No Public Outcry In Springfield After a Kid Is Killed. Why? Officials in Springfield, Illinois, created a task force to build trust with the community and prevent the type of shooting that claimed Cash Russell’s life. There’s little evidence it’s helping.

Around six months ago, a 9-year-old boy was shot and killed inside a home in Springfield, Illinois.

The case is still unsolved.

But what stood out, especially in a city this size, was the silence around it.

For @thetrace.org I went to Springfield to understand why 🧵

The Bedrooms Left Behind by Children Killed in School Shootings Photographer Lou Bopp spent years documenting the lives of students who never returned home. His project is the focus of a new Netflix documentary.

Photographer Lou Bopp spent years documenting the lives of children killed in school shootings. He told The Trace about how his team approached shooting victims’ families, and whether he’ll ever truly be finished with this project.

Here’s What Philadelphians Want to See in the City's Plan to Boost Public Safety A safer city depends on crime prevention and lower gun violence, but also better coordination between stakeholders, residents tell The Trace.

Now that gun violence in Philadelphia is on a sustained downward trajectory, the city is trying to figure out what to do next. So for the first time in its history, the Philadelphia Police Department is developing a five-year strategic plan designed to enhance public safety.

A Trace Analysis of 150 U.S. Cities Shows One of the Greatest Drops in Gun Violence — Ever A Gun Violence Data Hub analysis of 150 cities paints a mostly consistent picture.

Important context from @thetrace.org and the Gun Violence Data Hub:

An of 150 U.S. Cities Shows One of the Greatest Drops in Gun Violence — Ever

www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...

Here’s What Philadelphians Want to See in the City's Plan to Boost Public Safety A safer city depends on crime prevention and lower gun violence, but also better coordination between stakeholders, residents tell The Trace.

As Philly officials draft a new plan for making the city safer, @thetrace.org's Mensah M. Dean spoke to residents about their priorities.

One theme: Better police relations.

"They should say, 'Good morning,' and, 'Good afternoon.' It doesn’t hurt to say that."

www.thetrace.org/2025/10/phil...

Today, we're debuting a new feature on @thetrace.org called 92 Days in Gun Violence. It's a quarterly update. The big finding thru Q3 is that have been fewer shooting deaths in 2025 than any year in a decade.

Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...

Gun Stores Are Struggling Under Trump Dealers say the president’s gun-friendly policies have actually hurt their sales. “People have a tendency to want what they feel is under threat," one said.

Gun dealers talk to @champebarton.bsky.social about the drop in demand, what drives sales, and the state of the industry.

Some dealers are seeing folks who bought during the pandemic sales surge now seeking to sell their guns.

www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...

"The attack was at least the 20th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the United States over the past two decades, according to a Trace analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive and other nonprofits that track such incidents."

Some Immigrants in Chicago Now Fear ICE More Than Gunfire Donald Trump's deployment of federal agents to cities is based on the disproven claim that immigrants commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes.

An estimated 70 percent of people currently detained by ICE have never been convicted of a crime.

Michigan Church Shooting and Fire: What We Know At least four people were killed after an attacker opened fire at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint building and intentionally set fire to the structure.

Investigators believe there may be additional victims of Sunday's shooting and fire at a Latter-day Saint church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. So far, at least four people have been confirmed as dead and either others were wounded.

The Dallas ICE Shooting Underscores How Hard It Is to Stop Sniper Attacks, Experts Say “There really is not anything you can do to secure a public place 100 percent,” said Caylen Wojcik, a former Marine sniper.

In the past two years, several shooters have attempted long-range assaults on politicians and government workers. Unlike many forms of public gun violence, these sorts of attacks evade most security measures, which makes preventing them exceedingly difficult.

We've covered this some at @thetrace.org, but Lydia Polgreen goes further here, showing how the rush to blame trans people for high-profile shootings exemplifies a broader mindset. (Trace story by @jenmascia.bsky.social)

www.thetrace.org/2025/07/mass...

Important, sobering story on something we rarely talk about from @amendelson.bsky.social @thetrace.org @gqmagazine.bsky.social.

From our analysis:
-Americans 70+ had the highest suicide rates
-Gun suicides kill more men 70+ than car crashes
-From 2009-23, 63,836 older Americans died by gun suicide

“They are taking innocent people and it’s affecting the community,” Raquel said. “You can’t even be at peace in your own home.”

