CrimeAtlas

Deadliest School Shootings & Attacks

Attacks on schools are among the most devastating crimes a community can suffer. This list collects the school shootings and school attacks documented on CrimeAtlas, ranked by their death tolls.

These cases involve young victims and grieving communities; they are presented factually and with sources. Each entry links to the full case file.

  1. 1 Beslan School Siege Beslan, Russia · 2004 Chechen-led militants seized School Number One in Beslan, North Ossetia, taking over 1,100 hostages; a three-day siege ended in explosions and gunfire that killed at least 334 peop…
  2. 2 Virginia Tech Shooting Blacksburg, USA · 2007 On April 16, 2007, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded many others in two attacks on the Virginia Tech campus before taking his own life.
  3. 3 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Newtown, Connecticut, USA · 2012 Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
  4. 4 Uvalde Robb Elementary School Shooting Uvalde, USA · 2022 An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in one of the deadliest U.S.
  5. 5 Erfurt School Massacre Erfurt, Germany · 2002 A 19-year-old expelled former student opened fire at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany, killing 16 people before taking his own life.
  6. 6 Winnenden School Shooting Winnenden, Germany · 2009 A 17-year-old former student killed 15 people at his old school in Winnenden, Germany, and during his flight, before taking his own life.
  7. 7 Columbine High School Massacre Littleton, Colorado, USA · 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people at Columbine High School in the deadliest school shooting of its time.
  8. 8 Kauhajoki School Shooting Kauhajoki, Finland · 2008 On 23 September 2008, 22-year-old student Matti Saari shot and killed nine people at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, Finland, before fatally shooting himself.
  9. 9 Jokela School Shooting Jokela, Tuusula, Finland · 2007 An 18-year-old student opened fire at Jokela High School in southern Finland, killing eight people before fatally shooting himself.
  10. 10 Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting Marysville, USA · 2014 A 15-year-old student shot five classmates in the school cafeteria, killing four, then took his own life.

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