John Woodrow Cox

Washington, D.C.

Enterprise reporter with a focus on narrative journalism
John Woodrow Cox is an enterprise reporter at The Washington Post and the author of Children Under Fire: An American Crisis. In 2018, his series about the impact of gun violence on children in America was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing. He was also part of the team of Post journalists awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for public service for coverage of the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. He has won Scripps Howard's Ernie Pyle Award for Human Interest Storytelling, the Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, Columbia Journalism School’s Meyer “Mike” Berger A
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Latest from John Woodrow Cox

In historic case, father of 14-year-old school shooting suspect charged with murder

Colin Gray, the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children.

September 5, 2024
Colin Gray, 54, father of 14-year-old suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray.

Accused Georgia 14-year-old would be youngest mass school shooter since 1998

The alleged Apalachee High shooter’s youth, and his apparent ability to obtain an AR-15-style weapon, will likely amplify national debate over gun violence.

September 5, 2024
State of Georgia Chaplain Ronald Clark consoles students as they kneel in front of a makeshift memorial at Apalachee High School on Thursday in Winder, Ga.

A 20-year-old’s perplexing place in the catalogue of American gunmen

Thomas Matthew Crooks, who used a gun purchased by his father after the Sandy Hook massacre, evokes the profile of a mass shooter. Instead he fired at a former president.

July 21, 2024
A protester wields a sign bearing the image of Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to assassinate former president Donald Trump, outside the security zone at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Guilty: Inside the high-risk, historic prosecution of a school shooter’s parents

A Post reporter embedded with Michigan prosecutors for two years as they pursued homicide charges against Jennifer and James Crumbley, whose son killed four students at Oxford High School.

July 8, 2024
McDonald and members of her team walk through the courthouse hallway. They were not allowed to discuss the case publicly for months.

The number of students who have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine

The Washington Post for years has tracked the number of students affected by school shootings. Since 1999, over 300,000 children have experienced gun violence during school hours.

June 29, 2024

Guns are seized in U.S. schools each day. The numbers are soaring.

The number of guns found in schools -- hidden in backpacks, waistbands and lockers -- has spiked in recent years, impacting hundreds of thousands of students.

October 10, 2023
Young checks the doors to make sure they're locked at Vernal Middle School in Utah.

Biden to create new office of gun violence prevention

The move, long been pushed by gun control groups, comes amid stalled progress on gun-safety legislation

September 19, 2023
President Biden leads a moment of silence during a vigil last year for victims of gun violence.

    Are there warning signs? What we learned from covering school shootings.

    Washington Post journalists John Woodrow Cox and Steven Rich chatted with readers about gun violence on Wednesday

    May 3, 2023
    John Woodrow Cox, left, and Steven Rich, who have reported on school shootings for years.

    A school shooting left a 7-year-old terrified to go back. At 13, she found a way.

    Ava Olsen was too traumatized to step inside a classroom for six years. Would her seventh-grade return be derailed by news of another elementary school shooting?

    May 1, 2023
    Ava in her backyard in March. (Will Crooks for The Washington Post)

      Journalists covering shootings share what’s stuck with them

      Enterprise reporter John Woodrow Cox and database editor for investigations Steven Rich have been reporting on gun violence for years.

      February 17, 2023