ISU Professor Starts K-12 Shootings Database

Dr. David Riedman, an assistant professor in the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services at Idaho State University, has been continuously working towards filling in the gap of knowledge about gun violence in schools. 

After the Parkland High School shooting in 2018, Riedman realized that there was a severe lack of information on gun violence in schools. He believed that school shootings should be acknowledged in the same way that terrorist attacks or natural disasters are, and began developing what would become one of the most comprehensive public sources of information on school shootings, the K-12 School Shooting Database. 

Working alongside a peer, Riedman began developing an assessment tool that would document school shooting incidents. Juliana Kim in a National Public Radio article, describes how Riedman’s database tracks all cases in which a gun is fired, brandished or instances wherein a bullet hits K-12 school property for any reason. The data shows that school shooting incidents have been on the rise since the pandemic, with over 160 cases reported this year alone. The database was designed to help prevent future incidents by cataloguing information about each incident, allowing experts and law enforcement to track and understand the patterns behind gun violence. 

The K-12 School Shooting Database also helps shine light on swatting incidents or fraudulent reports of school shootings. In a New York Times article titled “A Spate of Fake Shooting Calls Disrupts College Campuses”, Christina Morales discusses the extreme emotional toll felt by the victims of these crimes, who often do not know thatl these reports are fake. These faux reports cause serious disruptions for affected campuses and for local law enforcement. Law enforcement responds to every threat with the same urgency, so when fake reports are made, resources that could be directed towards the community are used up unnecessarily. Additionally, Morales points out that swatting incidents can sometimes result in the harm of others as first responders race to the scene.

Thanks to Riedman’s database, the motives of swatters can be more clearly understood. Some do it in the hopes of disrupting something and others do it as a prank to cause chaos, as Riedman says, “like pulling a fire alarm.” The database has also revealed that swatting reports sometimes happen in alphabetical order, which shows that the perpetrator accessed a list and made a series of fake calls. The database also shows that swatters typically only report through non-emergency numbers, while real active shooter threats result in hundreds of calls to 911 centers. Riedman’s research is helping law enforcement to recognize swatting sooner, enabling officers to respond to fake active shooter threats more safely. 

Without the K-12 School Shooting Database, there would be no system in place to track and help reduce these crimes. The database also allows experts and law enforcement to see the changes in school shooting incidents and adjust their strategies accordingly.  This data can also help bring objective truth to policy discussion. Riedman explained that “it makes me proud of this work when my data can debunk a politically-motivated agenda that targets one of the smallest and most vulnerable groups in the United States” in reference to a recent WIRED magazine article about bogus school shooting statistics.

The database began as a graduate school project, but it grew into a tool that has helped shape how gun violence in schools is understood and even responded to by law enforcement. The K-12 School Shooting Database is helping first responders to act more efficiently and is making schools safer. Because of his work, Riedman is now recognized as one of the foremost experts in understanding gun violence in schools. His database is a testament to the importance of research and how it can help others. 

Riedman is an assistant professor in the Homeland Security and Emergency Management program at Idaho State University. He earned his Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, a master’s degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Formerly, he served as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Maryland for 18 years, where he reached the rank of Captain. 

To learn more, Riedman produces and hosts a weekly podcast where experts share their research about preventing mass violence and writes articles on the School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports Substack.