The frequency of mass shootings have now become a common issue, and a phenomenon that has become an increasing trend. Mass shootings occur with such frequency that what should be a paralyzing and nationwide mourning, when it occurs, is arguably reduced to a simple social media scroll and comment. Community events, concerts, schools, parties, political elections and other gathering occasions are now targets for shootings instead of a place to interact with friends and family.
According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), since 2014, mass shootings have increased at a dangerous pace, with 2014 being the lowest with 273 mass shootings and 2021 being the highest with 690 shootings. This year is currently at 356, leaving at least 300 people dead and 1,600 injured.
Mass shootings have been happening for decades, since citizens have been able to obtain guns, but the number has only increased and become deadlier as the weapons and motives become more complex. Several factors contribute to the observed increase in gun violence. These include mental health crises, hate crimes, political rhetoric, socioeconomic factors, weak gun laws, increased gun ownership, social media, and domestic violence.
There have been several threats and mass shootings across the nation at HBCUs, with a few happening recently. On Oct. 25 at Howard University, a shooting occurred during their homecoming around 8:20 p.m., where three men, one woman, and a teenager were injured with non-life-threatening injuries.
“Whether they’re young people or adults with guns, we need folks to put these guns down in our city. What we do know is that this is Howard’s homecoming, and most of the homecoming festivities around our cities are joyous occasions for our families to come out and enjoy a good time,” Police Chief Pamela Smith said, per WTOP.
The shooting occurred during a reception for alumni during the festive homecoming weekend.
“We’re not going to tolerate individuals coming into our cities with firearms and don’t think for one second that we’re not going to look for you and search for you and find you. We will hold you accountable,” Smith said. According to NBC Washington, a fight broke out between two individuals, followed by gunfire; both suspects are in police custody.
On the same day in Pennsylvania, Lincoln University had seven students who were victims of a shooting that claimed one person’s life, and the conditions of the other six are currently unknown. “This is a devastating night in southern Chester County at Lincoln University,” District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe told reporters on Oct. 26. “It was a chaotic scene and people fled in every direction.”
Gunfire erupted at around 9:30 p.m. during a “tailgate celebration” near the football stadium at the historic Chester County campus, according to officials. De Barrena-Sarobe said that several other attendees were injured as they fled from the gunfire, but did not specify a number.
De Barrena-Sarobe would not confirm if multiple shooters were responsible for the deadly gunfire, but said it did not appear to be a planned attack.
“We’re operating as if this is not an incident where someone came in with the design to inflict mass damage on a college campus,” he said.
Police detained a person in possession of a gun. No charges announced as of yet.
High school students are also experiencing this, as over 25 shootings took place on K-12 school grounds this year. A total of 64 shootings have occurred this year alone, causing 26 deaths and almost 100 other victims injured, according to CNN’s analysis of events reported by GVA, Education Week, and Everytown for Gun Safety. Since 2021, there has been an increase in school shootings, with last year having 83 shootings.
The increase in mass shootings coincided with an overall rise in gun violence starting during the pandemic. The US firearm homicide rate in 2020 was the highest recorded since 1994, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between 2019 and 2020, the overall firearm homicide rate increased about 35 percent, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The number jumped in 2023 to nearly 47,000 people who died of gun-related injuries; 58 percent of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (27,300), while 38 percent were murders (17,927). The remaining gun deaths that year involved law enforcement (604), were accidental (463), or had undetermined circumstances (434), according to CDC data.
According to intelligence reports and analyses by extremism researchers, there has been an increase in online chatter from right-wing extremist groups regarding potential violence following the 2024 U.S. election. This trend is driven by persistent conspiracy theories and amplified by online platforms. Last night Trump said the elections were rigged per CNN.
In the last few months, the public has seen conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated while speaking at a college in Utah. That same day, a student opened fire at a Colorado high school, critically wounding two peers. Just two weeks earlier, a mass shooting at a Minnesota Catholic church killed two children and injured 21 others.
Even with all of this, adults, especially young ones, are still divided on gun law changes.
According to a study done at the University of Colorado Boulder, More than 60 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 worry that a mass shooting will impact their lives in some way. But when it comes to sentiments about gun control, the age group dubbed the “massacre generation” is deeply divided.
“This is a generation of people who live with significant fear and anxiety over mass violence,” said senior author Jillian Turanovic, associate professor of sociology. “But we found that those shared fears do not unite them in attitudes on gun policy. In fact, they polarize them.”
National polls by Pew and Gallup have suggested that the 18- to 29-year-old set is more liberal in general and more favorable toward gun restrictions than older generations.
When asked about viewpoints on gun control, the responses were strikingly varied.
While 58 percent of respondents said that owning a gun does not make you safer, 42 percent said that it does; 32 percent said they believe that guns should be permitted on college campuses; 32 percent indicated that a permit should not be required to carry a firearm in public; and 42 percent said gun control laws are unconstitutional.
Overall, those who feared mass violence more tended to have modestly higher support for gun control. But this pattern did not hold for Republicans, conservatives, and men.
For them, the opposite was true: The more they feared mass shootings, the more they viewed expanded access to guns as a solution.
“This shows that emerging adults today are very divided in their gun control sentiment, and those divisions are most pronounced when fear of mass shootings runs high,” she said.
At a minimum, Turanovic said she hopes the data in her study on fear itself will serve as a wake-up call to policymakers, nudging them to boost mental health support for the ‘massacre generation.”
Addressing gun violence requires a multifaceted approach that tackles both the immediate causes and the underlying factors. Potential solutions include:
• Strengthening Gun Laws: Implementing universal background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and enacting red flag laws can help reduce access to firearms for individuals at risk of violence.
• Investing in Community-Based Violence Prevention Programs: These programs focus on addressing the root causes of violence and providing support to individuals and communities at risk.
• Improving Mental Health Care: Increasing access to mental health services and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness can help prevent gun violence.
• Promoting Safe Gun Storage: Encouraging responsible gun ownership practices, such as storing firearms unloaded and locked away, can help prevent unintentional shootings and suicides.
• Addressing Socioeconomic Disparities: Investing in education, job training, and affordable housing can help reduce poverty and inequality, creating more stable and resilient communities.