EXCLUSIVE: Transgender students report highest rates of bringing weapons to school in Seattle area: data

The results are from King County Public Health’s bi-annual Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) which surveys public school students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12, according to its website. The types of weapons listed in the questionnaire include guns, knives, or other.

According to the 2025 results, 3.9 percent of students identifying as transgender reported bringing weapons to school. That was the highest figure among gender categories shown. The next highest figure was “other gender” at 2.7 percent, followed by “questioning” at 2.1 percent.

An earlier dashboard view from results between 2018 and 2021 showed a similar report. Trans students reported an 8.8 percent rate, followed by those who said "something else fits better" at 7.5 percent and questioning at 6.3 percent.

It's important to note that the "male" and "female" categories, which were significantly lower percentages, can also include trans-identifying students. The survey allows students who identify as transgender to also select their birth sex, in addition to their trans status, according to the website.

These findings come as mass shootings have been increasingly carried out by transgender individuals across the nation, and world, in recent years. In Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, The Ascension School in Minneapolis, and the Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. are just a few of the recent school shootings that were undertaken by trans shooters.

The Trump administration has included the rise of trans extremism in its newly-implemented counterterrorism strategy, released earlier this year.

At least one Seattle Antifa-affiliated group formed a transgender firearm training group this year. They are known as the Moto Hooligans, and appear to act similar to a militia.

The Healthy Youth Survey is a biennial Washington state questionnaire administered in public schools. KCPH publishes selected results on its dashboard, which notes confidence intervals reflect the true value range of 90 percent.