How many school shootings happen a year in wilmington delaware
Executive summary
Available reporting does not offer a single, authoritative annual count of “school shootings in Wilmington, Delaware.” Local news pieces document multiple incidents near or involving Wilmington schools — including a double shooting Oct. 8, 2025 that left a 16‑year‑old dead and another teen critically injured [1] [2] and an accidental shooting at a Wilmington‑area high school in April 2025 [3] — while state and national datasets note Delaware often has a high per‑student exposure rate but do not give a Wilmington‑only annual total in the supplied sources [4] [5].
1. What the local reporting actually records: episodic incidents, not a yearly total
Local outlets reported individual incidents in Wilmington: a double shooting near Maurice Pritchett Academy on Oct. 8, 2025 that killed a 16‑year‑old and critically wounded another teen [1] [2] [6], and an accidental shooting that prompted a police response to Las Américas ASPIRA High School on April 10, 2025 [3]. These pieces show that news coverage focuses on discrete events and investigations rather than compiling an annual citywide “school shootings” tally [1] [3].
2. Larger datasets and reports mention Delaware’s exposure but not a Wilmington annual count
A Delaware government shooting‑mapping report includes city-level shooting incidents for 2018–2019 and shows Wilmington dominated statewide shooting maps, but that document covers shooting incidents generally, not a year‑by‑year count limited to school‑grounds events in Wilmington [5]. National compilations and summaries (like the K‑12 School Shooting Database referenced in a 2025 roundup) highlight that Delaware and D.C. often rank high in student exposure rates because of their small populations — again a state‑level metric, not a clean Wilmington per‑year school shootings number in the sources provided [4].
3. Definitions matter: “school shooting” can mean different things
Sources cited show differing contexts: some incidents occur on school grounds, some nearby while children are present, and some involve accidental discharges investigated by state police [3] [6]. National trackers and media outlets use varying definitions — from any firearm discharging on campus to only incidents with fatalities — which changes counts dramatically [4]. The local news articles do not state they are using a standardized national definition when they report each event [1] [3].
4. What the coverage implies about frequency and trends in Wilmington
Local reporting and commentary indicate both alarming events and efforts yielding declines: a WHYY piece notes shootings in Wilmington fell to a six‑year low and a 47% decrease in shooting incidents year‑to‑date at that time, according to state or city statements — but that article addresses shootings broadly, not school‑specific incidents [7]. The episodic stories in 2024–2025 (March 2024 stray‑bullet near a charter school, April 2025 accidental discharge, October 2025 double shooting near a school) show multiple school‑related or school‑adjacent shootings over time, but do not sum to an annual total in these sources [8] [3] [1].
5. Why you won’t find a simple number in these sources
The supplied sources either report individual incidents, present state‑level shooting maps, or discuss exposure rates; none publish a verified, Wilmington‑only annual count of school shootings. When national trackers are mentioned in summaries, they report state totals or exposure rates but are not quoted here giving a Wilmington per‑year figure [5] [4]. Therefore, a precise yearly count for Wilmington schools is not available in the materials you provided.
6. How to get a defensible annual figure (next steps)
To produce a reliable Wilmington annual total, consult: (a) official Wilmington Police Department incident logs or press releases for firearm incidents on or immediately adjacent to school property; (b) Christina School District, Red Clay and other district safety reports for incidents on their campuses; and (c) national databases (K‑12 SSDB, Everytown) with filters set for Wilmington — none of these city‑specific totals appear in the current sources (available sources do not mention such a compiled Wilmington annual total). Using standardized definitions (e.g., any discharge vs. shots fired vs. firearm present) is essential because, as the reporting makes clear, definition choice changes the count [4] [5].
Limitations and competing viewpoints: the local press documents disturbing individual events and notes community responses [1] [2] [7], while statewide reports claim overall shooting reductions [7]. Both can be true: episodic school‑adjacent shootings occur even in a year when overall shootings trend down. The sources supplied do not resolve those tensions into a single Wilmington school‑shootings annual number [7] [1].