subject: School Shooting - Laser Lighting Equipment Manufacturer - Hologram Projector [print this page] Definition Definition
The term school shooting most commonly describes acts committed by either a student or intruders from outside the school campus. They are to be distinguished from crowd-containment shootings by law-enforcement personnel, such as the shootings at Kent State and Jackson State in the United States, or the October 6, 1976 Massacre in Thailand. They are also differentiated from other kinds of school violence, such as the mass killings of the Bath School disaster (which involved a homemade bomb rather than shooting), the Cologne school massacre (which involved a flamethrower); or terror attacks involving multiple kinds of weapons, such as the Ma'alot massacre, or the Beslan school hostage crisis.
One of the most prominent school shootings was that at Columbine High School, near Littleton, Colorado. On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered thirteen people on the school campus before they committed suicide.
In the United States, one-on-one public-school violence, such as beatings and stabbings or gang related violence, is more common in some densely-populated areas. Inner-city or urban schools were much more likely than other schools to report serious violent crimes, with 17 percent of city principals reporting at least one serious crime compared to 11 percent of urban schools, 10 percent of rural schools, and five percent of suburban schools in the 1997 school year. However school shootings in other countries may take on more national or religious overtones, such as the Mercaz HaRav massacre.
Profiling
School shooting is a topic of intense interest in the United States. Though companies like MOSAIC Threat Assessment Systems sell products and services designed to identify potential threats, a thorough study of all United States school shootings by the U.S. Secret Service warned against the belief that a certain "type" of student would be a perpetrator. Any profile would fit too many students to be useful and may not apply to a potential perpetrator. Some lived with both parents in "an ideal, All-American family." Some were children of divorce, or lived in foster homes. A few were loners, but most had close friends. Some experts such as Alan Lipman have warned against the dearth of empirical validity of profiling methods.
While it may be simplistic to assume a straightforward "profile", the study did find certain similarities among the perpetrators. "The researchers found that killers do not 'snap'. They plan. They acquire weapons. These children take a long, considered, public path toward violence." Princeton's Katherine Newman points out that, far from being "loners", the perpetrators are "joiners" whose attempts at social integration fail, that they let their thinking and even their plans be known, sometimes frequently over long periods of times.
Many of the shooters told Secret Service investigators that alienation or persecution drove them to violence. According to the United States Secret Service, instead of looking for traits, the Secret Service urges adults to ask about behavior:
1. What has this child said?
2. Do they have grievances?
3. What do their friends know?
4. Do they have access to weapons?
5. Are they depressed or despondent?
One "trait" that has not yet attracted as much attention is the gender difference: nearly all school shootings are perpetrated by young males, and in some instances the violence has clearly been gender-specific. Bob Herbert addressed this in an October 2006 New York Times editorial. Only two female school shooting incidents have been documented.
School shootings receive extensive media coverage and are infrequent. They have sometimes resulted in nationwide changes of schools' policies concerning discipline and security. Some experts have described fears about school shootings as a type of moral panic.
Such incidents may also lead to nationwide discussion on gun laws.
