Tools and Strategies

Gun Violence and Mass Shootings

A Sandy Hook Elementary School makeshift memorial on Berkshire Road in Newtown, CT 12 days after shooting of 26 people who were killed, twenty were children.

Bbjeter / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events

For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | 12 and up

Talking with Children about Gun Violence

The issue of gun violence and mass shootings is in the news frequently. Young people are usually aware of what is happening and will want to talk about it. However, it is a sensitive, scary, and potentially painful topic. Before raising the matter with young people, consider your child’s personality. To what extent will the conversation ease your child's fears or add to it? How does that influence what you say and how you say it? 

For some young people, it is more effective to be proactive and raise the topic without their prompting. For others, following their lead and their questions is a better approach. When you discuss this topic with young people, here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Be prepared yourself so you can be there for them emotionally. Make sure you have set aside enough time to hear children's thoughts, questions, and feelings.
  • Reassure them that the adults in their lives are there to help keep them safe. Provide accurate information about their school’s safety procedures and information about the ways in which they can remain safe. 
  • Be careful when describing the perpetrator. Do not stereotype and make assumptions about the person. Mental health is an example. One in four adults experience mental health issues annually. The majority of people with these issues are not violent.
  • Emphasize the helpers, including those who took care of and helped the victims. It is helpful to convey to children your concern and compassion. You can then think together with them about something you can do to help.

Selected Incidents of Extremist Mass Violence 2025-2026

2026

May 

On May 18, 2026, a 17-year-old and 18-year-old opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego in San Diego, California, killing three people. Armed with several weapons covered in white supremacist symbols and phrases, the shooters, who livestreamed the attack on a messaging platform, shot and killed three people before killing themselves. They left behind disturbing manifestos rife with hate speech and references to past mass killers. Writings also indicated an adherence to accelerationism, a white supremacist ideology that promotes violence to accelerate the collapse of society. 

March

On March 12, 2026, a 41-year-old Lebanese-born U.S. citizen rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The perpetrator reportedly died by self-inflicted gunshot wound after engaging in a shootout with temple security, which left one security guard injured. According to authorities, the suspect was motivated by Lebanon-based Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah and purposely targeted the Jewish community in the attack. Officials also noted that the suspect recently lost five family members in the Israel-Hamas war including his brother, an alleged Hezbollah commander. 

2025

September

On September 10, 2025, a 16-year-old opened fire at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, injuring two students before shooting himself. The shooter’s online footprint showed that he frequented online spaces dedicated to extremism and violence, including the gore site WatchPeopleDie. He also engaged with the True Crime Community (TCC) and posted content on social media referencing former mass killers.

On September 24, 2025, a 29-year-old shooter opened fire at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Dallas, Texas, killing two people and wounded one before dying by suicide. Jahn had inscribed “Anti-ICE” on his unused ammunition.  

On September 28, 2025, a 40-year-old perpetrator drove a pickup truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. The man then opened fire on congregants and set it ablaze, killing four and injuring eight others before being killed by law enforcement. According to the FBI, the suspect was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against the Mormon church. 

August

On August 27, 2025, a 23-year-old shooter fired into Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing two children and injuring at least a dozen more before killing themselves. Investigations revealed the shooter held a deep fascination with mass killers, researched them extensively, and wrote extremist mass shooting-related inscriptions on the weapons they used in the attack. 

May

On May 21, 2025, a 30-year-old suspect opened fire outside the American Jewish Committee Young Diplomats event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., killing two. The victims were later identified as Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. The suspect, who was allegedly motivated by extreme anti-Israel beliefs, shouted, “Free, free Palestine" as he was taken into custody. 

April

On April 17, 2025, a 20-year-old Florida State University (FSU) student opened fire on individuals at the FSU campus in Tallahassee, Florida, killing two and wounding several more before being shot and taken into custody by law enforcement. Though the motive for the shooting remains unclear, the suspect had a history of using white supremacist imagery on social media, and some of his peers described him as “far-right,” alleging he espoused “white supremacist rhetoric.” 

