Guns and College Homicide: The Case to Prohibit Firearms on Campus

At a time when mass shootings in schools and other public spaces have become commonplace, it might seem surprising that American college campuses are not magnets for murderers but sanctuaries from them. Because of remarkably effective gun-safe policies, deaths by firearms on college campuses are 1,000 times less frequent than in the U.S. public at large.

Drawing on crime data submitted in compliance with the Clery Act and public reports of those crimes, this study inventories every documented homicide at a U.S. college or university between 2001 and 2016, making a compelling argument for using gun-safe campuses as guides for broader public safety.

Stephen K. Boss is a professor of environmental dynamics and sustainability at the University of Arkansas. He has been involved in the national gun violence prevention movement for 10 years. He lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.