Experts say we’re still failing to keep children safe from gun violence in schools

It’s been ten years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that left 20 children and six school staff dead, and pediatricians say America still can’t keep children safe.

The tragedy that unfolded in Connecticut a decade ago shook the country to its foundations and forced powerful people to reconsider federal gun safeguards.

But even as the contentious debate over gun control safety measures continued, the death count rose: There have been 54 school shootings in the US, resulting in more than 100 deaths.

Gun violence is now one of the leading causes of death among children, according to University of Michigan researchers who reported in May that a staggering 4,300 children ages one to 19 died from gun-related injuries. firearms during the first year of the pandemic, a 30 percent jump from the previous year

Nonprofit gun control advocacy organization Everytown for Gun Safety has identified At least 1,000 school shooting incidents since then, with 152 in 2022 alone.

Dr. Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, told DailyMail.com: “It’s not just that we’re letting children down, we’re not putting our children’s safety first.”

2012 Connecticut school massacre left 20 students and six teachers dead

Gun violence in general in hospitals, grocery stores, and places of worship is on the rise. The growing number of deaths caused by firearms extends beyond high-profile events like the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, last May.

Dr. Sakran said: “Our country continues to be traumatized and re-traumatized by this event.”

“Many people view this as a hypothetical risk because they are sitting in their living rooms with loved ones, but you never know what community, school or loved one is going to be affected by the kind of carnage we are in.” seeing.’

Gun violence is a uniquely American problem that kills 12 children on average every day. Approximately one in 10 firearm deaths are children and adolescents, according to to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The scope of the problem is vast and deeply embedded in American society, but doctors on the front lines of the problem are optimistic that more can be done to keep children safe.

Dr Cornelia Griggs, a pediatric surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, told DailyMail.com: ‘Health care is embracing this issue as an urgent public health crisis and I think we are seeing a paradigm shift in that space in the that just 10 years ago weapons violence was not a topic you thought of discussing in the hospital.’

“No one wants to send their child to school in fear of being shot on campus, but that has been normalized, that notion, and we just have to live with that fear,” he added.

Gun violence is increasingly being studied as a public health crisis similar to the opioid epidemic.

This creates space for state and local health authorities to intervene, including pediatric and trauma physicians, school nurses, and mental health professionals.

“When we talk about gun violence from a public health standpoint, that means we are entering an era where we can expect all healthcare workers and anyone in front of a patient to adopt the idea that we have a role in making sure our population is safe. said Dr. Griggs.

Doctors ask young patients and their parents questions about tobacco use at home, seat belt use, and other safety practices to make sure they can grow up safe and healthy.

Where previously they were hesitant to bring up such a politicized topic, doctors are also increasingly encouraged to ask about gun safety in the home.

Dr Griggs said: “There are so many topics that were once considered taboo or outside the realm of the doctor-patient realm that have become our standard practice when we talk to children, families and spot potential problems because we understand their impact on health .’