When Kids Shoot Kids: A Christian Perspective on School Shootings
The recent shooting at Abundant Life Christian School brings, again, the subject of school violence to the minds of Christian School parents. In the years since the pandemic, school shootings have skyrocketed across the country. In 2000, there were 31 school shooting events nationwide—which was a fairly average year for the time period. In 2020, there were 116– In 2021, 257—in 2022, 308—in 2023, 349—and so far in 2024 there have been 325 shooting incidents in elementary, junior high, and high schools across our nation.[i] There are all kinds of school shootings—accidental, gang conflicts, intruders, former students, and kids who plan shootings for a variety of reasons.
I am not convinced that guns are more available to kids now than in the past. It is possible that increasing crime and violence has encouraged more families to turn to firearms as a form of household self-defense. But there was a day when firearms were readily available to kids at all times, and school shootings were extremely rare. This does not mitigate the necessity that parents properly secure and keep track of firearms in the home. Angry, depressed kids are unpredictable and parents must consider the real possibility that there is less of a threat from the outside than from their child using a weapon on themselves or others. Just because you have a Second Amendment right to have a gun in your home does not mean it is the wise choice for your family, and it certainly does not permit you to be careless with a firearm.
Parents who do not properly secure their firearms are now in danger of going to jail for negligence if their child commits a crime with them. It is a horrible tragedy to lose a child, but for that child to take others with him, and then have to go to jail yourself as a result is a fate beyond comprehension. We can wish for the good old days when kids being around firearms did not seem to be a big issue, but those days are gone. Every parent should be extremely vigilant about firearms security in their homes.
The first comment President Biden made regarding the Abundant Life School tragedy was that we need more gun regulation. That is an answer to the wrong question. Why are young people, even young people in Christian Schools turning to gun violence to resolve whatever issues or anger they are facing? And why are kids struggling so much emotionally?
I cannot address the specifics of the Madison, WI, situation, but I can address issues I see in kids at home and across the country.
The pandemic.
The isolation of the pandemic did untold emotional damage to school-age kids. Many were not only isolated from their peers but also from church, extended family (like grandparents), and others. Human beings are social creatures, and children are especially so. This is why parents are always seeking positive social interactions for their children—not just with their peers but with entire communities of people.
Kids also need structure. They need to get up at a certain time, go through important daily activities and rituals, and develop their minds and bodies. In times of hardship and tragedy children hang on to the structure of life for a sense of comfort and normalcy. The pandemic threw a hand grenade into all of that. Add to that they are now behind in their educational progress (and they know it) and they are being pressured to catch up. Deuteronomy 6:7-25 emphasizes the importance of parents teaching children daily, in the important normal activities and rituals of life.
Social media.
2 Corinthians 12:10 says that comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise. No other medium invented in all of human history encourages that more than social media. There are so many damaging aspects of social media for kids that entire countries are outlawing it for young people. I am not sure how enforceable that law is, but at least it might give parents some pause, and some backing, in limiting their children’s exposure.
Social media eats up time that should be spent on more mentally and emotionally beneficial activities. It creates false realities and expectations, hinders deep productive relationships and replaces those with false shallow ones. It also allows bad actors to have access to kids without their parent’s knowledge. We know that even the best families often do not have a handle on kid’s social media consumption.
Sleep.
Social media and the internet mean that kids are often sleep-deprived and therefore depressed. When they don’t sleep well, they don’t usually eat well. When they do not eat and sleep well, their energy is low, and they do not get proper physical activity, especially in a culture where modern conveniences make everyday living much less active. Many Bible verses that proclaim the blessing of sleep (Psalm 4:8, 127:2, 3:5).
Need for artistic expression.
Doing music, working with their hands, painting, drawing, building. These things are not only therapeutic, they can be used to build a sense of care and concern for others (Ephesians 4:28). David calmed the heart of Saul through his music. Music is a means of spiritual growth (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16). And yet, not only are kids not participating in music or art, but the music that they do listen to is anything but spiritually and emotionally calming. It is full of anxious, angry, and destructive sounds and lyrics—even Christian music can be this way.
Entertainment fallacies.
Revenge genre’s in the entertainment world overplay the idea of bullying. Don’t believe it? Just pay attention and see how often revenge violence is justified in what you watch and what you let your kids watch. It is everywhere. It makes the slights we endure seem more severe than they often are, and justifies actions of revenge as a result. It is the motivation of every comic book character in the magazines and the movies. Jesus said that we should treat even our enemies with kindness (Matthew 5:38-48). This is not for our enemies’ sake, but for ours. Living for revenge and payback is self-destructive. Instead, we must learn to trust God for justice (Romans 12:19).
Stresses on Parents.
Kids feel the stress on parents. All the political unrest over the last four years, economic hardships, marital conflicts, and more impact kids. These stresses have been disruptive to families. When the family loses its nuclear character, kids are left to reason through their problems and solutions on their own—often with tragic results.
Parents must protect their family life. Eat together, talk with one another, sing together, read God’s word together, pray with one another. Have meaningful conversations. Let kids present their problems and work through solutions to those problems without overreacting and by focusing on giving kids the skills to biblically cope with an often-unkind world. Discipline should be loving and consistent, rather than emotional and inconsistent (Ephesians 6:1-4).
Many of these incidents arise from kids feeling bullied or like social outcasts. We seldom approach the subject of bullying from a biblical perspective, but the Bible gives us a lot of information on it. We will explore that one more in an upcoming post.
The audio version of this post is here: When Kids Shoot Kids: A Christian Perspective on School Shootings
[i] https://k12ssdb.org/all-shootings