Trying to Understand School Shootings

[IIIIIREPOIIIII]

http://publicintelligence.net/unders...ool-shootings/




Law enforcement has struggled in recent years with the issue of mass shootings and how to provide the public with adequate ways to detect and possibly catch shooters before they strike. School shootings, in particular, have vexed criminal analysts trying to help school officials ensure the safety of their students by identifying at-risk individuals that might engage in acts of violence. This has led to some strange and seemingly arbitrary speculations about the nature of school shooters.

A 2009 document released by the FBI and the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime titled “The School Shooter: A Quick Reference Guide” is one example of this sort of speculation. The guide warns that “repeated viewing of movies depicting school shootings” such as Zero Day and Elephant could indicate a fascination with school shootings. According to the guide, school shooters often exhibit “violence in their own writings, poems, essays, and journal entries” and have an interest in violent movies. Law enforcement and school officials concerned about a student are encouraged to monitor the subject’s online videos, blogs, and social networking activities to look for signs of grief and desperation.

Another guide produced in 2006 by the Regional Organized Crime Information Center contained similarly broad and speculative observations that could likely be applied to large swaths of the student body at your local high school. In a section on “warning signs” of a school shooter, the guide lists an “attitude of superiority” and “exaggerated sense of entitlement.” The guide goes on to say that school shooters are often “fans of violent media, especially first-person shooter games” and “social outcasts who pride themselves on exclusion from popular circles.”

Analyzing School Shootings

Moving away from these basic speculations, law enforcement has expanded its efforts to embrace statistical analysis in the hopes of discovering common attributes among school shooters and mass shootings generally. Over the last year, fusion centers in several states have released studies, deriving useful information from aggregate analysis that can actually help the public understand the phenomenon of school shootings and what drives people to engage in this sort of seemingly random violence.

A statistical analysis of school shootings released in August by the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center (LAJRIC) studied school shootings throughout the U.S. from January 2008 to August 2013. In that five-year span, there were 85 school shootings that took place in 29 states, a majority of the country, with most states experiencing between one and three incidents over the last five years. California ranked highest with 18 incidents, followed by Michigan and Tennessee. The majority of school shootings, about 52%, took place at high schools, with the rest equally distributed between colleges/universities and elementary/middle schools.



These shootings were perpetrated by 97 people, almost entirely male, with only 4% being perpetrated by females. Most of the shootings involved the use of small arms and only 11% involved the use of multiple weapons. Less than half of the shootings (46%) were committed by current or former students at the school and only 8% were committed by current or former employees. Significantly, at least 40% of school shooters during the five-year period had no connection to the school where the attack occurred.

Half of the victims of school shootings were intentionally targeted by the gunman with only 21% being killed or wounded due to indiscriminate gunfire. In 57% of the incidents the perpetrator directly knew the victims. The majority of the perpetrators were between 16‐18 years old (31%) with the second largest group being 13‐15 year old (23%). Demographics and motivations for school shooters vary widely, with most being perpetrated for unknown reasons. Gang-related shootings happening in and around school campuses account for nearly three-times the amount of incidents as murders/suicides and retaliation for bullying. In fact, only 27% of school shooters commit suicide or are killed by authorities. Most school shooters (61%) end up being arrested after having killed one or more victims.

Digging Deeper

A similar report released in March by the Massachusetts Commonwealth Fusion Center (CFC) studied school shootings from 1992-2012, obtaining significantly different results from the study conducted by LAJRIC due to the use of more stringent criteria. The CFC study found that 80% of school shooters were current or former students at the targeted school, as opposed to the figure of 40% in LAJRIC’s report. CFC found that 40% of perpetrators used two or more weapons and that 43% entered the building normally with their weapons concealed. According to the CFC’s findings, most school shootings (42%) occur in the morning between 7-11:30 AM. One particularly interesting finding from the CFC report is the high number of victims from a few specific incidents versus the relatively low number of victims from most school shootings. Though 87% of incidents resulted in 0-3 fatalities, CFC found that three incidents accounted for 45% of all fatalities during the period.