Notable school shootings
Main article: List of school-related attacks
This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (December 2009)
North America
United States
Note 1: not a "school shooting" in the contemporary sense
Name
Location
Date
Year
Death toll
University of Texas at Austin massacre
Austin, Texas, United States
August 1
1966
15
SC State killings1
Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States
February 8
1968
3
Kent State shootings1
Kent, Ohio, United States
May 4
1970
4
Jackson State shootings1
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
May 14-15
1970
2
Olean High School shooting1
Olean, New York, United States
December 30
1974
3
California State University, Fullerton massacre
Fullerton, California, United States
July 12
1976
7
Cleveland Elementary School shooting
San Diego, California, United States
January 29
1979
2
Deer Creek Middle School shooting
Littleton, Colorado, United States
April 7
1982
1
Parkway South Middle School shooting
Manchester, Missouri, United States
January 20
1983
2
Goddard Middle School shooting
Goddard, Kansas, United States
January 21
1985
1
Portland Junior High School shooting
Portland, Connecticut, United States
December 10
1985
1
Pinellas Park High School shooting
Largo, Florida, United States
February 11
1988
1
Hubbard Woods School shooting
Winnetka, Illinois, United States
May 20
1988
1
Atlantic Shores Christian School shooting
Chesapeake, Virginia, United States
December 16
1988
1
Cleveland School massacre
Stockton, California, United States
January 17
1989
6
University of Iowa shooting
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
November 1
1991
6
Lindhurst High School shooting
Olivehurst, California, United States
May 1
1992
4
Palo Duro High School shooting
Amarillo, Texas, United States
September 11
1992
0
Edward Tilden High School shooting
Chicago, Illinois, United States
November 20
1992
1
Simon's Rock College of Bard shooting
Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States
December 14
1992
2
East Carter High School shooting
Grayson, Kentucky, United States
January 18
1993
2
Amityville High School shooting
Amityville, New York, United States
February 1
1993
1
Reseda High School shooting
Reseda, California, United States
February 22
1993
1
Wauwatosa West High School shooting
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States
December 1
1993
1
Grimsley High School shooting
Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
October 12
1994
1
Wickliffe Middle School shooting
Wickliffe, Ohio, United States
November 7
1994
1
Blackville-Hilda High School shooting
Blackville, South Carolina, United States
October 12
1995
2
Richland High School shooting
Lynnville, Tennessee, United States
November 15
1995
2
Frontier Middle School shooting
Moses Lake, Washington, United States
February 2
1996
3
Hamilton High School shooting
Scottdale, Georgia, United States
February 2
1996
1
San Diego State University shooting
San Diego, California, United States
August 15
1996
3
Hetzel Union Building shooting
State College, Pennsylvania, United States
September 17
1996
1
Bethel Regional High School shooting
Bethel, Alaska, United States
February 19
1997
2
Pearl High School shooting
Pearl, Mississippi, United States
October 1
1997
2
Heath High School shooting
Paducah, Kentucky, United States
December 4
1997
3
Westside Middle School shooting
Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States
March 24
1998
5
Parker Middle School dance shooting1
Edinboro, Pennsylvania, United States
April 24
1998
1
Thurston High School shooting
Springfield, Oregon, United States
May 20
1998
2
Columbine High School massacre
Littleton, Colorado, United States
April 20
1999
15
Heritage High School shooting
Conyers, Georgia, United States
May 20
1999
0
Fort Gibson Middle School shooting
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, United States
December 6
1999
0
Buell Elementary School shooting
Mount Morris Township, Michigan, United States
February 29
2000
1
Lake Worth Middle School shooting
Lake Worth, Florida, United States
May 26
2000
1
University of Arkansas shooting
Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
August 28
2000
2
Santana High School shooting
Santee, California, United States
March 5
2001
2
Granite Hills High School shooting
El Cajon, California, United States
March 22
2001
0
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School shooting
Manhattan, New York, United States
January 15
2002
0
Appalachian School of Law shooting
Grundy, Virginia, United States
January 16
2002
3
John McDonogh High School shooting
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
April 14
2003
1
Red Lion Area Junior High School shootings
Red Lion, Pennsylvania, United States
April 24
2003
2
Case Western Reserve University shooting
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
May 9
2003
1
Rocori High School shooting
Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States
September 24
2003
2
Columbia High School shooting
East Greenbush, New York, United States
February 9
2004
0
Fairleigh Dickinson University shooting
Florham Park, New Jersey, United States
April 4
