Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville.
JAMA Pediatr. 2024 Jan 1;178(1):73-79. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.5093.
Within gun violence research, the types of firearms involved in US school shootings and the origins of these weapons have not been well explored.
To examine the type, make, and power of firearms involved in school-related gun violence as well as the sources and methods through which adolescents obtained these weapons.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to analyze 253 school shootings executed by 262 adolescents (aged ≤19 years) in the US from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2016, and to calculate adjusted estimates for missing cases. The data were sourced from The American School Shooting Study (TASSS), which compiles information about these shooting events from open-source materials. Data analysis was performed from June 23, 2023, to July 20, 2023.
Firearm type, make, and power.
The firearm type refers to whether a weapon was a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. The firearm's make differentiates semiautomatic or fully automatic guns from other action mechanisms. The firearm's power refers to the caliber and velocity, distinguished as small, moderate, or higher power. The acquisition source captures from whom the firearm was received. The obtainment method refers to how the shooter obtained the firearm. Estimates were adjusted by total number of documents and TASSS reliability score as well as neighborhood demographic, socioeconomic, and land use variables measured at the census tract level, and were weighted to account for item nonresponse.
A total of 262 adolescents (mean [SD] age, 16.2 [1.9] years; 256 [97.8%] male) were studied. In the adjusted analyses, handguns were the most used weapon in school shootings (85.5%; 95% CI, 80.6%-89.4%). Firearms were predominantly lower (37.0%; 95% CI, 29.9%-44.7%) or moderate (39.7%; 95% CI, 32.0%-47.8%) in power. Adolescents mainly obtained their guns from relatives (41.8%; 95% CI, 31.7%-52.6%), friends or acquaintances (22.0%; 95% CI, 13.2%-34.5%), the illegal market (29.6%; 95% CI, 19.3%-42.5%), strangers or persons who were shot (4.7%; 95% CI, 1.8%-11.6%), or licensed dealers (1.9%; 95% CI, 0.7%-5.2%). Most firearms were procured via theft from relatives (82.1%; 95% CI, 69.4%-90.3%).
Despite the more frequent use of lower to moderately powered firearms in school shootings, this study's results indicated stability in the use of high-powered weapons in adolescent school shootings throughout the research timeframe. A majority of the firearms were procured from the perpetrator's family or relatives or from friends or acquaintances. These findings may significantly influence discussions around gun control policy, particularly in advocating for secure firearm storage to reduce adolescents' access to weapons.
在美国校园枪击事件的研究中，涉及的枪支类型以及这些武器的来源尚未得到充分探讨。
研究与学校相关的枪支暴力中涉及的枪支类型、制造和威力，以及青少年获取这些武器的来源和方法。
设计、设置和参与者：本横断面研究使用描述性统计和逻辑回归分析了美国 1990 年 1 月 1 日至 2016 年 12 月 31 日期间由 262 名（年龄≤19 岁）青少年实施的 253 起校园枪击事件，并计算了缺失病例的调整估计值。这些数据来源于美国校园枪击研究（TASSS），该研究从公开来源的资料中收集这些枪击事件的信息。数据分析于 2023 年 6 月 23 日至 7 月 20 日进行。
枪支类型、制造和威力。
枪支类型指武器是手枪、步枪还是猎枪。枪支的制造区分半自动或全自动枪支与其他操作机制。枪支的威力指口径和速度，分为小、中、大威力。获取来源指从谁那里收到的枪支。获取方法指射手如何获得枪支。估计值根据文件总数和 TASSS 可靠性评分以及按普查区水平测量的邻里人口统计学、社会经济和土地利用变量进行调整，并通过项目未响应进行加权。
共研究了 262 名青少年（平均[标准差]年龄，16.2[1.9]岁；256[97.8%]男性）。在调整分析中，手枪是校园枪击事件中最常用的武器（85.5%；95%置信区间，80.6%-89.4%）。枪支的威力主要较低（37.0%；95%置信区间，29.9%-44.7%）或中等（39.7%；95%置信区间，32.0%-47.8%）。青少年主要从亲戚（41.8%；95%置信区间，31.7%-52.6%）、朋友或熟人（22.0%；95%置信区间，13.2%-34.5%）、非法市场（29.6%；95%置信区间，19.3%-42.5%）、陌生人或被枪击者（4.7%；95%置信区间，1.8%-11.6%）或持牌经销商（1.9%；95%置信区间，0.7%-5.2%）获得枪支。大多数枪支是从亲戚那里偷来的（82.1%；95%置信区间，69.4%-90.3%）。
尽管在校园枪击事件中较低到中等威力的枪支更频繁使用，但本研究结果表明，在研究期间，青少年校园枪击事件中使用高威力武器的情况保持稳定。大多数枪支是从肇事者的家人或亲戚或朋友或熟人那里获得的。这些发现可能会对枪支管制政策的讨论产生重大影响，特别是在倡导安全储存枪支以减少青少年获取武器的机会方面。
