The Dangers Of School Shooters

Thirteen people were killed at Columbine High School in 1999, thirty-three died during the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, and twenty-seven people, twenty of whom were children no older than seven, were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 (Kirk). These name only a few of the larger and most well-known school shooting incidences. In total, 297 people have lost their lives due to school-based shootings since 1980 (Kirk). Although this number may be small in comparison to death by guns overall, these instances are completely unwarranted and it is likely that they could have been avoided or at the very least reduced. These people, college and high school students, teachers, and even children, might still be alive today if our

One key factor in almost all of these school shootings are these students home and school lives. At home they normally don’t have a strong parent figure in their lives. They then go to school, and stand out as different, leading to being alone or bullied. Not having people there for you in your life is extremely hard, and sadly some people take it

When people hear there is a school shooting at their son/daughter`s school they become scared. That is a normal reaction to have when one of your loved ones is at stake, but have you ever thought about how this came forth? The media tend to blame guns, but guns don't kill on their own, it's the user behind the gun. When you take guns out of the equation you start to see what actually is their motives and how to help them and others like them.

The earliest known school shooting in the United States took place in 1764 and was known as the Pontiac Rebellion School Massacre; out of 13 children enrolled in the school, only three survived (Dixon, 2005). Since then early 2000’s there has been 186 active shooters nationwide. People are now asking the question what is making these kids become school shooters. The question seems pretty straight forward, but no one knows a straightforward answer. Scientists and mental health professional have found there to be three main afflictions to cause people to become school shooters. The causes are being bullied, side effects of prescribed drugs, and abusive/neglective households.

Gun owners are not of one race, religion or cultural background therefore, not one person can say who should have gun rights and where there should be gun control. Gun control should be a world-wide issue looked at from different perspectives. Who is to say what race or religion should own a gun and what race or religion shouldn’t have gun rights because even the people that have clear background checks and no prior issues with the laws, but with a flip of a switch something can trigger rage within them and they can go out and harm innocent people. We will never understand why this happens or what sets them off. Mental illness is most likely a start of why people lose control, but mental illness is easy to hide while purchasing a gun. There is no screening for mental illness prior to allowing a person to purchase a gun. There is, however a background check, but most of those are to make sure that the person doesn’t have any prior issues with the law that would stop them from being able to purchase a gun.

I know that most school shooters have something in common. “These commercially manufactured psychotic drugs (Prozac, Ritalin, Paxil, Luvox, etc.) are probably triggering psychotic behavior in already unstable individuals, and this potential connection needs to be officially investigated immediately.” (Freydis, pg. 2) However, most school shootings happen in the first few hours of school, and males ages 13 to 20 are the most common school shooters. What this means is they have a mental illness, although they can’t control it all the time. They often dwell about their life. School shootings occur within 6 months today; most shootings are with pistols, and the shooter ends up passing up his life in the end. (1b: SV; SV, and SV.) The shooter is generally a loner, or he doesn’t have many

Two of the main school shootings that happened in the U.S. are the Sandy Hook shooting and the Santa Barbara shooting. Both of the shooters in these events were diagnosed with a mental illness at a young age, however, both denied it and refused to get a treatment for it. When an individual with a mental health illness does not get a treatment, the illness only

Most of the school shooters had a mental illness. Many people with a mental illness that own a gun, more likely don't know how to use the gun responsible because they are unable to think straight. According to Arash Javanbakht, “Only 3 to 4 percent of all the violent acts committed in a given year in the U.S. are committed by people who have been diagnosed with a commonly cited mental illness of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or

Secondly, most school shooters do not typically have a specific target. In the Columbine video, it was said that the shooters targeted people with white hats, which translated to be the jocks. From other shootings, I have noticed that students just aim and shoot and it does not matter what social group the person fits

A mental illness is a disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior. Some examples are anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar mental disorder. A person with a mental disorder can purchase a weapon, such as a gun, without revealing if they have a mental illness. The mental health question that appears on both the federal and state gun-purchase applications is “Have you ever been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?” This question seems reasonable enough. Most people answer “No” and move on to the next question. Virtually everyone agrees that individuals suffering from serious mental illnesses should not be allowed to purchase firearms. Most gun buyers assume that federal and state authorities verify

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.

Having less strict gun laws in America as a whole can help to limit the incidents of school shootings. People chalk shootings up to many different things and say that if we have more laws, less people would have gun or commit crime. What about states and cities with strict laws? What if there is more security or teachers were allowed to carry? Studies have been done to see if people themselves are the cause of the violence instead of just blaming the weapons. Forming physical and mental deterrents will produce the best results to preventing violence.

The safety of students and staff is a primary concern in stressful and dangerous situations. The main goal of drills in all schools is to prepare and improve on ways to keep our students and staff safe. Lockdown drills are a rising concern in the United States with school shootings becoming as regular as one school shooting per week ( ). Violence in schools is a major issue, “According to a 2012 report from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 74 percent of public schools recorded one or more violent incidents of crime in the 2009-2010 academic year” (Working). Violence is a major issue in Public schools, and it is vital to insure all students are provided with a safe learning environment. In Princeton, the Primary school is not up to standards when it comes to student safety. The new school, built in 2016, has no coverings for the windows that look inside classrooms from the hallways. This is a major concern, for blinds are essential to preventing an intruder from knowing the location and number of people throughout the building. Also, the school needs to have these window shades installed before the start of the school year. Local fire departments have laws tapered to each school district that state window blinds are required for all windows in all classrooms(). In addition, the lack of window blinds force students and teachers to hide directly underneath the exposed window (Para). This strategy only prevents the intruder from

A 21 year old boy strides across Wichita State University’s campus with his new laptop in his blue Nike backpack. Earbuds in, sunglasses on, and something bulging in the side of his slightly faded jeans. He quickly picks up the pace to make it to his biology lab. He seems like a stereotypical college kid trying to make it to class. The only difference would be that bulge on his faded jeans and under his slightly wrinkled sweatshirt. That bulge isn’t a cell phone, calculator, or brown sugar cinnamon Pop-tarts that a typical college kid would be carrying to a 9 a.m. class. This boy closely conceals a .42 caliber pistol. The pistol is fitted perfectly to its matching holster attached to his old Levi jeans. This may not be a normal trend right now, but as a new law in Kansas is emerging this student may not be looked at as a black sheep, but as an example to what many college kids will be doing in the future. Several school shootings around the country caused the new law in Kansas, which allows people to conceal and carry a weapon on public colleges and universities. The has also been several effects that this law has caused like a change in a campus environment and the amount of guns in a formally gun-less setting.

Campus carry has been a large debate in Houston since August of last year, and although it has been passed, it is still up in the air as to whether it is a positive idea or not. I believe that campus carry proposes more danger to the student body than it solves. It creates an atmosphere of fear instead of learning. Some students can psychologically enable to handle or be around firearms, and the possession of firearms in the party-centric colleges of today can present obvious problems. While more right-leaning legislators see it as protecting the 2nd amendment or keeping the students safe from a potential school shooting; more often than not, it produces catastrophic consequences for the student body and the university as a whole.