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Study links Chicago school closures to rise in neighborhood shootings
Emmet Elementary School was one of 50 schools that closed in 2013 as part of a cost-saving measure. It re-opened in 2025 as a community center. Photo by Josh Kalov, CC BY 2.0 Thirteen years after Chicago closed 50 public schools, researchers found that shootings rose in the areas surrounding the vacant school buildings. An…
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Journalists must show human cost of gun violence, says trauma surgeon in new book
Book talk: ‘Healing the Gun Violence Epidemic: A Trauma Surgeon’s Perspective’ Moderator: Abené Clayton, Reporter, Guardian US Selwyn O. Rogers, Jr., M.D., MPH, Chief of trauma and acute care surgery, University of Chicago Medicine By Suzanne King (Kansas-Missouri Health Journalism Fellow) As a Chicago trauma surgeon, Dr. Selwyn O. Rogers, Jr., witnesses the impacts of gun…
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What to know before covering the next mass shooting
Mass shootings are the most public and devastating acts of firearm violence. They also tend to capture the most attention, outrage and extensive news coverage, despite making up a very small percentage of overall gun deaths. Because mass shootings are a relatively new phenomenon in this century, there’s no official or standard definition for a…
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How to cover the link between housing access and gun violence
Housing access and risk of gun violence are closely connected. Among the studies showing the connection is a recent analysis from the University of Chicago, which found a link between evictions and shootings. Studies have also drawn a link between vacant homes and elevated gun violence. This connection is a key part of understanding gun…
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How to avoid bias when covering ICE shootings
As President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration campaign sweeps across the country, gun violence tends to follow, according to reporting by The Trace. That violence came to a head in January when two U.S. citizens were fatally shot in the streets of Minneapolis during “Operation Metro Surge,” a mobilization of the federal agencies Immigration and Customs…
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Political violence in the US is rising: What health reporters should watch
Political violence and terrorism plots have increased in recent years in the United States, even as overall gun violence has declined since its pandemic-era peak, according to researchers who track extremist activity. Michael Jensen, now director of research at the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, said last year that…
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