Mass K–12 School Shootings Are Preventable

Yes, mass K–12 school shootings are preventable, and empirical research supports this statement. Research contends there are three predictive characteristics of mass K–12 school shootings: the school shooter, the firearm, and the school facility (Gammell et al., 2022; Katsiyannis et al., 2023; Lenhardt et al., 2018).?

Let’s start with what research has found on the?school shooter?(Gammell et al., 2022; Katsiyannis et al., 2023; Lenhardt et al., 2018) –

The shooter is usually a 16-year-old white male with a history of depression and suicidal ideation, has recently been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder prior to the shooting incident, may have experienced peer or intimate partner rejection, and lacks parental support and supervision. Interestingly, the shooter also lacks a feeling of belonging/connection/healthy attachment, empathy, resiliency skills, and healthy coping mechanisms.

So, if we want to prevent the potential shooter from completing a school shooting, we should (Lenhardt et al., 2018; Peterson & Densley, 2021):

• ??Address the mental health issues before it is too late.
• ??Pay attention to the maladaptive pattern of behaviors, e.g., sense of alienation, lack of resiliency and coping skills, isolating tendencies, and lack of healthy attachments with family members.
• ??Creat warm, culturally sensitive environments.
• ??Encourage positive family relationships to promote healthy attachment styles.
• ??Teach emotional-social learning skills that build resiliency and healthy coping skills.

Second is the?firearm?(Gammell et al., 2022) –

Handguns are predominately used, but rifles and shotguns are being used more frequently. When more than one firearm is used, the number of victims goes up. The shooter usually has easy access to a firearm at home, or obtains the firearm with the knowledge and assistance from adults and family members.

So, to prevent the potential shooter from obtaining a firearm, we should (Lenhardt et al., 2018):

• ??Remove access to firearms in homes.
• ??Increase parental supervision of the at-risk individual with an increased awareness of keeping firearms locked away.

And third, is the?school facility?(Gammell et al., 2022) –

There is a high school-body enrollment with most students being White, in which the facility is in suburban and rural areas and while more shootings occur in high schools, more fatalities occur in elementary schools.

So, to prevent the school shooter from obtaining access to the school facilitiy, we should (Gregory & Park, 2022; Katsiyannis et al., 2023; Lenhardt et al., 2018):?

• ??Increase controlled access to the building facility.
• ??Add security cameras.
• ??Increase the physical presence of school resource officers.
• ??Increase school counselors and access to community counseling services.

In addition to the school facility, there is the?school culture?that also can aid in prevention, in which we should (Collins et al., 2020; Gregory & Park, 2022; Katsiyannis et al., 2023; Lenhardt et al., 2018; O’Toole, 1999):

• ??Train school personnel in an integrated, on-site mental health program.
• ??Develop, then train school personnel, in a systematic violence prevention model with a threat assessment to identify and help at-risk students.

Finally, there is a preventive measure less known and less used that has been recently proposed –?religion. Szendr? (2022) contends that the presence and role of, and active participation in, a religious organization is a positive mitigating factor in decreasing a mass shooting and that religious congregations promote what the shooter oftentimes lacks: a sense of belonging, connection, and healthy attachment styles.

As an EQ-i 2.0? practitioner of emotional-social learning skills, it disappoints me that our field of expertise in emotional-social wellbeing is not utilized and relied on more in the academic world; rather, the expectation is incorrectly placed on and demanded from the teachers, administrators, and mental health counselors who work in the K–12 school domain. If teaching emotional-social learning skills can prevent a mass K–12 school shooting, why not hire an expert in the field of study so teachers, administrators, and mental health counselors can do the jobs they were trained to do?

References

Collins, L. W., Landrum, T. J., Sweigart, C. A. (2020). Extreme school violence and students with emotional and behavioral disorders: (How) do they intersect??Education and Treatment of Children,?43, 313–322.?https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-020-00025-z

Gammell, S. P., Connell, N. M., & Huskey, M. G. (2022). A descriptive analysis of the characteristics of school shootings across five decades.?American Journal of Criminal Justice,?47, 818–835.?https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09636-7

Gregory, S. D., & Park, J. S. (2022). Mass school shootings: Review of mental health recommendations.?School Mental Health,?14, 640–654.?https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09489-9

Katsiyannis, A., Rapa, L. J., Whitford, D. K., & Scott, S. N. (2023). An examination of US school mass shootings, 2017–2022: Findings and implications.?Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders,?7, 66–76.?https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-022-00277-3

Kelleher, M. D. (1997).?Flash point:?The American mass murderer. Praeger Publishers.

Lenhardt, A. C., Graham, L. W., Farrell, M. L. (2018). A framework for school safety and risk management: Results from a study of 18 targeted school shooters.?The Educational Forum,?82(1), 3–20.?https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2018.1381792

O’Toole, M. (1999).?The school shooter:?A threat assessment perspective. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved on May 4, 2023, from?https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED446352.pdf

Peterson, J., & Densley, J. (2021).?The violence project:?How to stop a mass shooting epidemic. Abrams Press.

Szendr?, B. (2022). Community, faith, and public violence: A county-level examination of religious institutions and mass public shootings in the United States.?Journal of Crime and Justice,?45(4), 467–483.?https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2021.1990786