School Violence: What

Can Be Done to Stop

School Shootings?
John Inglis

Goals
1.Examining and discussing potential causes of
school violence in relation to the perpetrator and
the environment
2.Examining and discussing correlations between
violence exposure and parents knowledge of it
3.Determine the best preventative measures for
future school violence

Note
Although many sources on school violence focus on
school shootings, most findings are parallel to other
forms of violence (stabbings and use of other
weapons) such as motives, decision-making process,
environment, home-life, etc.
Of all the FATAL forms of school-based violence,
shootings are the most frequent, dramatic instances,
and account for the highest number of deaths
(Brighton, via Verlinden, 365).

Two Types of School Shootings

Targeted: Students are seeking some sort of
retribution, revenge, and or other benefit of
attacking a single or a few SPECIFIC targets.
Rampage or Random: Students are seeking to
hurt as many targets as possible, not necessarily
targeting specific people, while having an
audience. A goal could be to target a certain
group of people, but usually the shooter does not
discriminate who comes across their path.

Causes

Typical Motives

Interpersonal Disputes: 33%

Gang-related Activities: 31.4 %
Suicide: 18.1 %
Romantic Disputes: 11.4%

Source: Brighton (365-366)

Who are the Perpetrators? (Typical

Common Characteristics)
Male
Mean Age of 16 yrs old
Drug and/or alcohol abuse is

common
Involved in an interpersonal dispute
Deficiencies in executive functioning
Lack of social maturity
Number of court contacts

Source: Brighton (365-366)

Strained family
relationships
Poor anger
management and
coping skills
Lack of parental
monitoring

Why Carry?
Targeted Shootings Emphasis
Protection and Respect were the most common answers (most of
responses coming from gang-related activities/personal disputes)
Of admitted gun carriers, 18% claimed it was permissible to shoot
someone for merely showing disrespect
The Problem: data suggests that students who carry weapons to
school are not immediately distinguishable from students who
commit non-weapon offenses (demographics, mental health, prior
offenses, substance abuse histories)
Source: Brighton (366)

Other Determining Factors of

School Shootings
Media and many people like to focus on the WHO? of
school shootings, often giving a profile of a shooter.
Other factors are left out of the equation such as
environment
Supported by Pentzs Theoretical Model: Cumulative
contribution of Person (P), School (S), and Environment
(E) (Brighton, 374)

Environmental Indicators
Physical Environment: vandalism, crowded hallways during

transitions
Student Body behavior: extra-mural participation is low, strong
social cliques present
Faculty and Staff behavior: public discipline, bullying ignored
School Policy: PTA not active, teaching is not observed thoroughly
Other factors: lack of attachment to school (no unity or outreach
from groups/clubs), older students, presence of gangs, and
unreported bullying

Study from Characteristics of Schools

in Which Fatal Shootings Occur
138 schools assessed by their level, location, enrollment, ethnicity ratios,
and funding source in relation to school violence.
8x more likely of a shooting in a school with higher enrollment (at least
600+, but many of the schools had 1,000+)
Fatal Shootings 3x more likely in an urban setting than in a rural setting.
Fatal school shootings were 2.5 times more likely to occur at a high
school or middle school, rather than a college campus.
Fatal Shootings 6 times more likely in non-predominantly white schools,
than in predominantly white schools
Source: Brighton, 372)

Study from Characteristics of Schools in

Which Fatal Shootings Occur (cont.)
School shooting type did not differ (targeted vs. random) in terms of
enrollment or funding.
Predominantly white schools have 2.7x more chance of a random shooting
Colleges 20x more likely to have a rampage shooting than targeted
shooting
Private schools significantly less likely to have a shooting (less anonymity,
more involved)
Higher student-teacher ratio= more anonymity= more sense of isolation
which can be a much larger indicator of potential for school violence
Source: Brighton, 374

