Gun incidents at Illinois schools skyrocket

K-12 schools in the U.S. saw 1,468 firearm incidents in the decade ending in 2023, a 324% increase from the prior decade's 346 incidents.

• In Illinois, there were 145 incidents, ranking us fourth behind California, Texas and Florida.

• That's per the K-12 School Shooting Database , an open-source research project attempting to quantify gun incidents at grade schools.

How it works: The group defines "incidents" as instances when a gun is fired or brandished with intent to shoot, or when a bullet hits school property.

The latest: 111 incidents have occurred nationwide so far this year, as of April 29, with five of them in Illinois.

The big picture: Absent significant gun reform, schools are increasingly turning to other measures to protect kids, ranging from rules requiring see-through backpacks to issuing teachers "panic buttons" and hiring armed guards .

Between the lines: Nearly a quarter of K-12 teachers experienced a gun lockdown last year, Axios' Jennifer Kingson reports .

• Even still, some parents, teachers and administrators are reconsidering the post-Columbine emphasis on lockdown drills, which some say may be causing kids undue mental trauma.

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