Important story from Rita Oceguera in @thetrace.org @chicagoreader.com

"The shooting that claimed Kirk’s life did not happen in a vacuum. It follows a string of politically motivated attacks in the past two years: the attempted assassination of.. Donald Trump; the assassination of former Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband," and the CDC.

Trump Says Chicago Is Crime-Ridden. But Shootings Are Down 50 Percent Since His First Term. Chicagoans interviewed by The Trace say they’ve been feeling safer in their neighborhoods — and do not want intervention from ICE or the National Guard.

Rita Oceguera keeps a spotlight on disinfo for @thetrace.org

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/chic...

A Call to Protect Democracy From Political Violence Experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions consider what led to the current climate — and how we can change it.

From a prescient 2024 opinion piece in @thetrace.org :

"To counter the ideology that drives political violence, we must refrain from normalizing the permission structure that condones it. ... Political leaders bear a significant responsibility."

www.thetrace.org/2024/08/trum...

Charlie Kirk Shot During Utah Valley University Event: Live Updates Mr. Kirk, a close ally of President Trump, was shot in the neck while speaking in front of a large crowd on a university campus.

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot today at an event in Utah while on his “American Comeback” tour. He reportedly was being fact-checked at his “Prove Me Wrong” table about the trans mass shooter myth when he was shot.

This Midwestern County's Divergent Gun Violence Patterns Reflect a Broader American Reality In Washtenaw County, Michigan, social workers and community violence specialists are responding differently, if simultaneously, to gun suicides and homicides.

Washtenaw County, Michigan, sits just west of Detroit but faces its own split gun violence crisis. In Ypsilanti, shootings are driven by retaliation. Across the county’s rural towns, older white men are dying by suicide at far higher rates. Local leaders have built two playbooks in response.

Philly gets yet another resource for keeping its streets clean. It's part of the city's effort to continue reducing violent crime.

More Than 20 Active Shooting Hoaxes Have Locked Down Colleges Over the Past Two Weeks Experts said swatting incidents can traumatize students and first responders.

@jenmascia.bsky.social found there were at least 22 swatting hoaxes at American colleges just between the last week of August and early September. "Most of the calls involved an armed person in the library. Some featured gunshots in the background."
www.thetrace.org/2025/09/swat... #tellewa

"The NSSF study, then, raises a key question: Why have Republican lawmakers largely stood against more significant reforms, let alone any reform at all? As the study indicates, many people with a favorable view of gun ownership appear open to going further than ... lawmakers."

The Armed Era You drop your child off at kindergarten where they learn how to hide from an active shooter. You spot a rifle-strapped shopper in the cereal aisle at the supermarket. You stuff your belongings in a cl...

Some helpful historical context from my colleagues @jenmascia.bsky.social and @bychipbrownlee.com on how we got here www.thetrace.org/2024/04/colu...

Mass Shootings Data on mass shootings in the United States, from the Gun Violence Archive.

We have updated the Gun Violence Data Hub's page featuring data on mass shootings.

This data comes from the Gun Violence Archive, and uses their definition of "a minimum of four victims shot." You can find more information and download the data at this link
datahub.thetrace.org/dataset/mass...

If you don't think "thoughts and prayers" suffice at this moment, you may want to read about what the gun industry knows about firearms laws, by @mikespies.bsky.social
www.thetrace.org/2025/07/gun-...

Legal Constraints Could Stymie Trump’s Plans to Police Other Cities We spoke with a policing expert from Yale Law School about whether a federal takeover could come to New York or Chicago.

From a @thetrace.org Q&A with a Yale policing expert:

"If we were talking about a city and a state, the National Guard wouldn’t be able to exercise general police powers like making arrests or investigating crimes. Washington poses a very different issue."

www.thetrace.org/2025/08/trum...

In light of today’s shooting in Minnesota, here’s a relevant bit from the gun industry’s own research, which I obtained earlier this summer

Washington D.C.'s 12-day murder-free streak ended early this morning with the shooting death of a man just after midnight www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-n...

"The ongoing dispute exposed a foundational fracture in the city’s community violence intervention efforts. … That structural shift, according to several local activists, marked the beginning of a more top-down, enforcement-driven approach."

They Rallied the Nation After the Parkland School Shooting. Years Later, Their Group Is Floundering. The gun reform group has been rocked by divisions, layoffs, and — most recently — a lawsuit alleging racism and retaliation.

March for Our Lives, an important youth mobilizer, has hit hard times. Quite hard. Details in my latest story:

www.thetrace.org/2025/08/marc...