The NRA's Claim That Gun-Free Schools Are More Likely To Be Targeted By Shooters Is Completely False

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre is testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, representing his organization's views at the first hearing on gun control since the mass shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The NRA has been widely criticized for its response to that tragedy. LaPierre, in particular, has come under fire for his suggestion to place armed guards in schools, and his claim that gun-free school zones make children sitting targets.

During his post-Sandy Hook press conference, NRA President Wayne LaPierre said that gun-free school zones "tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

LaPierre's claim doesn't actually hold up against the data. Statistics from the Department of Justice show his claim that schools are magnets for "insane killers" is provably wrong.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that "the percentage of youth homicides occurring at school remained at less than 2 percent of the total number of youth homicides over all available survey years."

As this chart demonstrates, when it comes to homicides, gun-free schools aren't the problem:

Despite media coverage surrounding school shooting tragedies, children are actually rarely murdered at school. It's actually when they're not in school that kids are most at risk.