New Everytown Report Finds University and College Campus Gun Violence Rose 20% Year-Over-Year During Past Decade, Peaking October and Homecoming Weeks 

Report Reveals Key Insights to Help Curb Crisis: Campus Shootings Concentrate Heavily in the South, HBCUs Face Disproportionate Harm, October Homecoming Weeks Drive Annual Peaks, and Most Shooters Are Unaffiliated Visitors

NEW YORK  – A new report released today by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund reveals that gun violence on college and university campuses has increased over the past decade. Analyzing 389 shootings across more than 260 higher education campuses between August 2016 and July 2026, the report shows that campus shootings grew by an average of 20 percent year-over-year. October emerged as the single most dangerous month for campus gun violence – recording more than double the monthly average of shootings, with nearly half occurring during homecoming weeks. 

“College should be a time of growth, community, and celebration – no student should ever have to balance their education with the lingering fear of gun violence,” said Megan O’Toole, PhD, Senior Director of Research at Everytown for Gun Safety. “We cannot solve this crisis with reactive measures alone. Protecting our campus communities requires real, systemic action – passing common-sense gun safety laws, rejecting counterproductive policies like arming staff or allowing guns on campus, and investing in the surrounding neighborhoods our students call home.”

Key findings from the report include:

• Campus shootings increased over the past decade, averaging a 20 percent year-over-year rise, accompanied by a 52 percent increase in fatalities and a 31 percent increase in injuries.

• October had the highest number of shootings of any month – more than double the monthly average – with nearly half of October shootings occurring during homecoming weeks, when campuses often experience an influx of visitors.

• Over half of campus shootings were gun homicides and assaults, while mass shootings represented just 5 percent of all campus shootings. Shootings were most likely to occur in outdoor spaces, parking lots, and residence halls.

• Both shooters and victims or survivors were often unaffiliated with the institution where the shooting occurred. Shooters and victims or survivors were overwhelmingly male and college-aged.

• HBCUs experienced a starkly disproportionate share of campus gun violence, particularly around homecoming. Although HBCUs represent about 2 percent of postsecondary institutions in the United States, they accounted for 29 percent of campus shootings and experienced shootings at a rate 20 times that of non-HBCUs.

• HBCU students discussed how their experiences with gun violence are not limited solely to what happens on campus. In focus groups, student survivors described safety on and around campus, as well as how their institutions responded to incidents of violence. These perspectives underscored the importance of addressing the factors that influence safety both on campus and in the surrounding community.

• Campus shootings were heavily concentrated in the South, which experienced shootings at more than twice the rate of any other region. Four of the top five states with the highest rates were in the South: Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Georgia. Nevada had the highest overall rate of campus shootings per 1,000 schools.

To address and prevent campus gun violence, Everytown recommends comprehensive policy, strong partnerships and investment in the surrounding community, and campus-level interventions. Rather than relying solely on emergency preparedness, reactive security measures, or dangerous policies like allowing guns on campus or arming staff, institutions and policymakers must enact strong gun safety laws that reduce easy firearm access. Furthermore, universities should implement early risk-identification strategies, expand mental health resources and student support services, foster student trust to encourage early threat reporting, and establish coordinated partnerships with local community programs to address safety factors both on campus and beyond its borders.