How other countries have responded to mass shootings

WAMU 88.5 | By Amanda Williams

Published June 6, 2022 at 1:59 PM CDT

A gun control advocate holds a sign during a protest at Discovery Green across from the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

Two weeks ago, a gunman attacked an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.

Since then, there have been at least 33 more mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. They define a mass shooting as an event in which four or more people are shot or killed.

Mass shootings are far more common in the U.S. than in any other developed nation. That’s not to say they haven’t happened abroad. Mick Northknows the heartbreak of a school shooting all too well. In 1996, a gunman entered a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and killed 16 students — including Sophie North.She was five years old.

Mick North has dedicated much of his last 26 years to preventing another mass shooting.After the Dunblane Massacre, North helped found the Gun Control Network, an organization dedicated to gun safety regulations in the U.K.

How have other developed nations faced mass shootings? What could the U.S. learn from their responses?