The Dec. 16 mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., which claimed the lives of two people, was allegedly carried out by a 15-year-old female, leading many to ask the question: How common are female school shooters?
Before we look at statistics, it is important to note that the definition of an “active shooting” can vary from study to study.
According to a review by the FBI of active shooter incidents from 2000 to 2019, including 62 that occurred in educational environments, just 13 of the 332 perpetrators were female, making up less than 4%.
Similarly, another database from the U.S. Justice Department shows that from 1966 to 2019, 97.7% of mass shooting perpetrators were male.
According to Northeastern University’s Mass Killings Database, there have been 589 mass shootings since 2006 and only 33 of the shooters — or 5.6% — were female.
Now let’s look more specifically at school shootings. According to a study from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, of 41 incidents of targeted school violence between 2008 and 2017, 83% of the suspects were male and 17% were female. This study, however, also includes incidents where no one was hurt.
The National Center for Education Statistics also found that 94% of the active shooters in education settings between 2000 and 2022 were male.
“Historically, and the studies show, that typically it’s a White male student or former student that ends up committing these acts of violence in schools,” Don Mihalek, a retired senior special agent for the Secret Service, told ABC News.
Amy Rock Editorial, LLC 