The Virginia Tech Incident: Developing Hindsight to Prevent Future Incidents

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

Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).

Sitting through an hour-long lecture or waiting in line to speak with financial aid are some examples of an average day on campus. It is during these times when students are least expecting tragedy to strike. A student may hear a loud noise and think nothing of it until they realize that noise was the sound of a shooting rampage that has reached their area and by that time it’s usually too late. Campus safety is everyone’s responsibility and remaining on alert is the only way to ensure less people are victimized. One of the first, and most memorable, attacks happened on August 1, 1966. Charles Whitman, a former marine, took rifles and other weapons to the observation deck atop the Main Building tower at The University of Texas- Austin, then randomly opened fire on the surrounding campus and streets. Over the next 96 minutes, far longer than the average active shooter attack, he shot and killed fifteen people. Included in the death toll was one unborn child, and injured thirty-one others. The incident ended when police reached Whitman and shot him dead. During this event, civilians played a vital role in assisting first responders in the take down of Whitman and Allen Crum, a 40-year-old bookstore manager and retired Air Force tail gunner, accompanied police up the tower in pursuit of Whitman. While Crum was armed, it solely because officers handed him a firearm to assist in Whitman’s take down.

In addition to youth and gun crimes, much debate has sparked over whether or not college officials should allow students to carry concealed weapons with them on campus. Renee Montagne has interviewed many people, college students included, in her article, “Texas Lawmakers Aim for Guns on College Campuses” About their opinions of guns on campus. Many disagree, stating that it is a terrible idea, and will lead to gun-related accidents, or mass killings, like the one that took place at Virginia Tech (Texas Lawmakers). Some people, such as Stephen Wright, point out the fact that by simply carrying a legally weapon does not cause mass killings or

It is my opinion that the lack of security and warning signs overlooked by administration is the chief problem as to how these crimes take place on campuses. Did campus security and school the administrations do enough to keep the students safe? Did fellow classmates and faculty members ignore warning signs of both Whitman and Seung-Hui? And what security changes have been implemented in the event of another unforeseen shooting?

Columbine High School Shooting: Why did Columbine occur and what can be learned from it?

On April 16, 2007, one of the most tragic incidents in the United States occurred on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Seung- Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech ruthlessly murdered 32 people and wounded 17 others through the usage of firearms in two separate attacks. This incident is considered the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in the history of America. While people still mourn and pray for the victims, this shooting also led to many controversies. Till this day, Cho’s access to firearm and Virginia Tech’s security hazard remains to be controversial. The motive and cause of Cho’s action and what the school could have done in order to prevent this tragic incident will be addressed.

On April 16th 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a student with psychological problems began a two hour killing spree that left 33 dead (Reader). The massacre that occurred at this school is now the worst recorded incident in the history of the United States and eclipses the University of Texas massacre of 1966. In the wake of tragedies like these, students, teachers and administrators propose more measures to make us feel safe on campus. But why weren't these measures in place before? School administrators and police have a responsibility to protect their students and faculty on campus, and these instances clearly shown a lack of fulfilling that responsibility. And yet several campus' refuse to allow law-abiding and

"I'm angry someone would do this to us. There are lives ruined, families ruined, and our whole school year is ruined" (Brackely 1). Casey Brackely, once a student that attended Columbine High School, remembers the tragedy of the horrific Columbine shooting that killed and injured many students. Mass shootings in the United States have been on the rise since the 1980’s, especially in the last decade. These shooters motives and profiles are almost all terrifyingly alike. Many of these shooters try to imitate and parallel the tragic shooting of the Columbine High School in 1999. These shootings have made peaceful organizations, such as an elementary school; become a place of violence and death. Currently, in the United States, an epidemic of

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.

On Monday, November 30th at 9:50 am a student at Ohio State University by the name of Abdul Artan attempted to fatally harm both students and staff, forcing the campus to go into lockdown and also resulting in his life being taken away at the scene. Smith and Perez- Pena explain that Artan first was driving at high speeds onto campus, hitting anyone in his way, and not stopping his vehicle until he hit a concrete barrier. In addition, Abdul also hit 6 students in the process, not fatally hurting them, but he continued his reign of terror by getting out of his vehicle and immediately trying to stab innocent bystanders with a knife. However, an even bigger piece to the aftermath is that FBI officials think that this attack may be linked to a

In this article, Virginia Tech University gets their butt chewed by the families of their beloved college children. Families pushed and pushed for answers on why there were no lockdowns when the shootings happened or why were there no faculty or staff terminated following this tragedy. Due to university officials misinterpreting laws that keep student information private, they have Seung-Hui Cho flash before their eyes several times and they neglected his mental health issues. Even Cho’s parents were kept out of the loop about him receiving mental health help and care towards him.

The tragic events at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February of 2008 have policymakers, campus officials and citizens looking for solutions to prevent future attacks (Dickerson). Violent shootings that have occurred on a few college campuses in recent years have provoked a debate over

One of the most deadly shooting rampage in U.S history (CNN USA) Twenty- three-year old Virginia tech gunman named Seung Hui Cho had been relentlessly teased and bullied throughout middle school and high school. Seung Hui Cho was extremely angry with his classmates and went on a rampage. He felt more rage against his classmates who were wealthier and when the shooting occurred he went against the rich. Cho makes a statement saying the reason he shot and killed was due to the fact he thought they were “brats” and “snobs.” The real reason Seung Hui Cho went on a rampage is due to his own insecurities about his upbringing and feeling shame about his parents who ran a dry-cleaning business, and felt that the reason he was being bullied at school was because he came from a lower socioeconomic family. “Seung Hui Cho also felt his race played a large role in his bullying, many racial comments were projected towards Seung Hui Cho, till it pushed him towards a rampage”

In the past decades there has been an increase of violence in the schools. This increase causes fear among students, teachers, parents, and all Americans. The deadliest act of school violence was the massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, when a student opened fire and killed Thirty-two students and teachers while wounding seventeen. On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho, opened fire on two students killing both of them. He then fled the building. Police responded to the first incident and determined it was an isolated homicide and that the gunman fled the state. Two hours later, Cho returned with two handguns and entered Norris hall which was filled with classrooms. He chained