When Was the First School Shooting?
The first school shooting is often traced to the 1764 Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre, but modern school shooting databases usually begin much later.
Quick Answer
The first school shooting in what is now the United States is often identified as the Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre, which happened on July 26, 1764, near present-day Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
However, the answer depends on what you mean by “school shooting.” The 1764 event happened during Pontiac’s War on the colonial frontier, and historical accounts describe it as a schoolhouse massacre involving gunfire and other violence. That makes it very different from the modern image of a school shooting involving a student, former student, or outside attacker using a firearm in a school setting.
The most accurate answer is: the earliest commonly cited U.S. school shooting or schoolhouse attack involving gunfire was in 1764, but modern school shooting datasets usually begin much later.
Why the Answer Is Complicated
“School shooting” sounds like a simple term, but researchers, journalists, and public agencies do not always define it the same way.
Some definitions count only incidents where someone is shot on school property. Others count any gunfire on school grounds, even if no one is hit. Some include colleges; others include only K-12 schools. Some include after-hours parking lot incidents, suicides, accidental discharges, or bullets striking school property.
That means the “first” school shooting can change depending on the question:
| Question | Likely answer |
|---|---|
| Earliest schoolhouse attack involving gunfire in what became the US | Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre, 1764 |
| Earliest event in many modern K-12 datasets | Usually 1966 or later |
| Deadliest school attack in US history | Bath School disaster, 1927, but it was a bombing |
| First modern-style mass school shooting | Debated, depending on definition |
The 1764 event matters historically, but it should not be treated as identical to modern school shootings. It occurred in a wartime frontier context, not in the same social, legal, educational, or firearms environment as later school attacks.
The 1764 Enoch Brown Schoolhouse Massacre
The Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre occurred on July 26, 1764, in what is now Franklin County, Pennsylvania, near Greencastle. Historical accounts describe an attack on a small settler schoolhouse during Pontiac’s War, a conflict between Native nations and British colonial forces after the French and Indian War.
The schoolmaster, Enoch Brown, and a group of students were killed. Accounts differ slightly on the exact number of children and details of the attack, which is common with eighteenth-century frontier records.
This event is often called the first school massacre in America and is frequently cited as the first school shooting because gunfire was involved. The site is remembered locally through Enoch Brown Park and historical memorials.
Still, the event needs context. It was part of a violent colonial frontier war involving displacement, retaliation, and conflict between Native peoples and European settlers. Calling it simply “the first school shooting” without that context can make the history sound more modern than it was.
Was It Really a School Shooting?
It depends on the definition.
If a school shooting means any incident where a firearm is used in an attack at a school, then the 1764 Enoch Brown massacre is a strong candidate for the earliest known case in what became the United States.
If a school shooting means a modern school-based firearm attack in a peacetime education system, then 1764 is harder to compare. The event was a schoolhouse attack, but it occurred during war on a colonial frontier.
If a school shooting means an incident included in a modern school shooting database, then the answer may be much later. The K-12 School Shooting Database, for example, focuses on incidents from 1966 to the present.
So the honest answer is not just a date; it is a date plus a definition.
Why Modern Databases Often Start in 1966
Modern school shooting databases usually begin in the twentieth century because reliable national tracking becomes much easier in the modern era.
The K-12 School Shooting Database documents K-12 school shootings from 1966 to the present. Its methodology is intentionally broad: it includes incidents where a gun is fired, brandished with intent, or a bullet hits school property, regardless of the reason, time of day, or number of victims.
That approach is useful for modern school safety planning because it captures more than mass shootings. It can include accidents, disputes, suicides, domestic violence incidents, gang-related shootings, and shootings at school events.
But a database starting in 1966 does not mean no school-related gun violence happened before 1966. It means the researchers chose a modern period where incidents can be collected, checked, and compared more consistently.
Other Early School Attacks to Know
The 1764 Enoch Brown massacre is often discussed as the earliest schoolhouse attack involving gunfire, but it is not the only important historical school attack.
One major example is the Bath School disaster in Michigan on May 18, 1927. It was not a shooting; it was a bombing. A school board treasurer used explosives at Bath Consolidated School, killing dozens of people, most of them children. Britannica describes it as the deadliest school attack in US history.
That matters because “school shooting” and “school attack” are not the same category.
| Event | Year | Type | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre | 1764 | Schoolhouse attack involving gunfire and other violence | Often cited as earliest US school shooting/school massacre |
| Bath School disaster | 1927 | Bombing | Deadliest US school attack, but not a shooting |
| University of Texas tower shooting | 1966 | Mass shooting from campus tower | Often discussed as a major early modern campus shooting |
These events show why definitions matter. A bombing can be deadlier than a shooting. A wartime schoolhouse attack can be earlier than modern datasets. A university attack can be school-related but not K-12.
How School Shootings Changed Over Time
Early school attacks were often tied to broader conflicts, personal disputes, or local violence. Modern school shootings are tracked in a more detailed way because schools now have formal security systems, media coverage, emergency response plans, and national databases.
Over time, the public meaning of “school shooting” also changed. Today, many people use the term to describe incidents involving:
- Students or former students
- Firearms on K-12 campuses
- Mass casualty attacks
- Lockdowns and active shooter responses
- School safety policy debates
- Youth mental health and threat assessment
But researchers often use broader definitions because even non-mass-casualty gunfire on school property can affect students, staff, families, and communities.
For a current data-focused companion, Coursepivot’s guide to 2025 school shooting statistics by state explains how modern definitions affect state-by-state counts.
Why Getting the History Right Matters
History helps prevent two common mistakes.
The first mistake is thinking school violence is entirely new. Schools have been affected by violence for a long time, although the forms, weapons, motives, and public response have changed.
The second mistake is treating all school attacks as the same. A colonial frontier massacre, a school bombing, an accidental discharge, a domestic violence incident in a parking lot, and a planned mass shooting are not identical events.
Good data requires careful categories. Good public conversation requires the same thing.
When someone asks “When was the first school shooting?” the best response is to clarify the definition first, then answer with context.
The Bottom Line
The first school shooting in what is now the United States is often identified as the Enoch Brown schoolhouse massacre, which occurred on July 26, 1764, near present-day Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
But that answer needs context. The 1764 attack happened during Pontiac’s War and is better understood as an eighteenth-century schoolhouse massacre involving gunfire, not as a modern school shooting in the way people usually use the term today.
Modern school shooting databases often begin much later, such as 1966, because they focus on incidents that can be defined and tracked consistently. So the clearest answer is: 1764 is the earliest commonly cited case, but the “first” school shooting depends on how the term is defined.