Fact check: Number of school shootings in the past 10 yrs by country

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal a stark disparity in school shooting incidents globally over the past decade, with the United States dramatically leading all other nations. According to the data, the US experienced at least 288 school shootings between January 1, 2009 and 2018 ^[1], which represents 57 times as many shootings as the other six G7 countries combined ^[2].

The second-highest country, Mexico, recorded only 8 incidents during the same period ^[1], highlighting the enormous gap between the US and other nations. Other countries mentioned include Russia, Yemen, the Philippines, and Uganda, which have higher numbers of public mass shootings generally, but still significantly lower than US figures ^[3].

Recent data shows the problem is escalating in the United States, with 44 school shooting incidents occurring in 2025 alone, resulting in 18 deaths and 74 injuries ^[4]. The years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 all set records for the most school shooting incidents ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original query lacks several critical contextual elements that emerge from the analyses:

• Definitional variations: Different databases and organizations use varying definitions to track school shootings, which can affect comparative statistics ^[5]
• Broader violence context: While focusing on shootings, the analyses reveal that some countries face different forms of school violence - for example, Ecuador experiences severe school violence from organized criminal groups, resulting in the highest homicide rate in Latin America ^[6]
• Contributing factors: The data shows that school shootings are influenced by mental illness, family dysfunction, and bullying ^[1], suggesting the issue extends beyond simple incident counts
• Scale of US gun violence: The school shooting problem exists within a broader context where the US experiences over 488 mass shootings annually and over 50 daily firearm deaths ^[7]

Organizations and researchers studying gun violence would benefit from continued funding and attention to this issue, while gun rights advocates might benefit from emphasizing definitional inconsistencies or focusing on other forms of violence in different countries.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement appears neutral as a data request, but it lacks important qualifications:

• No acknowledgment of definitional challenges: The query doesn't recognize that "school shooting" definitions vary significantly between tracking organizations and countries ^[5]
• Missing context about data availability: The analyses reveal that comprehensive international data is limited, with some sources focusing primarily on US incidents or specific regions
• Oversimplification of complex issue: By requesting only numerical counts, the query potentially obscures the multifaceted nature of school violence, which includes different types of incidents and contributing factors across various cultural and political contexts

The framing could inadvertently promote a narrow focus on incident counts rather than understanding the systemic factors that contribute to school violence globally, potentially benefiting those who prefer simple statistical comparisons over comprehensive policy discussions.