School Shootings : Columbine, And The Childhoods Of School Shootings

The effort of this paper is designed to provide an audience with the basic framework in preventing, reacting to, and recovering from a school shooting. By analyzing the crisis of a school shooting, this paper will lay out the practical steps in preparing schools, communities, and local agencies for a tragedy that has already shook many communities across the nation. This paper will also follow the steps necessary to implement and evaluate a school shooting preparedness plan. In concluding this paper, school staff, local agencies, and families will be able to take the practical steps towards providing a safe and comfortable learning environment for students.

“An average of 9,289 people shot dead by a gun, or 774 a month, 178 a week, 25 a day, or a little more than one per hour,” statistics from (Sandy Hook Effect Articles.) School shootings are one of the most tragic events, from Columbine in 1999 to Sandy Hook in 2012, to many more recent ones today. Colleges to high schools and even to elementary schools, there is always a threat and a possibility of having a shooting.

     Ever since the terrible tragedy at Columbine High School, there has been a numerous list of recent school shootings in America. Youth violence is a major issue in today’s society. Many people dread what causes adolescents to be so violent, committing horrible crimes.     

Recently in America a tragedy occurred in San Bernardino, 14 people were murdered by 2 people that allegedly had ties to ISIS. Although officers responded in a matter of minutes, that speed isn’t always available, especially in rural areas. Is this the beginning of a change in America? I believe this is so and I also believe mass shootings should be addressed more specifically school shootings because the means of protection aren’t there. “Since 2013, there have been at least 161 school shootings in America- an average of nearly one a week.” (161 School Shootings in America Since 2013. everytownresearch.org.) That statistic includes 3 Indiana schools St. Mary’s Catholic School in Griffith, Indiana on 4/21/14, Purdue University on 1/21/14 and Indiana State on 9/29/14, also a high school in Louisville, Kentucky a day after the Indiana State shooting. These aren’t just happening on the west coast or down in Florida where the news only talks about, the places that seem to never be close, they’re happening close to home

In looking to explain the characteristics behind school shootings, Warnick (2015) argues that it is necessary to recognise that schools are places of both real and symbolic violence, in which force and power of the authority dictate rules. Combining this with the fact that schools are so often places of high expectations, hope, refuge and friendship, when these expectations are not met, it is noted that bitter resentment from a

Mass Shootings are among the most controversial topics talk about in modern day society, and this is due to the apparent rise in shootings over the past couple of years. The nation has witnessed some of the most gruesome shootings in History such as Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. From the aftermath of these shootings, a solution was found to prevent such things from happening which is allow concealed-carry weapons on college campuses. It is said if there are more guns on campuses, the chances of a gun man taking out more innocent lives are less likely due to the amount of people with guns. Despite this sound solution of concealed carry on college campuses, the reality is that it causes more problems than it solves, and there are better solutions to this problem at hand. But, what exactly is the true nature of school shootings, is it actually a true threat to our education system?

The beginning of the nonfiction, Columbine by Dave Cullen, takes place four days before the Columbine massacre at Columbine High School’s assembly in Littleton, Colorado, just before the weekend of Prom. Ironically, Principal DeAngelis, the one who had hosted the school assembly, provides a lecture of everyone coming back alive and safe after prom. Soon after, on April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine High School with two bombs based on portable propane bottles, decoy bombs in their cars and across town, and dozens of small pipe bombs, along with guns and ammunition. Their original and only plan was to shoot anyone and everyone who escapes from the building after the bombs detonated, and they had expected to be shot to death by police; however, their plans partly failed when the bombs planted inside the school did not go off. Although their plan of distraction did not succeed as expected, Harris and Klebold entered the school and began shooting and firing pipe bombs for a little over fifteen minutes. Afterwards, after roaming the school for a short amount of time, they returned to the library where most of their victims had died, set off one final bomb, and committed suicide by shooting themselves. Although their bombing failed, the ensued shooting resulted in a new era of school violence and had left “a lasting impression on the world.” However, by the end of the day, the horrifying incident was falsely blamed on bullying, the popular “Goth”

