Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in school shootings nationwide. In 2014, there were 47 school shootings compared to 229 in 2024, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.

The database includes any act of gun violence on K-12 public, private and charter school campuses, including mass shootings, gang shootings, domestic violence, shootings at sports games, after-hours school events, suicides and other incidents, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. 

Megan Walsh, director of the University of Minnesota’s Gun Violence Prevention Law Clinic, said people think their children will be subject to gun violence at school more now than decades ago. 

“Gun violence has become so commonplace that every teacher in America is thinking about how they are going to protect their children every year that they are in school,” Walsh said. 

A shooting on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, left two teachers and two students dead. The suspected shooter was a 14-year-old boy who was able to access an AR-15.

“What we are really seeing is just a tremendous amount of confusion from most Americans about why anybody needs an AR-15,” Walsh said. “They don’t need it for hunting. They don’t need it to defend themselves. They are primarily in the news because they are being used in mass shootings and harming people who are innocent.” 

Chad Nowlan, a 2024 graduate who participated in the Gun Violence Prevention Clinic, said there are a number of states working on voluntary surrender laws that would allow licensed firearm dealers to surrender their guns temporarily when they believe someone in their household may become a threat to safety. 

“It angers me because it reminds me that there are solutions people are working on that they have put on the table, yet legislatures don’t act on them,” Nowlan said.

Nowlan said it is getting harder and harder to find a group of people who have not been impacted by gun violence in some way.

“Often, you hear survivors of gun violence share their story about how they are unable to be in public spaces, they have a hard time leaving their homes, every time they hear a loud noise they panic,” Nowlan said. “There are so many things that stick with people and ways that trauma manifests itself.” 

Luke Rexing, a fourth-year student, said there is a concern about gun violence on and around campus unrelated to school shootings. 

Rexing said he was walking in Dinkytown the night of a double homicide at Royal Cigar & Tobacco in December. The experience made him realize how close the danger could be, even though it was not directed at him, he said.

When it comes to who is able to access a gun, Rexing said there needs to be stricter regulations. 

“It needs to be drilled into people’s minds that this is a weapon that can kill someone and can take someone’s life, so you need to keep it safe and use it responsibly,” Rexing said. 

Rexing said he understands training all teachers to use guns may not be realistic, but it would be interesting to see how that could work.  

“I know there have been conversations about stationing more police in schools and things like that, but I think giving more power to the people is generally a good thing,” Rexing said.

Walsh said teachers do not want to bear the responsibility of shooting anyone and having more people armed in schools is not going to solve the problem.

“Guns are not making us safer,” Walsh said. “They are making people die, and they do not belong in schools.” 

Walsh said gun control is a decisive issue for voters with Second Amendment rights, and causes tremendous polarization. 

“You have Republicans wearing AR-15 pins in Congress, and you have Democrats calling for an AR-15 ban,” Walsh said. “It’s a pretty big dichotomy.” 

Walsh said having a national party focus on the issue of gun violence on the last and most important day of the Democratic National Convention shows how important the issue is to voters. She added that 15 years ago, this would never have been a focus. 

Walsh said Democrats are calling for things to keep people safer. 

“They are not trying to take guns from hunters, they are not trying to take handguns from legally responsible owners,” Walsh said. “They are trying to make sure that 14-year-olds don’t get an AR-15 and kill their fellow students.” 

Nowlan said the country has to maintain hope that things can change.

“I think we can all collectively agree regardless of political affiliation that we should at least try to do better and leave the world better than we found it for our kids and the next generations to come,” Nowlan said.