[Graphic News] 1 in 4 US teachers experiences gun-related school lockdown

With school shootings in the United States reaching 82 cases in 2023, a majority of the country's teachers worry about the possibility of a shooting occurring at their school.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of US public school teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, or K-12, say they are at least somewhat worried about such an occurrence. Among them, 7 percent say they are extremely worried.

About a quarter of teachers report experiencing a gun-related lockdown at their school in the 2022-2023 academic year, with 8 percent experiencing more than one such occurrence. High school teachers are most likely to report school lockdowns, with 33 percent of respondents, followed by teachers at middle schools (23 percent) and elementary schools (16 percent).

Urban school teachers have more experience with gun-related lockdowns, with about a third of these teachers (31 percent) reporting such incidents, while 20 percent and 19 percent of those in rural and suburban schools, respectively, have experienced such lockdowns.