A 15-year-old Sophomore was arrested at Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie on Friday for carrying a loaded .22 caliber handgun onto campus in their backpack.
The incident was just the latest example of a growing national trend. Since the pandemic, there has been a massive spike in students arrested for gun-related incidents on school campuses compared to pre-COVID school years.
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the U.S. Navy's Postgraduate School tracks the number of gun related incidents in Americans schools, going back decades.
In a graph titled, Shooting Incidents at K-12 Schools 1970-Present, the center reported that 2021 saw 249 gun incidents on school campuses, a total of 240 non-active shooter situations and 9 active shooter situations.
In 2019, the year before the pandemic, the center reported 112 gun incidents at schools and 107 incidents in 2018.
Locally, The School District of Palm Beach County reported a 118% increase in gun related incidents compared to the school year before the pandemic. The district also saw a 600% increase in felony arrests of students.
Mo Canady, the Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, says his members are reporting a national increase in fights and violence in their schools.
Canady also said he's hearing from members, describing kids who returned to school this year with mental health issues that were not present before the pandemic.
"I don’t think that we’re really seeing dramatic differences from one state to the other. I hate to broad brush it but its across the country," he added. "[There are] kids who are coming back to school who have never had significant mental health issues who are now needing services."
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security warned that more students could return to the classroom with signs of social isolation, depression, and intense anger - all risk factors for violence on campus.
However, researchers note that the vast majority of students facing mental health difficulties are not violent.
Mental health experts say students in need of help should contact a teacher, guidance counselor, or trusted adult at their school. Most school districts - including Palm Beach County - employ trained professionals to help students who are having trouble.
"There’s a lot of people who had a hard time readjusting. So they become so, even though they didn’t like to be isolated, they became so used to being isolated that now being around a lot of people became difficult," explained Dr. Jasset Smith, a psychologist with Authentic Self Psychotherapeutic Services. "I think a lot of parents were thinking, 'well the kids are back in school everything will be great.' And they’re seeing that the kids aren’t adjusting as they thought."