The CFC report notes that a history of mental health issues was cited in 28% of school shootings as a motivating factor. Other common motivations include “difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures” or specific grievances, including bullying. Both the CFC report as well as an analysis released last year by the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center (NJROIC) found that school shooters often indicate their intentions to others prior to the incident. The CFC found that in 33% of incidents one or more people knew directly of some aspect of the perpetrator’s intentions through direct statements or online posts using social media. The NJROIC analysis states that “the majority of students who have conducted plots or attacks against their schools have publicized their anger or intentions through the use of social media” and provides several examples of school shootings that followed online threats. For example, the perpetrator of a 2011 school shooting in Omaha, Nebraska that resulted in the death of a school administrator posted a Facebook update prior to the shooting that read:

“Everybody that used to know me, I’m sorry but Omaha changed me and fucked me up. And the school I attend is even worse. You’re gonna here [sic] about the evil shit I did but that fucking school drove me to this. I want you guys to remember me for who I was before this. I greatly affected the lives of the families ruined but I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

Likewise, the perpetrator of a school shooting at an Ohio high school in February 2012 that resulted in the deaths of three students posted a poem filled with violent imagery on Facebook several months prior that ended with the phrase: “Die, all of you.” If caught in time, these indicators can actually help stop attacks from happening. A plot to bomb a Utah high school in early 2012 was foiled after one of the potential perpetrators sent a text message to another student stating “If I tell you one day not to go to school, make damn sure you . . . are not there.” The text messages went on to document parts of the teens’ alleged plot to steal an airplane following the attack and flee the country: “I get the feeling you know what I’m planning . . . explosives, airport, airplane. We ain’t gonna crash it, we’re just gonna kill and fly our way to a country that won’t send us back to the U.S.” Due to the text messages being reported to authoirities, the plan to attack the school was thwarted. Investigators said they later found detailed blueprints of the school and bomb-making materials at the suspect’s home.

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http://s3.documentcloud.org/document...nce-center.pdf

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[JenniferG]

I think for most of these kids they see a one time glorious ending to an inglorious life they have. They see no hope in continuing on in their otherwise insignificant lives so they decide to go out in a blaze to make their mark. I think also that some are just suffer from misdiagnosed or undiagnosed mental disorders hence the large segment of the chart that indicates reasons are unknown.

The gun grabbers are right about one thing. We do have a violent society, just as the rest of the world does. The difference with the US is we are much better able to protect ourselves from dangerous individuals if you are conscious of the danger and take steps to counter it.

If you read the news from around the world and see how their violence is perpetrated on each other we look at them as barbarians. How many of our kids have their parents raise and train their children to strap bomb vests on and get on a bus load of other children and blow the bus up? Some of the worst mass murderers that I've read about have been in the former Soviet Union where religion or (as I prefer it "faith") and social conscience were eliminated from the school curriculum.

It's hard to understand other than the self defense argument why one person can take it upon themselves to take another person's life. That's what I meant by social conscience. These reasons I believe pretty much cover it though; Mental disorder, anger, jealousy, hopelessness, greed, vainglory, there's a pattern developing here. Other than the mental disorder the other reasons pretty much sound like things we were warned about in writings that are now banned from classrooms.

[Gunsnwater]

The answers are right in front of us everyday. Reward every child for everything so not to make any feel bad and none feel good. Working to a goal make people feel worth while. Handing people what they want destroys the soul. Filling every moment with tv and computer crap filled with violence leaves no time to do real things in the real world. Games are simulators for violence teaching and desensitizing children. Tons of parents have no parenting skills or ability or desire. And it is advertised and promoted like nothing else, complete days of coverage, Internet pages that never go away. TV shows that play up adults and especially fathers a stupid and children know stuff adults don't. Gun free zones so the little narsasistic world is against me I'm gonna show em brats can play out the training they got through entertainment in horrific blood baths that just happen to fuel the anti gun crowd's fantasy of no second amendment. In short too much free time no supervision.