Parents Knowledge of
Violence Exposure to Their
Children

Exposure to Violence
Millions of children witness violence in their own home or
community
25% of urban youths witness a shooting in their lifetime
Children and Adolescents are 2-4 times more likely to witness violence
than to be a victim

Exposure to violence can have extreme effects on emotional and

behavioral health such as: psychological problems, stress, delinquency,
school failure, and other drastic life outcomes (Pogarsky via Ozen;
Selner O-Hagan, 195)

Research shows that violence perpetuates violence, and causes

posttraumatic stress disorder (Pogarsky via Dodge, 195)

Underestimating Exposure to
Violence
Uninformed parents are less apt to support their children by encouraging
effective coping techniques or by promoting avoidant strategies (Pogarsky
via Hardy, 196). This should lead to maladaptive emotional and
behavioral outcomes. Research shows that family support and generally
positive caregiver child relational attributes mitigate the harmful impacts
of exposure to violence (Pogarsky via Gorman-Smith; Hammack;
Sullivan, 196).
In summary, the more that parents underestimate their childrens
exposure to violence, the less those parents will provide the support
necessary for their children to cope with violent experiences; as a result,
their children will be at greater risk for internalizing and externalizing
problems and delinquent behaviors (Pogarsky, 196).

Overestimating Exposure to
Violence
We expect parents who overestimate their childrens
exposure to violence to supervise their children more closely
and to exert additional control over their childrens activities.
Such restrictions can impede emotional independence, social
development, and vital learning processes, thus leading to
emotional and behavioral problems (Pogarsky via Hardy, 196).
Parental control positively affects child development tup to a
point, but at appreciably high levels, the effects can become
negative: hindering of emotional and social health and
psychosocial functioning problems (Pogarsky, 196).

Study from The Consequences of Parental

Underestimation and Overestimation of
Youth Exposure to Violence
1,517 child-parent groups interviewed
Each parent and child had to indicate if the child had experienced the
following: (a) having a family member who had been hurt by a violent
act; having a friend who had been (b) hurt or (c) killed by a violent act;
seeing someone (d) shoved, kicked, or punched, (e) attacked with a knife,
or (f) shot; (g) hearing a gunshot; and knowing someone who had been
(h) shoved, kicked, or punched, (i) attacked with a knife, or (j) shot.
In addition, standard tests were administered to measure the parents
and children in areas of family functioning, psychosocial functioning and
offending behavior.

Results

66 % of parents underestimated their childrens exposure to violence

12 % of parents were accurate of their childrens exposure to violence
22% of parents overestimated their childrens exposure to violence
Parents with older kids significantly more likely to underestimate their
exposure to violence
Youths with parents underestimating their exposure to violence, as
well as youths that had discord with their parents responses, had
more internalizing/externalizing issues and offending behaviors, than
did youths in the parent agreement numbers (Pogarsky, 199)
Basically, KNOW YOUR KIDS BETTER

How Do We Stop It?

Mass Shootings
The rampage shootings that have stolen the headlines
over the years, such as Columbine and Newtown, have
everyone concerned.
We have seen many measures taken to make schools safer.
Yet, we still have these occurrences. Although certain
policies have helped, the question remains of how to be
better?

Measures Against Shootings

Guns Free Schools Act (1994)- Allows a school to expel a student for up to a
year for bringing a firearm to school, which states and schools extended to
other offenses, ushering in the zero tolerance era.
Zero Tolerance Policies, although allowing for harder across the board to
deter further or more extreme offenses punishment, have also been
criticized for numbing the population of the most serious punishments.
Persistently Dangerous Schools List- If a students school is on the list, they
may change schools. (Schools do everything to stay off this list because they
want a good reputation- only 52 in the country are on it!)
Profiling and Warning Signs- Although an aspect, NOT A USEFUL TOOL
ALONE (Too many non-violent students considered violent because of
characteristics, not threat)

