For the first March in nearly two decades, there were no school shootings across the United States.

The last time March went without such an incident was in 2002, and even then there were close calls.

And it came damn close in March 2002. One of a handful of close calls that month: pic.twitter.com/9dWKQmUD6r — robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) April 13, 2020

While the news may seem heartening in a country where violent incidents at schools have become all too frequent, the relative calm is likely a result of the fact that most schools in the country were shut down at some point during the month because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, crime has decreased in general around the globe because of lockdowns.

On the other hand, gun sales increased significantly during the last month, with March coming in as the second-busiest month ever. Tim O'Donnell