Protecting Our Schools from More School Shootings

This shooting was the worst in United States history, and it left families speechless and people in disarray. Two teens committed the treacherous actions of that day. The speculations were that they did this because of bullying, goth culture, or music or video games; these though were all just theories and were never proven(history). After this event, schools, venues, and events have endured grand security increases in the danger of shooters or other violence. Throughout my school days, I have wondered why we do the silly lock down drills at school, but in reality, lives could be saved in the event of an actual attack on my school. I realized this my eight grade year at Guntown Middle School. There was an unidentified man on campus, a code red lock down would amerce. I still remember sitting under my desk, shaking, and almost to tears. I did not want to be remembered as just another statistic if it was a shooter. But it had been our lucky day, the man who had stirred up all the commotion was just looking for the school’s office. Those fears I experienced however, would stay with me. We all believe that we are invincible and that it would never be us. However, with the world as it is today, no one is safe. I have been affected by the Columbine shooting through security changes in schools that I

For over a decade, There has been an alarming rate of gun violence in schools from middle schools to college and many people have debated on how to stop this. Currently, it has been proposed that in order to combat school shootings, teachers should be armed with guns of their own. Although in some ways it may sound like a good idea, this is not an idea that would eliminate the issue nor make classrooms feel any safer. According to an article in the huffington post, they make it apparent to remind people that kids know how to get their hands on anything if they desired it bad enough. “ask your mother” Ken Corbett, author of the article states, “Better yet, recall how you knew where she hid the Christmas presents. Or where your father kept his

The Columbine school shooting happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 21, 1999. Two students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, went into their school with guns and explosives with the intentions of killing as many people as possible. The two students killed twelve students, one teacher, and injured many more students before each of the shooters committed suicide (Curtis 3). If a teacher was given the right training and carrying a firearm, they could have stopped Klebold and Harris sooner and less students would have been wounded and murdered.

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine if teachers should be in possession of a firearm while on school properties and if this will decrease the number and magnitude of school shootings. Many scholars believe equipping teachers with firearms will be costly and end up unnecessarily endangering more students, but many scholars claim that a teacher should be the last line of defense against a school shooter. The question this paper hopes to answer is how can equipping teachers who teach grades K-12 help to prevent school shootings in the United States. This paper will attempt to answer that question by examining the perspectives of school administration and law enforcement, the impact on student’s safety and education, the

Tuesday April 20th, 1999 began like any other day. Parents went to work, and the children went off to school. Neither worried about the other, or how their day would turn out. But, hours later everything changed (“Columbine Highschool Massacre.”). Little did the residents of Columbine, Colorado know their high school would be a statistic for one of the largest school massacres in US History. On this day, two teenage boys were responsible for killing 12 innocent students and a teacher, wounding 23 more students, and then killing themselves (Miller). While a horrific event, the Columbine tragedy improved the safety in schools by upgrading security systems, improving administration’s knowledge on school security, and increasing

The day of the Columbine Massacre is a day that will forever burn a hole in America’s heart. The nation was shocked at the news that on April 20, 1999, high school seniors Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris went on a precisely planned shooting rampage at their school, Columbine High School. This event killed a total of thirteen individuals, including twelve students and one highly heroic teacher, and wounded many. The reportedly troubled boys had often accused others of having bullied them, which raised the question of how apparent the warning signs were of their rampage. Because this incident was one of the first known school shootings throughout the nation, many of its specific details were taken into account to help protect schools all

Policies have changed since the shooting happened in Littleton, Colorado. Before Columbine the primary goal of law enforcement officers before and during a shooting was to set up a perimeter and await arrival of SWAT members (Erickson, 2001). This policy has changed in many states including Pennsylvania where police had been preparing for active shooters with local schools. Police are not able to wait the twenty minutes to an hour for SWAT to arrive at a scene which is why the state mandated that local police receive active shooting training (Coughlin, 2012). This response and a brochure that the Department of Homeland Security came out with are allowing schools a better chance of eliminating a shooter with less causalities and injuries. This brochure goes into to profile of an active shooter, how to respond to an active shooter, how to respond when law enforcement arrives, training staff for an active shooter, preparing for and managing an active shooter situation, recognizing workplace violence, managing the consequences of an active shooter, and lessons learned (DHS, 2008).

