When I first heard news of the stabbing spree at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, I couldn't believe it. It was difficult to imagine that one high school boy could manage to attack 21 people with just a knife. Talking with friends when we heard the news, we wondered how it was possible that nobody was able to stop him sooner. However, as the story unfolded, the image of a high school stabber became less incredulous and increasingly terrifying.
Both perpetrators were juvenile males.
The Wikipedia page for US school shootings in the month of April, 2014 list 12 incidents in that month alone: however, only two of these incidents resulted in casualties. I don't remember hearing anything about any of these incidents. The Pennsylvania stabbing spree occurred in early April, so it is possible that this is a factor in why these other school shootings got less airtime.
However, I am curious if the current trend in school stabbings is indicating that these attacks are becoming more popular: Could a lack of access to guns, such as in the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre, be partially responsible? Is this an indicator that gun bans are effective? If so, than what is the next step? Outlawing knives would be next to impossible due to their sheer prevalence. Such a finding would seem to indicate what many have argued all along: that the issue is one of mental health.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/school-stabbing-spree/school-stabbing-spree-20-hurt-pittsburgh-area-bloodbath-n75536
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wake-teen-slain-junior-prom-draws-crowd-23553668
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States#2010s
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