News & Media

Following the shooting deaths of eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana, PBS NewsHour examines how firearm access during domestic violence situations dramatically increases lethality — with experts noting gun access raises the likelihood of a female partner's death by fivefold during separation, the highest-risk period. Prevention strategies discussed include court-ordered firearm removal, restraining orders, and comprehensive safety planning during high-risk transitions.

WBUR's Here & Now spoke with The 19th reporter Jasmine Mithani about the Shreveport, Louisiana mass shooting and the broader rise in domestic violence, exploring how community-based intervention, early warning systems, and improved social supports are essential tools for preventing lethal domestic violence incidents before they escalate.

The South Coast Youth Safety Partnership, a youth violence prevention program credited with reducing gang activity in Santa Barbara County, faces potential closure due to threatened funding cuts. Community leaders warn that eliminating the program would remove critical resources that have helped at-risk youth find safer paths and are urging state and local officials to preserve the funding.

California high school junior Elise Choi and student coalition GenUp co-authored Assembly Bill 2071, which would require California schools to teach digital wellness — covering how social media and AI affect mental health — as part of health class curricula, arguing that cellphone bans alone do not teach students healthy technology use or self-regulation skills.

Three teenagers were arrested after a concerned parent reported a credible plot to shoot Clinton Middle School's cafeteria. Deputies acting on the tip removed 11 firearms from one teen's home. Officials cited the anonymous tip as the critical intervention that prevented violence, underscoring the role of community reporting in school safety.

Detroit Public Schools Community District will receive an additional $10.3 million in state mental health and school safety funding on top of its original $8 million allocation, after hundreds of Michigan school systems rejected the money rather than agree to required disclosure waivers. The district, which contracted the funds for mental health services and security staff, says the extra dollars can cover expenses into next school year.

Wake County Public School System leaders briefed school board members on safety measures following a student gun incident at Millbrook High School, highlighting the Say Something anonymous tip app provided by Sandy Hook Promise. The district received about 250 tips this school year — two-thirds related to student behavior and one-third to security threats — and is weighing more than $30 million in security infrastructure upgrades.

Prosecutors declined homicide charges after determining a student shot a non-student armed intruder in self-defense at Natomas High School. The incident — occurring four months after the district ended its school resource officer contract — has renewed calls from community advocates for expanded youth violence prevention programs and greater investment in trusted community-based interventions as an alternative to police on campus.

Sandy Hook Promise announced that more than 1,200 students from 23 states will gather virtually April 17–18 for the National Youth Summit ahead of National Youth Violence Prevention Week (April 20–24). The release highlights a decline in school shooting incidents in 2025 to their lowest level since 2021, crediting students who take an active role in recognizing warning signs and building upstander cultures in their schools.

A DFL-backed bill that would have required Minnesota schools to implement anonymous threat reporting systems, firearm storage protocols, and evidence-based safety plans failed in a House committee—the same week a Republican-led bill also stalled, leaving the state without school safety legislation this session.

Governor Mikie Sherrill's $33 million Spark initiative would replace New Jersey's NJ4S school mental health program with a competitive grant model for in-school counselors, but advocates warn the shift could reduce services for students in underserved districts.

School safety software company CENTEGIX acquired Pikmykid to create a unified system connecting daily student operations—like dismissal and pickup—with emergency response workflows, giving districts a single platform for managing routine and crisis-level safety needs.

Pennsylvania's Shapiro-Davis Administration approved 177 projects totaling more than $65 million to reduce gun and community violence and expand afterschool programming for at-risk youth. The investment is part of a three-year effort that has delivered over $1 billion in grants statewide, with firearm-related crimes declining 40% and homicides down 35% since the administration took office.

Students at Boys' Latin of Philadelphia organized a basketball tournament to raise awareness about gun violence, partnering with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Nursing Pathways Program to distribute gun locks and safety information. The student-led effort combined community events, social media campaigns, and outreach to lawmakers as part of a sustained violence prevention initiative.

Two new MSU-led studies find that urban students experiencing mental health challenges may be turning to school as a protective space, reversing pre-pandemic patterns and suggesting that school climate improvements in peer support and sense of safety could meaningfully reduce chronic absenteeism.

Cal State LA received a landmark $48 million grant from Ballmer Group — the largest single philanthropic gift in the university's history — to expand social work and school-based family counseling programs, training over 1,000 new mental health professionals to serve Los Angeles schools and communities over five years.

Senator Nick Miller announced more than $1 million in School Safety and Security Grant Program funding for Lehigh and Northampton County schools, supporting mental health programs, violence prevention initiatives, and student support systems.

Eight months after the Annunciation school shooting, a Republican proposal to direct $102 million toward school safety measures — including $50 million in one-time facility grants and anonymous threat reporting systems — failed in the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee on a 12-12 party-line vote, as Democrats pushed for gun restrictions alongside any safety legislation.

A $102 million school safety package introduced by Minnesota House Republicans failed to advance on a party-line vote, with Democrats citing concerns over routing funds away from student support personnel toward physical security and over limitations in the bill's anonymous threat-reporting provisions.

Despite public pressure following the Annunciation school shooting, Minnesota lawmakers from both parties were unable to reach a bipartisan school safety agreement, with Republicans and Democrats at odds over gun restrictions, funding allocation, and anonymous threat-reporting requirements ahead of a budget deadline.

A Gainesville community organization launched mobile technology hubs — featuring laptops, high-speed internet, and after-school programming — as a gun violence prevention strategy, pairing digital skill-building with partner services to reach at-risk youth before they enter the criminal justice system.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a package of bipartisan bills to strengthen school safety and student mental health, including legislation to train teachers to identify at-risk students, require wearable panic alert systems in classrooms, modernize internet safety education, and expand community-based youth violence reduction programs.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $5 million HOPE (Havens of Opportunity, Peace and Empowerment) initiative to fund community-based organizations in neighborhoods hardest hit by gun violence, establishing mentorship, job skills, and support services for young people during high-risk evening and weekend hours.

A Minnesota House committee heard a proposal to allocate $4 million for the Department of Public Safety to deploy advanced threat detection technology — integrating AI, millimeter wave scanning, and rapid response capabilities — outside school buildings in one district per congressional district. The bill faces opposition from civil liberties and disability advocates concerned about surveillance bias and potential misidentification of students.

Student discipline expert Nathan Maynard argues that restorative practices in schools must include consistent, progressive consequences to be effective, warning that inconsistent implementation — where students return to class after referrals with no follow-through — is undermining the approach's potential to reduce conflict and support at-risk youth.