“There have been 220 shootings on school campuses in the U.S. since 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, according to Everytown For Gun Safety, an advocacy group.” (Krishnakumar, Priya , and Len Degroot) Many people do not feel safe attending or sending their child to a public school where they are possibly subject to a shooting. School shootings were first initially brought to the attention of the public in 1999, Columbine was one of the first school massacres that was recognized nationwide. Because of the magnitude of the shooting there is an abundance of information online bearing information of the event. First off, the shooters had identified specific targets, athletes, minorities and Christians. The two shooters had planned the firing for over a year and thought out their whole strategy. (“Columbine High School shootings.”) There was no plan in place to react to this shooting, because nothing like it had ever happened before. Although if there was, we may not hear about Columbine to the degree we do today. Columbine still is the most well known shooting and the horrific impact is still notable today across the United States. In the eighteen years since Columbine in 1999 there have been hundreds of school shootings, ranging from grade schools to college universities. Obviously, school shootings are a big problem in the United States and hopefully in time with the proper precautions taken they will eventually be eliminated forever.

More than 270 gun sightings have been reported in schools in the year of 2016 (Mascia). Overall, more than fifty million kids walk into school with firearms everyday, but nobody knows about it. Why? Because most school officials do not have enough rights to search through students’ belongings if they have suspicion about something. Schools should have the right to search students’ belongings because of behavior, ownership, and safety.

School shootings are terrifying to think about, but there are ways to help prevent the massacres from ever happening again. The first known school shooting was at the Texas Tower at the University of Texas in 1966 where Charles Whitman shot and killed 16 people while injuring 31 others. Who would have known since that date that we would have more then 200 deaths on school campuses? The most storied shooting in the 90’s was probably the Columbine massacre where on April 20, 1999 Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 32 students and faculty before turning the guns on themselves. The horror scene from the day will always be remembered in many lives and will continue over the years. There were many other horrible shootings over the years as

Columbine High school 12 students and 1 teacher dead, Thurston High School 2 dead and 25 wounded, Sandy Hook Elementary 20 children and 6 teachers dead, Virginia Tech University 32 dead and 17 wounded and Umpqua Community College 9 dead and 9 wounded. After the Thurston shooting happened, we took necessary precautions so we would be prepared for an incident like again. Yet Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Umpqua happened anyway. Even though we implemented ALICE training in order to be safer, hiding with entries blocked won’t be enough in some cases especially if the police take a long time to get to the school and stop the shooter. There are a couple ways that would not only make the school safer but also stop the shooter quicker so we can save more lives and not have to wait for the police to arrive. One solution we can do is give teachers and staff that haven’t had any experience with guns at least basic training in the use of guns

Soon after the 1999 massacre, school lockdowns became widespread and ushered new security measures in school across the U.S. The effort of installing Lockdowns were strengthened after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Instructors and staff members applied these safety procedures to protect students at the school. Students were swept into the storage closets and behind bookcases where they would hide until the situation is fully resolved. Today, instructors are advised to snap off the lights, lock the doors and usher students into closets and corners while the school officials contact the police. In this locked room, students' text one another, play cards or board games or just wait until they are told everything is back to normal. Indeed, since the Columbine shooting, 32 states have enacted laws demanding schools to perform lockdown drills to keep students safe from intruders (Muschert 11). However, over the years, in the past decade, shooting has increased. The introduction of lockdown drills has not materialized in today’s setting as gun control laws have failed. The massive ownership of guns allowed in the Second Amendment of the U.S Constitution has promoted school shootings. Today, students have access to guns from parents and there is no minimum age for owning a long gun. It means even a child can own a rifle. The weakness of legal ownership of guns in the U.S is clear. So, even with

Many Law Enforcement Professionals point to the Columbine High School shooting in Columbine, Colorado as the defining incident with regards to active shooters. Montgomery County, MD Police Chief Thomas Manger stated clearly and simply that “Columbine was a wake-up call” (Police Executive Research Forum, [PERF], 2014). Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson went on to explain that “In the past, the strategy was to respond - initial patrol units respond, and secure both inner and outer perimeters; and wait - sometimes a lengthy wait; for more equipped, response-type units from tactical, for example” ("How Columbine Shaped Police Response to Shootings",

Anyone who shoots an innocent child has a mental health issue. School shootings are becoming more frequent and one of the main causes of school shootings is mental health illnesses. Mental health counselors could be hired who would keep students lives in check and raise mental health awareness, to help prevent school shootings. While some would say mental health isn't a serious factor in school shootings, that is incorrect. School boards should hire more mental health counselors to prevent school shootings.

In Exploring School Rampage Shootings: Research, Theory, and Policy, Micahel Rocque examines the history of school rampage shootings in the United States, as well as the theories and policy developments that have followed. The article is sectioned into four main parts: 1. Historical context and notable changes of school violence/shootings from the 20th century to present; 2. Recent empirical research based on school shootings; 3. Popular theories that help illuminate the possible causes of school shootings; 4. Policy changes as a result of school rampage shootings and the effect of such policies. Rocque argues that more research is required before stable conclusions in policy can be constructed.