This story was published in partnership with The Trace, which contributed data analysis. The Trace is a nonprofit newsroom focused on covering the nation’s gun violence crisis, and you can sign up for its newsletters here.
Background checks for gun purchases in Texas rose during the weeks after the mass shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead, according to the latest count from the federal government. It wasn’t the largest jump in background checks so far this year, but it’s part of a pattern that has followed most mass shootings for over a decade.