2004
2
Red Lake Senior High School massacre
Red Lake, Minnesota, United States
March 21
2005
8
Campbell County High School shooting
Jacksboro, Tennessee, United States
November 8
2005
1
Pine Middle School shooting
Reno, Nevada, United States
March 14
2006
0
Essex Elementary School shooting
Essex, Vermont, United States
August 24
2006
2
Orange High School shooting
Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States
August 30
2006
1
Platte Canyon High School shooting
Bailey, Colorado, United States
September 27
2006
2
Weston High School shooting
Cazenovia, Wisconsin, United States
September 29
2006
1
Amish school shooting
Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
October 2
2006
6
Henry Foss High School shooting
Tacoma, Washington, United States
January 3
2007
1
University of Washington shooting
Seattle, Washington, United States
April 2
2007
2
Virginia Tech massacre
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
April 16
2007
33
Delaware State University shooting
Dover, Delaware, United States
September 21
2007
1
SuccessTech Academy shooting
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
October 10
2007
1
Louisiana Technical College shooting
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
February 8
2008
3
Mitchell High School shooting
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
February 11
2008
0
E.O. Green School shooting
Oxnard, California, United States
February 12
2008
1
Northern Illinois University massacre
DeKalb, Illinois, United States
February 14
2008
6
Davidson High School Shooting
Mobile, Alabama, United States
March 9
2008
1
Central High School shooting
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
August 21
2008
1
Henry Ford High School shooting
Detroit, Michigan, United States
October 16
2008
1
2008 University of Central Arkansas shootings
Conway, Arkansas, United States
October 27
2008
2
Dillard High School shooting
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
November 12
2008
1
Henry Ford Community College shooting
Dearborn, Michigan, United States
April 10
2009
2
Wesleyan University1
Middletown, Connecticut, United States
May 1
2009
1
Harvard University
Cambridge,Massachusetts, United States
May 18
2009
1
Larose-Cut Off Middle School shooting
Larose, Louisiana, United States
May 18
2009
1
Skyline College shooting
San Bruno, California, United States
September 2
2009
0
Atlanta University Center
Atlanta , Georgia, United States
September 3
2009
1
Deer Valley High School shooting
Antioch, California, United States
September 16
2009
0
Northern Virginia Community College
Woodbridge, Virginia, United States
December 8
2009
0
Discovery Middle School
Madison, Alabama, United States
February 5
2010
1
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama, United States
February 12
2010
3
Deer Creek Middle School
Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
February 23
2010
0
Birney Elementary School
Tacoma, Washington, United States
February 26
2010
1
Canada
Name
Location
Date
Year
Death toll
Notes
Altona schoolhouse shooting
Altona, Manitoba, Canada
October 10
1902
2
Centennial Secondary School shooting
Brampton, Ontario Canada
May 28
1975
2
St Pius X High School School
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
October 27
1975
1
cole Polytechnique Massacre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
December 6
1989
14
Concordia University massacre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
August 24
1992
4
W. R. Myers High School shooting
Taber, Alberta, Canada
April 28
1999
1
Dawson College shooting
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
September 13
2006
1
C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute shooting
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 23
2007
1
Bendale Business and Technical Institute shooting
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 16
2008
0
Europe
Name
Location
Date/Year
Death toll
Notes
Bremen school shooting
Bremen, Germany
June 20, 1913
5
Eppstein school shooting
Eppstein, Germany
June 3, 1983
6
Raumanmeri school shooting
Rauma, Finland
January 24, 1989
2
Colston's School
Bristol, England
March 5, 1991
0
Aarhus University Shooting
Aarhus, Denmark
April 4, 1994
3
Dunblane massacre
Dunblane, Scotland
March 13, 1996
18
Erfurt massacre
Erfurt, Germany
April 26, 2002
17
Coburg shooting
Coburg, Germany
July 3, 2003
1
Terra College
The Hague, Netherlands
January, 2004
1
Grund- und Hauptschule von Rtz shooting
Rtz (Oberpfalz), Germany
March 7, 2005
0
Geschwister Scholl School attack
Emsdetten, Germany
November 20, 2006
1
Jokela school massacre
Tuusula, Finland
November 7, 2007
9
Kauhajoki school shooting
Kauhajoki, Finland
September 23, 2008
11
Winnenden school shooting
Winnenden, Germany
March 11, 2009
16
Kanebogen elementary school shooting
Harstad, Norway
April 28, 2009
0
University of Pcs shooting
Pcs, Hungary
November 26, 2009
1
Ludwigshafen School Shooting
Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
February 18, 2010
1
South America, Asia and Australia
Name
Location
Date/Year
Death toll
Notes
Sanaa massacre
Sanaa, Yemen
March 30, 1997
6
University of the Philippines shooting
