Data Gathering
K-12 School Shooting Database - Center for Homeland Defense and Security
First and foremost, I am using a dataset from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) that tracks "shooting incidents at K-12 schools (Jan 1970 - Jun 2022)." I downloaded the data from this website as an excel file with a "README" in its first tab and four tables in the remaining tabs: incident, shooter, victim, and weapon. I exported these tables as csv files and created a README.txt, which can be found in my GitHub repo here. The data are formatted as follows:
incident.csv
| Incident_ID | Sources | Number_News | Media_Attention | Reliability | Date | Quarter | School | City | State | School_Level | Location | Location_Type | During_School | Time_Period | First_Shot | Summary | Narrative | Situation | Targets | Accomplice | Hostages | Barricade | Officer_Involved | Bullied | Domestic_Violence | Gang_Related | Preplanned | Shots_Fired | Active_Shooter_FBI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 20220620ILGRC | https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/woman-and... | 50 | National | 4 | 2022-06-20 | Summer | Gresham School of Excellence | Chicago | IL | Elementary | Field (General) | Outside on School Property | No | Night | 01:00:00 | 3 people shot on elementary school field | 100 shots were fired on the field of the eleme... | NaN | Both | No | No | No | No | No | No | NaN | No | 100 | No |
| 1 | 20220613WAMAE | https://www.q13fox.com/news/deputies-arrest-15... | 5 | Local | 4 | 2022-06-13 | Summer | Mariner High School | Everett | WA | High | Parking Lot | Outside on School Property | No | After School | 15:10:00 | Shots fired in parking lot by teen during afte... | A 15-year-old male fired shots at two teens in... | Escalation of Dispute | Victims Targeted | No | No | No | No | No | No | NaN | No | 99 | No |
| 2 | 20220610ALBYB | https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/06/10/student... | 3 | Local | 4 | 2022-06-10 | Summer | Byhalia High School | Byhalia | MS | High | Parking Lot | Outside on School Property | Yes | Morning Classes | 10:30:00 | Student fired gun in parking lot during dispute | Student (unidentified minor) fired shot during... | Escalation of Dispute | Victims Targeted | NaN | No | No | No | No | No | NaN | No | 1 | No |
| 3 | 20220609ALWAG | https://www.live5news.com/2022/06/09/potential... | 100 | National | 4 | 2022-06-09 | Summer | Walnut Park Elementary School | Gadsden | AL | Elementary | Front of School | Outside on School Property | Yes | Morning Classes | 09:30:00 | Man fatally shot by SRO while trying to break-... | A 32-year-old man was fatally shot by a school... | Officer-Involved Shooting | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | No |
| 4 | 20220608ARLIL | https://www.kark.com/crime/lrpd-school-bus-hit... | 5 | National | 4 | 2022-06-08 | Summer | Little Rock School District Bus | Little Rock | AR | Other | School Bus | School Bus | Yes | Dismissal | 16:01:00 | Shots struck school bus driving student home | Shots struck a school bus. Driver and student ... | NaN | Both | NaN | No | No | No | No | No | NaN | No | 99 | No |
shooter.csv
| incidentid | age | gender | race | schoolaffiliation | shooteroutcome | shooterdied | injury | chargesfiled | verdict | minorchargedadult | criminalhistory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 20220620ILGRC | NaN | NaN | NaN | No Relation | Fled/Escaped | No | None | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| 1 | 20220613WAMAE | 15 | Male | NaN | Student | Fled/Apprehended | No | None | unlawful possession of a firearm, disturbing s... | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| 2 | 20220610ALBYB | Teen | Male | NaN | Student | Fled/Apprehended | No | None | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| 3 | 20220609ALWAG | NaN | NaN | NaN | Police Officer/SRO | Law Enforcement | No | None | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| 4 | 20220608ARLIL | NaN | NaN | NaN | No Relation | Fled/Escaped | No | None | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
victim.csv
| incidentid | race | injury | gender | schoolaffiliation | age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 20220620ILGRC | NaN | Wounded | Female | No Relation | 34 |
| 1 | 20220620ILGRC | NaN | Wounded | Male | No Relation | 16 |
| 2 | 20220620ILGRC | NaN | Wounded | Female | No Relation | 17 |
| 3 | 20220609ALWAG | Black | Fatal | Male | No Relation | 32 |
| 4 | 20220605INWEG | NaN | Wounded | Male | NaN | 19 |
weapon.csv
| incidentid | weaponcaliber | weapondetails | weapontype | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 20220620ILGRC | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| 1 | 20220613WAMAE | NaN | NaN | Handgun |
| 2 | 20220610ALBYB | NaN | NaN | Handgun |
| 3 | 20220609ALWAG | Service Weapon | NaN | Handgun |
| 4 | 20220608ARLIL | NaN | NaN | NaN |
Mass Shooter Database - The Violence Project
I am also using a dataset from The Violence Project, a nonprofit research center that provides access to their full database on request. Subject to their terms of use, I am unable to publicize any data from the Mass Shooter Database, but access to this data can be requested at this link.
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) - U.S. Census Bureau
Detailed data on income and poverty levels can be downloaded here.
Education Data Portal - Urban Institute
The Urban Institute gathers and organizes yearly education data released by the United States government for easier access and use. For more information, visit their website here.
APIs
I am using APIs from Twitter, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), and Urban Institute's Education Data Portal to supplement my dataset.