Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition Chapter Thirteen: School Shootings

School Shootings School shootings are a subtype of workplace violence. A school shooting occurs when anyone enters a campus and begins firing a projectile weapon such as a rifle, shotgun, handgun, or a crossbow. The specific target of a school shooting is irrelevant to the definition. Only the location and he use of a projectile weapon are relevant.

Nomothetic Analysis There is no one profile that exists which accurately describes the typical school shooter, no checklist of red flags that will predict their behavior, no single overriding motive, and no preferred victim type. However, according to one study, there are common themes (Angel, 2001): All of the cases involved students bringing firearms to their schools and killing and wounding multiple victims. All multiple shot, multiple victim school shooters have been adolescents who went to school with firearms with the intent to kill, and then killed. In a large percentage of these cases, victims were girls who they claimed to have “loved”. All of the shooters had access to firearms and left clear indicators they were about to commit mass violence.

Nomothetic Analysis According to a study conducted by the United States Secret Service in conjunction with the Department of Education, the only concrete and universal trait shared by school shooters is that fact that 100% of them were male. These researchers focused on 10 findings that the authors believe may have implications for the development of strategies to address to the problem of targeted school violence.

Nomothetic Analysis 1.Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely are sudden, impulsive acts. 2.Prior to most incidents, other people know about the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack. 3.Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the attack. 4.There is no accurate or useful profile of students who engage in targeted school violence. 5.Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help.

Nomothetic Analysis 6.Most attacker had difficulty coping with significant loses or personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted suicide. 7.Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others prior to the attack. 8.Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack. 9.In many cases, other students were involved in some capacity. 10.Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention.

Nomothetic Analysis A number of checklists are also available for the purpose of identifying potential school shooters. –Characteristics identified by these checklists should serve to alert school administrators, teachers, and support staff to address needs of troubled students through meetings with parents, provision of school counseling, guidance and mentoring services, as well as referrals to appropriate community resources. –Unfortunately, many of these characteristics will not become known until after a full examination of the background characteristics of the offender can be conducted.

Idiographic Analysis Every offender has a particular victim or target criteria that satisfies their needs. There are essentially three kinds of targets: primary, secondary, and collateral. Primary target : One that is of the greatest importance to the offender. It dictates the location and timing of an attack. In school shootings, the student shooter may target a classmate that has made fun of them in the past, a romantic interest that has left them feeling scorned, a teacher who gave an unfavorable mark, or an administrator who gave an unfavorable punishment.

Idiographic Analysis Secondary target : One that is of lesser importance to the offender. It will not dictate the location and timing of the attack. However, it will be a conscious choice based on the availability within environmental and temporal constraints dictated by primary targets. In school shootings, secondary targets will be representative of the primary target. Collateral victim: One that is attacked and injured unintentionally, because of their proximity to a primary or secondary target within a given environment. In school shootings, collateral victims will be hit because they are in the way.

Exposure Factors Lintott (2004) breaks down the general factors that influence school violence into four general areas: 1.Internal problems – Students with internal problems that may expose them to violent behavior or cause them to act violently include those with chemical, biological, or psychological predispositions. 2.Familiar problems – Students with familiar problems that may expose them to violent behavior or cause them to act violently include those who have been exposed to, or suffer as a victim or, domestic violence and abuse.

Exposure Factors 3.Peer relationship problems – Students with peer relationship problems that may expose them to violent behavior or cause them to act violently include those who do not have parental guidance, support or attachment. 4.Social and environmental factors – Students with social and environmental factors that may exposure them to violent behavior, or cause them to act violently, include those who are routinely exposed to violence as a component of the media or personal entertainment choices.

Motivation The motivations for school shootings have focused on anger, retaliation, and rage. School shooters are perceived as a form of urban terrorist. However, terrorization may not have been the intent of a given school shooter. Not all are angry, not all want a high body count, and not all are interested in evoking terror.