Quezon City, Philippines
February 19, 1999
1
Monash University shooting
Melbourne, Australia
October 21, 2002
2
Pak Phanang school shooting
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
June 6, 2003
2
Islas Malvinas School schooting
Carmen de Patagones, Argentina
September 28, 2004
4
Beirut Arab University shooting
Beirut, Lebanon
January 25, 2007
4
Euro International school shooting
Gurgaon, India
December 12, 2007
1
Mercaz HaRav shooting
Jerusalem, Israel
March 6, 2008
9
Impact
Political impact
School shootings have had a political impact, spurring some to press for more stringent gun control laws. The National Rifle Association is opposed to such laws, and some groups have called for fewer gun control laws, citing cases of armed students ending shootings and halting further loss of life, and claiming that the prohibitions against carrying a gun in schools does not deter the gunmen. One such example is the Mercaz HaRav Massacre, where the attacker was not stopped by police but rather a student, Yitzhak Dadon, who stopped the attacker by shooting him with his personal firearm which he lawfully carried concealed. At a Virginia law school, two students retrieved pistols from their cars and stopped the attacker without firing a shot. Also, at a Mississippi high school, the Vice Principal eventually stopped the attacker. In this case his car was over 1/4 mile away due to the "gun free zone", and multiple students were shot in the time it took to retrieve his gun (though he still ended the shooting five minutes before the first police arrival).
A ban on the ownership of handguns was introduced in the United Kingdom (with the exception of Northern Ireland) following the Dunblane massacre.
Armed classrooms
Some areas in the US are experimenting with the idea of armed classrooms to deter (or truncate) future attacks, presumably by changing helpless victims into armed defenders. Students at the University of Utah have been allowed to carry concealed pistols (so long as they possess the appropriate state license) since a State Supreme Court decision in 2006. In 2008, Harrold Independent School District in Texas became the first public school district in the U.S. to allow teachers with state-issued firearm-carry permits to carry their arms in the classroom; special additional training and ricochet-resistant ammunition were required for participating teachers.
In a Vernon Daily Record op-ed, Joseph Gutheinz, who is both a criminal justice college instructor and a retired Senior Special Agent, took his opposition to pilots flying armed in commercial jets and extended it to armed teachers in classrooms. He said "anyone who has ever gone to an indoor pistol range will see ... bullet holes in the ceilings, floor, walls and support beams. The bullet holes were not the target the shooters intended but were due to accidental discharges. Even the best trained with pistols have an off day, and off days can be fatal." He criticized the Harrold school district for not imposing the same standards on its armed teachers that progressive police departments require for rookie police officers; those requirements include extensive training, and passage of both a psychological examination and lie detector test.[unreliable source?][unreliable source?][relevant?discuss][unreliable source?][relevant?discuss]
A commentary in the conservative National Review Online argues that the armed school approach for preventing school attacks, while new in the US, has been used successfully for many years in Israel and Thailand. Teachers and school officials in Israel are allowed and encouraged to carry firearms if they have former military experience in the IDF, which almost all do. Statistics on what percentage of teachers are actually armed is unavailable however.
See also
Bullying
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Chencholai bombing, Sri Lanka
Counter-terrorism
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Incendiary device
List of school-related attacks
Mass murder
Nagerkovil school bombing, Sri Lanka
Social rejection
School violence
Suicide bombing
SWAT
Terrorism
Youth subculture
References
^ National Center for Education Statistics' Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools, 1996-97.
^ "'Profiling' School Shooters". Frontline. March 17, 2007. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/profile/. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
^ "The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative" (PDF). May 1, 2002. http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf.
^ PBS article on murder profiles
^ Bill Dedman, Deadly Lessons: School Shooters Tell Why, description of Secret Service study. (October 15, 2000) Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed April 8, 2006
^ Police: Female student kills 2 others, self at Louisiana college - CNN.com
^ CNN (March 25, 1998). School shootings have high profile but occur infrequently.
^ Killingbeck, Donna. The Role of Television News in the Construction of School Violence as a 'Moral Panic." Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 8(3) (2001) 186-202
