The rate of school-related gun violence has increased substantially post-pandemic. Since 2021, there have been at least 50 incidents of school-related gun violence with one victim annually. From 2010 to 2019, the figure never surpassed 30.

In 2024 alone, there were 330 incidents of school gun violence, meaning a gun was fired or brandished with the purpose of causing harm. In January 2025, there have already been twelve. While the reason for the increase is not entirely known, it still raises alarming concerns for members of school communities.

“I think that the increase in gun violence will definitely increase students’ fears,” March for Our Lives member Kate Krugman said. “Students shouldn’t have to be scared in classrooms in the first place and the increasing rise in gun violence is making it difficult to be at ease.”

Krugman said even though nothing has happened at Midtown, students’ fears are rising every day.

“I don’t think students’ lives at Midtown are super impacted yet, ” Krugman said. “However, all it’ll take is one incident. And the likelihood of something happening here increases every day, at an alarming rate.”

Midtown parent and social studies teacher Mary Van Atta said gun violence is something she always has to think about.

“School violence always worries me,” Van Atta said. “I remember teaching when Columbine happened. I was not a parent at the time, but now that I am a parent, I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about it since he was in elementary school, middle school and now high school. I don’t think about it all the time, but it is something I have to consider and plan for. “

It is not just violence in schools that is on the rise, gun-based crime as a whole has also seen a notable uptick in recent years. Midtown’s school psychologist, Dr. David Hosking, believes the violence in schools mirrors bigger societal problems.

“What happens in schools largely reflects what’s happening in society,” Dr. Hosking said. “Schools have to deal with every issue and problem that society in general is having, so really what we’re witnessing here is no different than what American culture is dealing with.”

Krugman said there needs to be measures in place to protect students.

“I think that the first order of gun protection should be extreme vetting,” Krugman said. “Guns should only be given to people over the age of 21 with licenses and those licenses should have mandatory testing and retesting every few years.”

Harmful outside influences can also act as an echo chamber for stress and negative influences when it comes to violence. Dr. Hosking stressed that outside factors such as social media act as an amplifier for anxiety.

“What I’m going to comment on is your relationship with [social media] and the content you get from it,” Dr. Hosking said. “I think it can influence how you feel if you’re watching a lot of fight-related videos and violence-related photos or video, or if you’re watching the news, I mean, there’s shootings across the country, there’s war in Europe. There’s a lot going on. If you’re really taking in a lot of that information, how could it not affect you? I mean, it just, as humans, raises your anxiety and makes you wonder about the world you’re living in.”

Van Atta also believes social media contributes to the increase in violence.

“A more important cause of violence has likely been social media,” Van Atta said. “Of course, I can imagine everyone being stuck at home could have contributed to some violence, but for me, I feel the trajectory was starting pre-pandemic.”

Dr. Hosking said students pick up on the emotions of others– meaning if adults are worried about gun violence then students will be scared.

“Kids and young adults really read us,” Dr. Hosking said. “You all are reading us all the time. So if we are not feeling safe or comfortable or are showing fear, then you all will pick up on that. No doubt that in schools, safety measures have increased. I mean, it’s crazy what they’re doing now versus when I was in high school, there was no such thing as a metal detector that we would have to go through. We have resource officers, we have bomb-sniffing dogs that might come through and drug-sniffing dogs. And there’s just so many layers of protection that have been poured into schools. It can’t help but elevate a sense of anxiety.”

Van Atta describes the emotional toll of living and working in a world with high levels of gun violence.

“Every single time there is a gun incident or a mass shooting at a school, I feel like as a teacher and as a parent a little portion of me is taken away, a little portion of my safety and security is taken away because this is happening in my workplace, in the place where my child spends the majority of his time,” Van Atta said.