In A Safe Place, Luis D. Aponte, an independent researcher, librarian and author of four books on U.S. school shootings, provides a nuanced look at adolescent and young adult gun violence in schools, based on 1,204 incidents over three decades (from 1990 to 2020) – including the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The first chapters cover Aponte’s involvement in a growing crusade to make schools safer. He shares his personal experiences as a bullying victim at the same Parkland High that made headlines 25 years later. His writing here is emphatic and peripatetic (there are plentiful asides on racism, social media, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, etc.); he admits to struggling emotionally with this topic. As a coping technique, he sometimes paints memorial portraits of the victims; nine are reprinted here.

Subsequent chapters offer intriguing and often surprising analysis of his data, supported with graphs and charts. For example, he reports that “Contrary to popular belief, mental illness, depression, and bullying do not rank among the top six factors triggering school shooting. Instead, the leading motivations are arguments and feuds, followed by accidents and gang-related activity.” More shootings (58%) take place outside on school grounds than inside, and handguns are used far more often (76.5% of the time) rather than more complex weapons.

Aponte’s prevention plan takes a “comprehensive approach,” requiring schools to have “armed and trained resource officers, security guards stationed in parking lots, metal detectors, controlled entry points, emotional intelligence coaching, and trusted networks of students who can provide critical intelligence.” Such suggestions, unfortunately, often overlook practicality issues. For example, he doesn’t estimate the cost of adding security guards, metal detectors and other measures.

Nonetheless, solid statistical information is critical to understanding this grave problem, and Aponte should be applauded for crunching the numbers. This is a useful resource for anyone concerned about school shootings, including public officials and media.

Also available as an ebook and audio book.