Why don’t school shootings occur in the ‘hood’? A question which has circulated around social media since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The incident left 17 students dead and 14 wounded after 19-year old, Nikolas Cruz opened fire. He has since been booked on 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Many believe gun control is the main issue, but if gun control is the problem, why don’t these incidents occur in inner-city schools?


There aren’t enough stats, to say why definitively. Regardless, lets talk about it. Schools in rural areas are different, in comparison to urban schools. Typically, rural students are majority white, coming from a two parent homes and they attend large schools with minimal security.

In contrast, urban schools are typically majority black or non-white, with multiple schools sharing one building. Students come from single parent homes or they live with relatives other than their parents.

For the sake of discussion, lets say both rural and urban students have equal access to guns. However, even Cardi B can attest to the criminalization of urban students. In a recent Instagram post which reads: “Ya wanna know whats the problem? That the government only put metal detectors in schools in the Hood!”

Why are these students viewed as a threat? Why are their bodies heavily policed? Yet these mass school shootings don’t happen in the hood.

We must closely examine our culture and society. Typically, school shooters tend to be loners and social outcast who have no place to belong to to. Now this doesn’t mean only rural students can be loners or outcast. However, when you come from the hood, even if you have no friends at school: you still feel a sense of connection to your neighborhood.

The problems that each race faces in their environment–differ which means where and how crimes are committed differs as well. While a white child may be angry over an impending divorce, parents lack of attention or losing a resource they’ve become accustomed to. These issues are common place in the black community. As a result, a black child is more likely to worried about going to bed hungry. So school can be a place of refuge, at least they can eat. They may be escaping the roaches and mice which can come along with living in the hood.

Also there a difference in mentality. If two black students get into a problem at school, they will usually fight a couple times before gunplay. If it escalates to gunplay, the problem stays between them, with an intended target. Furthermore, incidents occur outside, away from school.

Lastly, as a whole, we need to reevaluate how we handle and diagnose childhood anger, majority of school shooters have a history of prescribed psychoactive drugs. Are these drugs really treating the issue or are they simply pacifying it?

The truth of the matter is, social isolation/ feelings of rejection, coupled with a violent streak or anger issues can produce a school shooter.

Join the conversation–what’s your opinion?