S.C. study reveals school shooting trends, sparks gun storage debate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - New research conducted at the University of South Carolina has identified key patterns in school shootings across the United States.

The research reveals they are less common than many believe and typically involve young men who accessed unsecured firearms from family members.

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The study, co-led by USC Assistant Professor of Criminology Brent Klein with help from USC students, analyzed school shooting incidents to better understand when and where they occur, who the perpetrators typically are, and how they obtain weapons.

“We found some patterns that are pretty striking as well as consistent with what we know about youth firearms violence more generally,” Klein said.

Key findings point to unsecured weapons

One of the most significant findings was that approximately 42% of school shooters had taken a firearm from a relative, and that weapon was used directly in the shooting incident.

Klein launched the research several years ago after recognizing a lack of empirical data about school shootings in the United States.

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The findings suggest that proper gun storage could play a crucial role in prevention efforts.

“Not much work has directly seen if these laws are effective for school shootings specifically, but nonetheless, I do think that there is — survey research shows that there’s wide support for safe storage practices, and so that could be a promising avenue for school shootings,” Klein said.

South Carolina considers safe storage legislation

The research comes as South Carolina lawmakers consider bipartisan legislation that would require gun owners to securely store their firearms.

Currently, South Carolina is among the states that do not mandate safe storage practices.

The proposed bill would impose penalties of up to three years in prison for gun owners who fail to securely lock up loaded firearms if a child subsequently accesses the weapon and causes serious injury or death to themselves or others.

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“We lock up so many things, or we prevent our children from gaining access to so many dangerous things in our home or car, whatever it may be. Why won’t we do it for a gun?” said Rep. Beth Bernstein, a Richland County Democrat who is the bill’s lead sponsor.

Bernstein acknowledged the challenges of passing gun safety legislation in South Carolina, where expanding gun access is typically the legislative focus rather than restricting it.

“This is not about whether or not you have a right to bear arms. This is about saving our children and our youth from gun violence, and it’s important that we have responsible gun safety laws on our books,” Bernstein said.

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More than half of all states currently have safe storage laws on their books, including neighboring North Carolina as well as Florida and Texas.

Klein noted that the research suggests a one-size-fits-all approach likely won’t prevent school shootings entirely.

But he said strategies such as training teachers and school counselors to recognize when someone is in crisis and connecting them with behavioral health resources could prove effective.