Leaving 13 dead and 26 injured, the school Columbine grabbed the attention of Americans from all over. Dave Cullen’s book Columbine tells the true stories of the fatal events that unfolded seamlessly before, during, and after the Columbine massacre. Published April 2009, Columbine is about two honor students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who seemed perfectly normal were plotting to blow up the school and “leave a lasting impression on the world”. When the bombs failed to detonate the boys decided to start open firing on students in the commons area and then moved throughout the school, physiologically scaring many people. In his suspenseful book, Columbine, Dave Cullen uses characterization to show the importance of addressing suspicions

One of the most horrific shootings that scared America was the Columbine High School shooting of 1999. Though not the first mass shooting, this shooting was the first major school shooting with the death of 12 students, 1 teacher, and 21 injured. The two shooters were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Both of the killers were white, male, and 18. They had both parents, were both a part of an

In the United States of America the right to bear arms gave birth to a phenomenon called the “gun culture,” the term coined in 1970 by a historian Richard Hofstadter, which describes America’s heritage and affection for weapons(1). Not only did gun culture become an inseparable part of American democracy, but also it is considered to be synonymous with independence and freedom, the most important values for American society. Even though the crime rate and murder rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country, U.S. citizens oppose every attempt made to pass gun control legislation(2). However, it may sound like a paradox, but the crime level in the most liberal states, when it comes to gun ownership, is the lowest in the

Rampage-style school shootings are rare and tragic events. Although measures of prevention have become more advanced, school shootings have increased in frequency over the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Here in the United States, they have become especially prevalent, with 63 shootings just this year (Acevedo). The aftermath of rampage shootings leaves gaping holes and questions in communities. People try to heal and seek closure at their own pace, but the biggest question most are left with is “why”? In Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings, Katherine S. Newman seeks to answer this question. She lays out her research and methodology for studying rampage shootings and comes to the conclusion that shootings are not spontaneous, but rather the build up of psychological issues and negative sociological situations within a student’s community that causes them to seek to regain power over their own lives through a rampage shooting. The story Rampage builds out of the narratives of shooters and their victims along with national data and trends is important because it highlights the places that our societies fail in providing a safety net for deviant students and their peers.

It is without a doubt that there has been an increase in violent crimes in schools throughout recent years. School shootings continue to become more and more common, especially in North America. Safety concerns for any and all students and staff in schools are at all all time high due to the high number of fatal and non-fatal occurring incidences. Since 2013 to the present, it is estimated that the United States has seen approximately 205 school shootings. Weekly, that is a shocking one shooting on average. Many of these shootings have resulted in the injuries and deaths of multiple of students and staff members. (Everytown Research, 2017) Evidently, school shootings are tragic events that affect so many more people than just the victims. However, these events are also interesting to look at from the psychological and sociological point of views. Through much research, it can be concluded that school shootings are a complex problem that are caused by a mix of improper brain development and societal and media influences which motivate school shooters to emerge. Psychological factors may include struggling with mental illnesses and/or abuse that leads to damaged brain development. Additionally, being bullied and/or the role of the media are examples of sociological factors.

The school shootings at Westside Middle School were orchestrated by two juveniles. On Monday, March 30, 1998 two boys ambushed students and teachers outside Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Andrew Golden a youth of 11 years and Mitchell Johnson who was 13 years old were responsible for this hideous tragedy. Apparently, Mitchell Johnson hid in the woods while Andrew set off the fire alarm causing the students and teachers to run out of the building. Armed with three stolen rifles and four handguns, the documentary explained that the two youth flushed kids and teachers out of the school by means of a false fire alarm then opened up on them. When they stopped shooting, four students and a teacher lay dead and 10 students were

B. Dylan Klebold was a tall shy senior at Columbine High School. He had long shaggy

"Our study looked at elementary kids, but I think that the popular, aggressive kids would have been the [Columbine] victims. The two shooters would not have been the tough kids. They weren't popular," said Duke University psychologist Philip Rodkin, lead