Measures Against Shootings

Target Hardening and Security Measures
53% of schools search lockers
90% of schools place staff in the hallways throughout the day
54% of schools keep the entrances and exits locked during the school
day

93% of schools require visitors to sign in

State of the art security cameras and metal detectors are becoming
more prevalent

School IDs for students and staff

(Borum, 28-29)

FBIs Findings (2000)

160 Law Enforcement, Mental Health, and Education
experts
Most shooters had communicated or showed clear signs of
their attack before it happened.
This kind of communication raised the possibility that
shootings could be prevented by investigating situations
in which a student was known to make a threat of
violence, communicate intent, or otherwise engage in
behavior suggesting plans or preparations for a schoolbased attack, a process known as THREAT ASSESSMENT
(Borum, 31).

US Department of Education and

Secret Services Joint Findings (2002)
37 examined cases in the previous 25 years
Attacks were rarely, if ever impulsive: at least 2 days of planning,
but as much as a year.
In almost every case, others were concerned about the attackers
behavior leading up to the event.
Most of the attackers showed signs of needing help before the
incident.
In more than 3/4of the cases, an adult expressed concern about the
student

US Department of Education and

Secret Services Joint Findings (cont.)
Over 2/3 of the attackers reported being bullied, persecuted,
or injured by others in school
Over of the examined cases (past 25 years), the attackers
told someone of their plan to mount an attack on the school.
Over the cases involved multiple people knowing before
the incident occurred
Over 75% of the examined attackers threatened to or tried to
commit suicide before the attack (Borum via Vossekuil, 31)

US Department of Education and

Secret Services Joint Findings (cont.)
Conclusions:
Schools should make every effort to emphasize a broad prevention effort
aimed at establishing a positive, caring school climate characterized by
mutual respect between students and adults

Schools should make every effort to allow students to break the code of
silence that prevents them from seeking help to resolve problems or report a
threat of violence

The report also presents basic principles for multidisciplinary teams to use in
conducting threat assessments and managing potentially dangerous
situations (Borum, 31)

All present in the widely distributed Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide

to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates

Resources:
Virginia Threat Assessment Model (seen in back of
handout)
Dallas Threat of Violence Risk Assessment
PREPaRE Model of School Crisis Prevention and
Intervention
Preventing and preparing for psychological trauma, Reaffirming
physical health and perceptions of security and safety, Evaluating
psychological trauma risk, Providing interventions and
Responding to psychological needs, and Examining the
effectiveness of crisis prevention and intervention.

My Thoughts
The short term solutions to reducing and preventing school violence
are: communication and education amongst administration, counselors,
teachers, parents, staff, and students; creating a sense of comfort and
unity in the school, and instituting a well-known threat
assessment/reporting procedure.
I unfortunately do not know what the long term solutions to school
violence is. I think we are a culture that is fascinated and engulfed in
violence. It is not any single video game, TV show, or movie, but rather
a combination of most media and entertainment that you find today.
We are desensitized. However, censorship is not always the answer
either. How does one change a culture without infringing on the rights
of others? School Shootings are a part of a much bigger problem.

References
Borum, Randy; Cornell, Dewey G., Jimerson, Shane R.; Modzeleski, William (2010).
What Can Be Done About School Sootings? A Review of the Evidence. Educational
Researcher, Volume 39 (No 1), pp. 27-37. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27764551>.
Brighton, Laura M.; de Apodaca, Robert Flores; Jackson, Kiana N.; Perkins, Ashley
N.; Steege, Jessica R. (2012). Characteristics of Schools in Which Fatal Shootings
Occur. Psychological Reports, Volume 110 (Issue 2), pp. 363-377. DOI
10.2466/13.16.PR0.110.2.363-377
Pogarsky, Greg and Zimmerman, Geregory M. (2011). The Consequences of
Parental Underestimation and Overestimation of Youth Exposure to Violence.
Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 73, pp. 194-208. DOI:10.1111/j.17413737.2010.00798.x