[Qtrborecrazy]

No family, no god, no more morals, no more keeping score, no more social contact everything is text messaging, no respect for human life, no more responsibility blame everyone else for your problem, no more justice, no more american pride, no more pledge of allegiance. Its all about ME.

[Kchristy]

Kind of like all the "I'm a single parent" whiners that want special privileges.

[streaker69]

The answers are right in front of us everyday. Reward every child for everything so not to make any feel bad and none feel good. Working to a goal make people feel worth while. Handing people what they want destroys the soul. Filling every moment with tv and computer crap filled with violence leaves no time to do real things in the real world. Games are simulators for violence teaching and desensitizing children. Tons of parents have no parenting skills or ability or desire. And it is advertised and promoted like nothing else, complete days of coverage, Internet pages that never go away. TV shows that play up adults and especially fathers a stupid and children know stuff adults don't. Gun free zones so the little narsasistic world is against me I'm gonna show em brats can play out the training they got through entertainment in horrific blood baths that just happen to fuel the anti gun crowd's fantasy of no second amendment. In short too much free time no supervision.

You do realize that school shootings have been going on long before technology was around? They were even going on during the golden age of parenting in the 50's. They even went on back into the late 1800's. They also really haven't been increasing, what has increased is the national knowledge of them happening.

Why do they happen, probably lots of reasons. Some people are just broken and do bad things, but I don't think you can so easily pin it down to the things that you mentioned.

[Gunsnwater]

You do realize that school shootings have been going on long before technology was around? They were even going on during the golden age of parenting in the 50's. They even went on back into the late 1800's. They also really haven't been increasing, what has increased is the national knowledge of them happening.

If advertisement doesn't work why are there so many commercials?


Why do they happen, probably lots of reasons. Some people are just broken and do bad things, but I don't think you can so easily pin it down to the things that you mentioned.

Let's try it and see. Maybe we can prevent the breaking, or are you saying some babies are born evil?

[newman attack]

Here's my take:

Behaviors listed = Nerds, Hipsters, Jocks, Preps, It Girls, Band Geeks, Gifted, Special Needs, etc...

That's every student that has ever attended school for all time!

Way to vague it up jerkoffs!


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[gumbys1up]

I think people need to hit their children more and be more into parenting than simply setting them on a computer and giving them medication that says it will cause you to flipshit and shoot people on its own insert...

Maybe because our society is constently infused with the ideas of numerous wars that never end and death and destruction as being cool, like when Marines play "let the bodies hit the floor" as they shell hospitals and churches. And CNN covers it and we show it to school children and say its "defending freedom"

Relgion is see as bad and good in this light. I am an atheist, deal with it. I believe there are PLENTY more people that would or would not do these things based soley on their belief in their creator, or what "they" told them to do or not do. The door swings both ways.

Not having morals doesnt quiet fit the bill in this case because I dont have any real "morals" that i live by.. yet Im not out killing people and stealing purses. I just no that i wouldnt want u to kil/rape/rob me.. so i dont do it to you.

Im not sayin we shouldnt try to make a difference but it seems its the idea of well.. Lets kill everyone so noone can kill anybody.

Soon mantaining a body temperature in the 90s will be reason to believe your going to go kil some people.and guess what.. IT IS.

People kill people. I dont care wtf their motive is... does it matter when your watching your dead children being carried away or holding your friends as they bleed to death?

REACTING to the problem with security, allowing of CCW in schools, and I dunno a small thing called PARENTING.. would probably go a long way so we wouldnt have to play duck duck goose to see why people kill one another.

If my mother or father would have ever thought i would have taken a gun out and killed people with it.. THEY THEMSELVES would have done the police and town a favor and took me out b4 I even had the chance.

Let me ask you this... for you parents out there. Name 5 of your childrens friends MIDDLE names..

If you cant do this.. You know about as much about YOUR child as you do my taint.

THAT my friends... is where the problem is..

imo...

[newman attack]

You sir, have won the internet!


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