Just stop counting them.
In a news report published Thursday, CNN amends its prior reporting that there were 74 school shootings since the Newtown Massacre — a number calculated by gun violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety — and concludes that there have instead been just 15.
Just 15? With multiple school shootings occurring every month and, in some cases, multiple times per week, how did CNN conclude that only 15 school shootings have occurred since Sandy Hook?
“CNN determined that 15 of the incidents Everytown included were situations similar to the violence in Oregon — a minor or adult actively shooting inside or near a school,” the article explains. Except for the times when those criteria don’t apply: “Some of the other incidents on Everytown’s list included personal arguments, accidents and alleged gang activities and drug deals,” the article explains, apparently nixing Everytown’s bright line criteria that encompassed all incidents “when a firearm was discharged inside a school building or on school or campus grounds, as documented in publicly reported news accounts” in exchange for its own subjective assessment.
According to CNN, a school shooting does not count as a “school shooting” if it involves arguments, accidents, gang activities, or drugs. Even if it occurred on school grounds, those incidents don’t count.
I guess that’s one way to reduce school shootings: reduce your criteria to a point where virtually nothing counts.
CNN is the most trusted name in news. Or so they tell me.