January

On January 22, 2025, a 17-year-old opened fire inside the cafeteria at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, killing one student and injuring another before taking his own life. The shooter, who was Black, was fueled by violent misanthropic views, anti-Black hate and extremist beliefs including inceldom and antisemitism. He also posted content related to the True Crime Community (TCC) on social media and frequented the gore forum WatchPeopleDie, which has been linked to other mass shooters.  

What can be done about gun violence?

Mass shootings often raise a lot of feelings that range from sadness and heartbreak to anger and frustration. They also usually lead to a public conversation about gun laws and what our government can and should do. In 2012 after the mass shooting of twenty young children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, President Obama proposed legislation to overhaul gun laws. The proposals included universal background checks, new and expanded assault weapon and high-capacity magazine bans and other measures to prevent mass shootings. Several months later, it failed to pass the Senate.

What are mass shootings?

Understanding mass shootings, typically defined as the murder of four or more people, school shootings and other gun-related deaths, is complex. According to a Congressional  Research Service in 2013, there had been 78 mass murders carried out with guns during the thirty-year period of 1982-2012. Because there is not one standard way to tally the number of mass school shootings, in the period between 2000 and 2013, the FBI identified 160 active shooter incidents, where one or more shooters were actively engaged in killing or attempted killing in a confined and populated location. It used this definition to describe instances like Sandy Hook or the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Since 2011, the rate of mass shootings has tripled.

The second amendment

Defenders of gun rights say that proposed gun regulations violate the Second Amendment. The second amendment states: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  After the Newtown shooting, the president of the National Rifle Association, (NRA) a national nonprofit organization that advocates and lobbies for gun rights, spoke about the incident. He said, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Indeed, many people believe that guns prevent crime from happening.

Gun violence in the U.S.

In addition to mass shootings, there are other relevant numbers about gun violence in the states. More than 32,000 people per year are killed by guns—which translates to approximately 88 gun deaths per day. Compared to peer nations, including Germany, England and Canada, people are much more likely to die from guns in the U.S. than in other countries.

According to the Pew Research Center's 2021 opinion poll on Americans and guns, almost half of Americans (48%) see gun violence as a very big problem in our country today. In addition, the percentage of the public who agree that we should: 

  • Prevent people who are mentally ill from purchasing guns: 87% 
  • Make private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks: 81%
  • Create a federal database to track gun sales: 66%
  • Ban high-capacity ammunition magazines: 64%
  • Ban assault-style weapons: 63%

When mass shootings occur, people frequently search for the reason and often mental illness is cited as the culprit. It is much more complicated than that; it is difficult to come up with one reason or risk factor. There are usually a multitude of reasons for these shootings including but not limited to: domestic terrorism, availability of guns, romanticism with violence and multiple risk factors operating simultaneously (e.g., depression, narcissism, alienation, lack of trust, poor coping skills, fascination with violence-filled entertainment, revenge fantasies, attempted suicide attempts in the past, etc.).

Age

12 and up

Questions to Start the Conversation

  • How do you feel about what you know and have heard about gun violence and mass shootings? What else do you want to know?
  • Do you know people who have different opinions on gun violence? What do they say and how does this influence (or not) your point of view?
  • What do you think should be done to keep people safe from gun violence?
  • Why do you think so many people feel it is important to protect people’s right to own guns?
  • Why do you think there are so many more mass shootings than there used to be?

Questions to Dig Deeper

  • What can we do “to get our government to do something about gun violence” as President Obama urged after the 2015 school shooting in Oregon?
  • How is the NRA successful in making their case that guns should not be regulated more than they already are?
  • Why do you think that Congress has not been able to pass the legislation to try to prevent mass shootings?

Ideas for Taking Action

Ask: What can we do to help? What actions might make a difference? 

  • Write a letter to your members of Congress (or to the school or local newspaper) that conveys your position about gun violence and what you think should be done about it.
  • Educate others about this topic by sharing information on social media, engaging in personal conversations or organizing an educational forum or debate in school.
  • Join with or hold a fundraiser to support gun violence prevention advocacy organizations such as Newtown Action Alliance, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand.  

Additional Resources

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