09/23/2025

The first recorded school shooting in the United States occurred on July 26, 1764, in what was then the Pennsylvania Colony. It is commonly referred to as the “Enoch Brown School Massacre.” This tragedy was carried out by four Native Americans who, enraged by colonial expansion, took their anger out on the school’s headmaster and ten innocent children. They were shot and then scalped. From that point until the 1920s, school shootings typically involved a single casualty, with the aggressor usually being a student and the victim often their teacher—except for one case in 1856, which marked the first student-on-student shooting, also resulting in one death.

So what changed?

Social media happened.

Many politicians, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have taken a strong anti-gun stance in response to the growing number of mass shootings in the United States. However, even as gun laws become stricter, the violence continues—often involving illegally obtained firearms or other weapons like knives.

Most individuals who commit mass school shootings suffer from mental illness and are seeking attention they may not have received otherwise. News outlets profit from sensational stories like school shootings, and the shooter’s name is often repeated for weeks. This kind of attention gives the perpetrator exactly what they were looking for.

It’s time for legislation that prevents law enforcement from releasing any information about suspected or confirmed mass shooters. Doing so would help discourage copycat incidents and reduce attention-seeking behavior.