School shootings have risen more than 50% in the last year. What can we learn from these events, and more importantly, how can we stop them before lives are lost?

In May of 2021, I published an article, “Are We Facing a Tsunami of Mass Shootings?” I am afraid my prediction has come true. What can we learn from these events, and more importantly, how can we stop them before lives are lost?

The number of active shooter incidents in the U.S. rose by 52.5% from 2020 to 2021, and over four years, from 2017 to 2021, there was a 96.8% increase, the FBI said in a report published Monday.

The FBI defines an active shooter as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.” The definition implies using a firearm, and the “active” descriptor refers to the “ongoing nature of an incident, and thus the potential for the response to affect the outcome.”

The bureau noted that the data shows “an upward trend over those four years.” In 2021, the FBI designated 61 shootings in 30 states as “active shooter incidents,” resulting in 103 people killed and 140 wounded, excluding the gunmen. Last year saw the highest number of deaths due to active shootings – 103 total – since 2017, a whopping 171% increase from 2020.

In the last three weeks, we have seen several tragic active shootings. On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, United States, at a Tops Friendly Markets store, a supermarket in the East Side neighborhood. Ten people were killed, and three other people were injured. The shooter live-streamed the attack on Twitch. On May 24, 2022, 1 ...