It was the
the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in
Newtown, Connecticut,
Parkland, Florida, and
Uvalde, Texas. The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms.
But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws. Firearms were the
leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.