media attention compared to school shootings.

“Recently, other political events have been taking precedence over gun violence incidents at school, especially like the shooting of Charlie Kirk, which probably got a lot more media coverage than the school shooting that happened the same day,” Ratheesh said. 

The district has enforced many policies and drills in the case of any emergency, and the ALICE drill is one designed for intruders, which in this case can be implemented during a school shooting. Having these drills is important for student safety, and they ensure precaution for possible gun violence incidents. 

Ratheesh talks about the effectiveness of these measures and what could be done to reduce gun violence.

“I think in terms of what the school and district can do, it’s pretty effective, especially now that in the ALICE drill, there’s the option to leave the school if the shooter or the intruder isn’t near your classroom,” Ratheesh said. “But I do think that on a federal level, the government should do more to legislate gun laws.”

Recently, the usage of the phrase “gun violence spares no one” has been widespread throughout multiple social media posts and platforms. Because data related to school shootings and gun violence have spiked recently, teens are starting to notice how serious and frequent these situations are. 

Arun highlights how important this issue is becoming nationwide.

“I think teens in high school, like not just at Metea, but around the country, are starting to really understand how bad gun violence is,” Arun said.