My daughter, Meadow, was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Iāve spent every day since trying to make sure what I did. That¶¶Ņõap why Iām speaking out now — because the way we talk about mass shootings in this country is broken. The media keeps getting the facts wrong, and worse, they keep ignoring the real causes of these tragedies.
boldly claims thatĀ 1 in 15 U.S. adults have ābeen at the scene of a mass shooting.āĀ That means 18 million Americans have witnessed a mass shooting firsthand and 5.6 million āinjuredā — absurd claims that donāt pass the smell test. But unfortunately, these kinds of statistics are being repeated without question by people who want to push a narrative, not the truth.
The academic paper begins by defining a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot, but it never actually asks respondents about that specific scenario. Instead, it asks whether theyāve ever been āphysically present on the scene of a mass shooting in your lifetime,ā without explaining what that means. Based on this vague framing, the survey could count someone who merely hears distant gunshots in a rough area as a āmass shooting survivor.ā
That¶¶Ņõap not research. It¶¶Ņõap fear-mongeringĀ disguised as data.
As theĀ points out,Ā even taking numbers put together by aĀ gunĀ control group the University of Colorado academics cite, shows that victims and criminals were wounded at a rate of at most 1.56% of the 5.6 million victims claimed in this study.
The truth is this: dangerous, threatening people commit mass shootings. Not law-abiding Americans. And almost every time, the killers give off warning signs long before they act. In the case of my daughterās murderer, he was known to police, school officials, and even the FBI. He had a history of violence and made repeated threats. But no one acted.
And hereās another fact the media doesnāt like to talk about: mass shootings overwhelmingly happen in gun-free zones. Schools, churches, shopping centers — places where people are legally disarmed and vulnerable. Criminals donāt care about signs that say, āno guns allowed.ā They pick soft targets on purpose because they know they wonāt be stopped.
We saw this in Uvalde, in Nashville, in Parkland. Time after time, the shooter had a clear path because no one was armed and ready to respond. The idea that weāre protecting our kids by keeping schoolsĀ gun-free is not only naive –it¶¶Ņõap deadly.
Twenty states allow teachers to carry concealed handguns. In Utah and New Hampshire, any teacher with a concealed handgun permit can carry. In other states, it is up to school boards or superintendents to decide. And there have beenĀ no attacksĀ where anyone has been killed or injured at any of those schools with armed teacher.
Let me be clear:Ā mass shootings are not an epidemic.Ā They are horrific, heartbreaking events, but they are statistically rare. That doesnāt make them any less tragic. But it does mean our response should be based on facts, not fear. And the facts tell us that we donāt have aĀ gunĀ problem — we have aĀ peopleĀ problem.
It¶¶Ņõap time we stop letting bad data and political agendas dictate our national conversation aboutĀ gunĀ violence. Let¶¶Ņõap stop pretending that the averageĀ gunĀ owner is the problem. Let¶¶Ņõap stop chasing āsolutionsā that only make headlines. And let¶¶Ņõap start focusing on the real root causes — violent, disturbed individuals who should never have the chance to carry out their threats.
If weāre serious about protecting our kids, we need toĀ get the facts straight. We need to hold dangerous people accountable and stop pretending that disarming good people will somehow stop evil ones. That¶¶Ņõap the path to real change. And that¶¶Ņõap how we honor the lives that have been lost — including my daughter, Meadow.
Andrew Pollackās 18-year-old daughter was murdered in the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018. He is a strategic advisor for XSPONSE, a tech company enhancing rapid response, communication, and safety to save lives.
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