US school shootings continue to claim young lives in 2025

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) – In 2025, shootings continue to take place at schools in the US, as gun violence continues to prove a persistent challenge in places meant to be safe havens for children and teens.

In the latest incident — which also resulted in the most casualties this year — two young children were killed Wednesday as a shooter opened fire through the stained-glass windows of Annunciation Catholic Church, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The attack, later described by authorities as an act of domestic terrorism, took place as schoolchildren were gathered at the church for morning mass.

The victims, ages eight and 10, were attending morning mass at their school’s adjoining church as 17 others, including 14 children, were wounded in what authorities would later describe as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime against Catholic Christians.

The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a “a male born as Robert Westman,” according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Westman, whose mother police said worked at the school at one point, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot, police said.

What has been alleged to be the suspect’s YouTube channel later emerged, with some of the videos posted circulating on social media after the attack. They showed hateful and violent phrases scrawled on firearms that Westman allegedly used in the shooting — a rifle, shotgun, and pistol.

Some of the words on the weapons suggested a fascination with mass shooters, with the names of several perpetrators of past school shooters written on the magazines Westman used.

- School shootings in 2025

The Annunciation attack was not the first such tragedy to strike a US school this year. Yet even determining how many incidents have occurred is complicated, with tallies varying depending on definitions and methodology.

Everytown for Gun Safety - Using data from the K-12 School Shooting Database, the group reports at least 91 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2025, resulting in 31 deaths and 86 injuries nationwide. It also highlights the broader picture: every day in the US, 125 people are killed with guns, nearly twice as many are wounded, and countless others are affected by gun violence.

K-12 School Shooting Database - Applying the broadest standard, which counts any incident where a gun was fired or brandished on school property regardless of injuries, it records 148 incidents in 2025, leaving 134 victims dead or wounded.

Education Week - Focusing only on shootings that result in injuries or deaths during school hours or events, and drawing on multiple sources including the Gun Violence Archive, it has so far logged only eight incidents in 2025.​​​​​​​

Besides the Annunciation shooting, some of the highest-casualty incidents this year include:

-Lansdowne High School, Baltimore, Md. (March 4): A 16-year-old student was chased outside a nearby shopping center before being shot multiple times at close range. Police said it was an isolated, targeted attack. The victim was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.

-Antioch High School, Nashville, Tenn. (Jan. 22): Two students were killed and another injured when a 17-year-old fellow student opened fire in the cafeteria. Several staff said the student had a history of violent behavior toward students and teachers.

-Wilmer-Hutchins High School, Dallas, Texas (April 15): A 17-year-old student entered the school through a locked side door opened by another student and opened fire in a hallway. Four male students were shot — one at point-blank range — before the gunman fled. All of the victims survived.