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                            Library & Multimedia
 Using Open-source Data to Better Understand and Respond to American School Shootings: Introducing and Exploring the American School Shooting Study (TASSS)
NCJ Number
              307207
Journal

*Journal of School Violence* Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: 2022 Pages: 93-118
Author(s)
          Joshua D. Freilich;
                        Steven M. Chermak;
                        Nadine M. Connell;
                        Brent R. Klein;
                        Emily A. Greene-Colozzi
Date Published

2022
Length
              26 pages
Annotation
              This paper introduces the American School Shooting Study (TASSS), which uses open-source data to understand and respond to school shootings.
Abstract
              This study uses open source information to examine school shootings in the United States for the 1990–2016 period and outlines how these findings could aid policymakers and highlight issues that future research could address with these data. The authors also describe their open source collection procedures, the amount and type of information uncovered, and how they assessed their quality. The authors aim to set a standard for more transparent open source data collection processes and enhance the data’s rigor to provide important context to the larger policy discussions about school shootings. The authors innovatively created a national-level database to address the gaps in existing research and identified 652 school shootings. These shootings included 473 intentional shootings (encompassing 354 with known offenders and 119 with unknown perpetrators), 102 suicide only shootings, 73 accidental discharges and 4 legally justified shootings. Most school shootings were committed outside of the school building (e.g., school yard), by non-students, during non-school hours and were sometimes motivated by non-school issues such as gang disputes. Almost 56% of the intentional shootings resulted in no deaths and mass homicide shootings were outliers. No clear time trend emerged. Importantly, proportionally more of the non-juvenile offenders committed fatal shootings. While the vast majority of attacks targeted high schools, those against elementary schools were more deadly. (Published Abstract Provided)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2016-CK-BX-0013
                                2018-R2-CX-0002


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)


  
  
        
  Award
        Understanding the Causes of School Violence Using Open Source Data
                                Pathways to School Shootings: An Integrated Developmental and Life Course Criminological Approach
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2022
    
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        Research and development
        Shooting
        High schools
        Juvenile (under 18)



  
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