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CNN Uses Santa Fe Shooting To Spread Misinformation on School Shooting Statistics

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Following the school shooting in Texas on Friday, CNN reported that the U.S. has averaged over one such incident a week in 2018, but the statistic is very misleading.

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro noted that CNN used very broad parameters to define a school shooting to get the total number of 22 they reported to have occurred this year.

The network’s parameters included any shooting (intentional or accidental) that occurred on a school ground — elementary school through university — even if the incidents were related to gang or domestic violence.

“None of these events meet the more typical definition of a school shooting: a multiple-murder attempt on a school campus directed at children,” Shapiro said.

He added, “CNN merely broadens the definition to include typical murders that happen to take place on school campuses, or in parking lots, or including non-students.”

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Among the 22 counted in CNN’s total are a student shot by another student with a BB gun in New York in April, a non-student who was shot at an apartment on the University of South Alabama campus in March, two non-students who were shot at Central Michigan University in a domestic dispute also in March, and two teenagers who shot a third teen in a robbery attempt outside a school in Maryland in February.

Do you think CNN was purposely misconstrued the number of school shootings?

Shapiro said that when all the shooting incidents that do not meet the commonly understood definition are removed, the number remaining is seven.

“That doesn’t mean these incidents are unworthy of reportage,” Shapiro wrote. “But it’s plainly dishonest to state, as CNN does, that there have been 22 ‘school shootings’ this year.”

“CNN has an agenda, and they won’t let facts get in the way,” he concluded.

Fox News reported that Friday’s school shooting left 10 people dead and 10 wounded.

A suspect, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, has been taken into custody.

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President Donald Trump began a White House event concerning prison reform on Friday by taking a moment to acknowledge the shooting and ask God to be with the victims of the tragedy.

“We grieve for the terrible loss of life and send our support and love to everyone affected by this absolutely horrific attack to the students, families, teachers and personnel at Santa Fe High,” Trump stated. “We’re with you in this tragic hour and we will be with you forever.”

The president pledged that his administration would do everything it can to protect students and keep guns out of the hands of those who could harm themselves or others.

“Everyone must work together at every level of government to keep our children safe,” Trump said.

“May God heal the injured and may God comfort the wounded, and may God be with the victims and with the victims’ families.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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