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TYLER, Texas (KETK) — Since 2018, there have been 31 deaths and 38 injuries due to active shooter situations at Texas schools, including the deadliest shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May 2022.

Concerns over school safety in the United States, particularly after the tragic school shooting in Minneapolis that happened only a week ago on Aug. 27, highlight the ongoing debate surrounding gun violence.

In 2024, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, 276 victims were shot (fatal and wounded) on U.S. school property, making last year the highest record of victims. Last year also marked the second-highest in school shooting incidents, 336 were recorded, with 2023 as the highest with 351 shootings.

In comparison, there were 119 reported U.S. school shooting incidents in 2018, showing a 194.58% increase by 2023. The reported incidents also include active shooter situations in schools, which have affected more than 40 communities in the United States.

What is an active shooter?

According to the FBI, an “active shooter” is one or more people actively engaging in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.

Using data from the K-12 School Shooting Database and Education Week, KETK News has created a timeline of active shooter situations that have happened in Texas schools since 2018.

January 22, 2018

• Location: Italy
• School: Italy High School
• Victim: 1 injured

According to NBC DFW, a 15-year-old girl was shot six times in the high school cafeteria in January 2018 by Chad Padilla.

“[The teenager] who survived the shooting testified she hugged Padilla in the cafeteria, asked him to sit and told him he appeared angry,” NBC DFW said. “She said that’s when he drew back and told her, ‘Sorry it had to end this way,’ and shot her six times.”

Padilla died on March 21, 2022, while serving his 40-year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted capital murder at the Telford Unit in New Boston.

May 18, 2018

• Location: Santa Fe
• School: Sante Fe High School
• Victims: 10 killed, at least 13 injured

At 17 years old, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, opened fire at a Houston-based high school, killing eight students and two teachers.

Pagourtzis was charged with capital murder, but according to the Texas Tribune, the criminal case has been on hold since 2019, when he was declared incompetent to stand trial.

Oct. 1, 2021

• Location: Houston
• School: YES Prep
• Victim: 1 injured

Former student, 25-year-old Dexter Harold Kelsey, confessed to shooting and wounding the campus principal at YES Prep Southwest Secondary on Oct. 1, 2021, NBC DFW said.

Kelsey was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and deadly conduct in the shooting, while the 36-year-old school principal was treated at a hospital and later released.

Photos courtesy of AP News

Houston police said that Kelsey fired at the school’s glass entry door with a rifle to gain entry, and the principal, who was trying to alert teachers and students to the shooter, was struck in the lower back by one of the bullets. No students were hurt.

May 24, 2022

• Location: Uvalde
• School: Robb Elementary School
• Victims: 21 killed, 17 injured

Nineteen children and two adults were killed after 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, opened fire in Robb Elementary School in May of 2022, the Texas Tribune said.

“The gunman first shot his grandmother in the face before fleeing in a truck and crashing near the school,” the Texas Tribune said. “He then approached a back door and entered the school.”

Officials said that police arrived on the scene minutes later and entered the school, but fell back after two officers were shot by Ramos and called for backup.

“Officers tried to negotiate with the shooter as well, but the man “did not respond.” It wasn’t until more than an hour after the gunman arrived at the school that a specialized team of federal officers entered the building, which officials admitted was a mistake,” Texas Tribune explained.

This Uvalde elementary school shooting is clarified as the deadliest shooting ever at a Texas public school.

Feb. 1, 2025

• Location: Pasadena
• School: Pasadena Memorial High School
• Victim: 1 injured

In February, an elderly man entered Pasadena Memorial High School during a band competition that involved students from multiple school districts and discharged a small-caliber weapon.

A parent tackled the suspect after he opened fire and injured a percussion technical consultant for the Angleton ISD band. The victim was taken to the hospital due to being struck on the shoulder.

“The man who opened fire wasn’t affiliated with the competition, according to the Pasadena Independent School District,” AP News said. “He was tackled by a parent after discharging the weapon, and then school district police and ‘several good Samaritans’ helped apprehend him.”

April 15, 2025

• Location: Dallas
• School: Wilmer-Hutchins High School
• Victims: 5 injured

17-year-old, Tracy Haynes, injured five people when he opened fire at a Dallas high school in April. Haynes was taken into custody several hours after the shooting on six counts of aggravated assault in a mass shooting.

Photos courtesy of AP News

“An arrest warrant said that after the suspect was let into the building, he walked down a hallway until he spotted a group of students,” AP News said. “The arrest warrant says he then displayed a firearm and began firing “indiscriminately” before approaching a student who was not able to run and walking toward that student and appearing to take a point-blank shot.”

Gov. Greg Abbott released this statement about the school shooting:

“Our hearts go out to the victims of this senseless act of violence at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. I spoke with Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde and Dallas ISD Chief Albert Martinez. I offered to support the school district families, students, and staff and to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to arrest the criminals involved and bring them to justice. Since I’ve been Governor, Texas has provided over $3 billion in school safety funding. This session, I am seeking an additional $500 million to further safeguard schools across the state. Cecilia and I ask our fellow Texans to join us in praying for the victims’ swift recovery and for the entire Wilmer-Hutchins High School community.”

Gov. Abbott

To learn more about other gun-related incidents at Texas schools and across the United States, people can visit the K-12 School Shooting Database.