CNN’s weird list of school shootings indicates a completely arbitrary definition

If we’re going by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund list, there have been 42 school shootings. However, if you look at the list reported by CNN, the number of school shootings drops to 22, averaging to just over one school shooting per week.

Considering that Everytown has reported a “school shooting” every time a gun goes off accidentally, even if no one is harmed, it’s worth looking more closely at CNN’s list of 22 school shootings as well.

Now, for some clarity, here’s the original list that we reported on after Parkland, where some shootings that took place on a school campus didn’t really fit the conventional qualifications of a school shooting. You’ll note in the CNN list that between the beginning of 2018 and mid-February when Parkland happened, there were only eight school shootings by their count.

Here’s the list:

1. A Winston-Salem State University football player was shot and killed at a sorority party following an argument in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 20.

2. A 16-year-old male student shot a 15-year-old female student in the cafeteria at Italy High School in Italy, Texas, on Jan. 22. While the victim was injured, she was expected to make a full recovery. The shooter was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

3. A 15-year-old male student shot and killed two students and wounded 18 others at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23. The shooter was apprehended.

4. A 32-year-old man was shot and killed in the parking lot outside Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, Pa., on Jan. 31 during what police believed to be an altercation between students from rival schools. No suspects were arrested.

5. A 12-year-old female student accidentally fired a real gun thinking it was a fake gun. Four students were injured, including one who suffered a gunshot wound to the head, at Sal Castro Middle School in Los Angeles on Feb. 1. The 12-year-old girl was taken into custody.

6. A teenage boy was shot in the chest and nearly killed by another student who conspired with the boy’s ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 5. The suspect was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder.

7. A 17-year-old student was shot five times by another student outside of Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 9. The student was apprehended and charged with attempted criminal homicide. (One point to note here: This shooting didn’t make the original list of 18 school shootings in the first 45 days of 2018. It was added after the Parkland shooting.)

8. The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14 that left 17 dead and 17 others wounded. The shooter was apprehended and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Since Parkland, by CNN’s count, there were 14 more school shootings:

9. A student was shot multiple times and killed at Savannah State University in Savannah, Ga., on Feb. 24 by a man who did not attend the university. The man was arrested and charged with the student’s killing.

10. A non-student was shot and wounded with non-life-threatening injuries at a recreation center on the campus of Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Miss., on Feb. 27.

11. A student was shot and wounded in a dorm at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 27. The victim was treated with a non-life-threatening injury and a suspect was not found.

12. A student at Central Michigan University was arrested for shooting and killing his parents in Mount Pleasant, Mich., on March 2. The student was arrested and charged with two counts of open murder.

13. A student was shot inside their dormitory at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., on March 7, and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests were reported.

14. One student was killed and another was critically wounded after an accidental shooting at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Ala., on March 7.

15. One person was shot and hospitalized at an apartment complex located on the campus of University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., on March 8. No deaths and no arrests were reported.

16. A teacher accidentally fired a gun, injuring a student during a gun safety class at Seaside High School in Seaside, Calif., on March 13.

17. One student was shot and killed and another was wounded after a student opened fire at Great Mills High School in Lexington Park, Md., on March 20. A school resource officer pursued and fired a round at the shooter before the shooter took their own life.

18. A student shot another student with a BB gun at Gloversville Middle School in Gloversville, N.Y., on April 9. This incident is on par with a report that a 32-year-old man shooting a pellet gun at a school bus, shattering a window in the process in Forest City, Iowa, in early January.

19. A man was shot and wounded in the stomach in the parking lot of Raytown South Middle School in Raytown, Mo., on April 12 during a track meet.

20. A student was shot and wounded in the ankle shortly before a walkout to protest gun violence in schools took place at Forest High School in Ocala, Fla., on April 20.

21. A student was shot and wounded in the shoulder by another student at Highland High School in Palmdale, Calif. on May 11. The student was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

22. The shooting that took place at Sante Fe High School in Sante Fe, Texas, that left 10 people dead and 10 others wounded on Friday. The suspect was taken into custody.

As you can tell from the list, not all school shootings are equal. Some are more brutal and devastating than others. But by what metric is CNN using to qualify a school shooting? Their definition seems to be completely arbitrary. They’re not even consistent in their own network. CNN host Jake Tapper went on the air and said there have been nine school shootings so far this year.

His number is probably closer to being useful, instead of being intended just to scare people into regulating something.

But maybe it’s time we stop running in circles over what is and what is not a school shooting and actually try to come up with a comprehensive solution to stop them.