By now you’ve seen the statistics flying around Twitter after this week’s horrible school shooting in Kentucky that it was the “11th school shooting already this year.”
The New York Times, for example, shared by California’s lefty Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom:
The @NRA wants you to ignore this headline. Don’t. pic.twitter.com/01jm2qfyxG
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 24, 2018
And CNN’s Michael Calderone was quick to note, citing Media Matters, that the “11th school shooting” “got little attention on cable news”:
Yesterday's deadly school shooting in Kentucky — the 11th school shooting already this year— got little attention on cable news https://t.co/ZC3BmSzYnS pic.twitter.com/Uf1t4OUdTT
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) January 24, 2018
But did anyone even attempt to fact-check the “11th school shooting” narrative which implies that children are basically going to school in the wild, wild west?
https://twitter.com/JustEric/status/956235205605552128
Oof.
Now, we’ll give credit where credit it due. The HuffPost actually dug into the details of each shooting rather than just linking to a headline that said, “11th school shooting,” but it’s this digging that accidentally busted the gun-grabber narrative.
As you can see from the list below, the story is not what it seems as it includes BB guns, accidents, suicides and shootings that happened next to or near a school, including colleges:
Here’s the complete list of shooting incidents schools have faced so far this year:
Jan. 23: Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky
A 15-year-old boy opened fire inside the school, killing two and injuring 16.
Jan. 22: NET Charter High School in New Orleans, Louisiana
Someone driving by the school fired on a group of students in the parking lot. Only one boy was injured.
Jan. 22: Italy High School in Italy, Texas
A 16-year-old boy shot a 15-year-old girl in the cafeteria. He was arrested and she was airlifted to a hospital, where she was “in good spirits” as of Tuesday.
Jan. 20: Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Following an argument, a 21-year-old Winston-Salem University student was shot and killed during a sorority event at Wake Forest University.
Jan. 15: Wiley College in Marshall, Texas
Two people in a car exchanged gunfire with a person in a dormitory parking lot. No one was injured, but a bullet was fired into a dorm room with three female students inside.
Jan. 10: Coronado Elementary School in Sierra Vista, Arizona
A 14-year-old died in a school bathroom from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Jan. 10: Grayson College in Denison, Texas
A student confused a training weapon with a real one and fired a bullet through a classroom wall. No students were injured.
Jan. 10: California State University in San Bernardino, California
At least one shot was fired, shattering one classroom window. No students were injured.
Jan. 6: School bus in Forest City, Iowa
A 32-year-old man fired a pellet gun at a school bus, shattering one of the windows. No students were injured.
Jan. 4: New Start High School in Seattle, Washington
Two shots were fired at the school from outside the building. No students were injured.
Jan. 3: East Olive Elementary School in St. John, Michigan
A man standing in the school’s parking lot called 911 saying he was suicidal. He spoke with a county official for several hours on the phone, according to local media, but ultimately shot himself and died from a single gunshot wound.
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But it’s too late for honesty. Some examples:
It’s only Jan 24th and we’ve had 11 school shootings so far this year. IT’S AN EPIDEMIC… This can;t be the new normal…. when will the majority party stop being held hostage by the NRA. https://t.co/n22oouxcYd
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) January 24, 2018
Donald Trump is too busy tweeting about texts to mention the 11th school shooting of 2018 https://t.co/gaUKJjbEaB
— Daily Kos (@dailykos) January 24, 2018
11 school shootings in 23 days. I have no patience any longer for the political cowards and @NRA puppets who repeatedly tell us "this isn't the time" to talk about our nation's gun violence epidemic. With 1 school shooting every 2 days, the time is now! https://t.co/cpnfKRepPz
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) January 24, 2018
And they wonder why nobody trusts the media, continued.
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