Gun violence has been a continuing issue and a big topic as of late in American news, with multiple significant instances of it happening throughout the country.

On Aug. 27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a mass shooting occurred in a catholic school, where two students were killed and 21 other students and staff were left injured. In response to this event, Students Demand Action (SDA), a nationwide student organization, organized a nationwide walkout.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 10, one shot was fired at Utah Valley University, where it hit political activist Charlie Kirk in his neck which led to his death. That very same day in Evergreen, Colorado, just minutes later, a 16-year-old student fired multiple shots, injuring two fellow students, as well as killing another student and himself.

These events have made headlines for multiple weeks, but what wasn’t talked about were the ones in between.

Between Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, roughly 15 mass shootings occurred across the country, where a total of nine people were killed and 63 were left injured. 

Since Sept. 10, there have been roughly 25 mass shootings, with eight appearing over the course of 48 hours between Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, and a total of 26 were killed and 106 were left injured.

Outside of the multiple weeks of coverage that Charlie Kirk’s received, there isn’t a lot of coverage regarding other events. This disregard for events can, has, and will continue to shape how certain acts get covered. This is a big problem because in situations like this, it can result in another situation where 40+ shootings or any other kind of event slips through the cracks.

An example of this is a Sept. 12, shooting where a parent was shot at a football game in Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as another incident the same day where two students were injured at a football game in Pinetops, North Carolina. Both those incidents fell through the cracks of the Charlie Kirk coverage. Additionally, with the five mass shootings that occurred on Sept. 28, three of them were not sufficiently reported on, while two of them barely had any coverage due to them being buried below other acts of the same weight.

In the case of gun violence or mass shootings, coverage will almost always prioritize the bigger, more controversial events over everything else, even if they are both shootings at the end of the day.

Now more than ever, people should be aware of this issue, but if things continue to stay as they are now, there’ll be less of a chance people will know what’s happening in the world and how this can affect not just you, but everyone around you.

For a more in-depth look into the issues of gun violence, listen to the latest episode of the West Linn Weekly Wake Up, hosted by Multimedia Editor Garrett Arendt, Arts and Entertainment Editor Ethan Chenevert, and Web Editor Nicholas Hull. Music by Nicholas Hull.

This story was originally published on wlhsNOW on October 2, 2025.