“School shooting is a form of mass shooting involving a gun attack on an educational institution, such as a school or university.” The U.S. secret service defines them as shootings where schools are deliberately selected as the location for the attack. These shootings have sparked a political debate over gun violence, zero tolerance policies and gun control.1 School shootings occur when a student or staff member have mental illnesses or personal problems in their life. Shootings have happened all over the world. The earliest school shooting in the United States was on July 26, 1764 where four Lenape American Indian entered the schoolhouse near Greencastle, Pennsylvania, shot and killed schoolmaster Enoch Brown, and killed ten children.2 The …show more content…
Some of the personal risk factors that can lead to school violence are attention deficits, hyperactivity or learning disorder; history of aggressive behavior; association with delinquent peers.5 Evidence has suggested that mental illness or mental health symptoms are nearly universal among school shooters.6 An example of this would be a Virginia Tech student named Seung Hui Cho who shot and killed thirty two staff members and students. He was diagnosed with depression and anxiety after he committed suicide. A 2002 report by the U.S. secret service and department of education found evidence that the majority of school shooters that were mentally ill had not received any help.7 School shooters who are mentally ill tend to blame others for their problems. They also felt like failures in their lives and envied their peers who were happier and more successful than they …show more content…
One of them is called the Center for the Prevention of School Violence. It was started in North Carolina and they focus on ensuring that every student that attends schools can be safe, secure and free of fear. They also try to improve education by preventing violence in schools. The center provides information to anyone that is involved with safe schools and youth development. The Center for the prevention of School Violence is one of the nation's first school safety centers. Many other states are starting school safety centers because of the success that the center in North Carolina has
When thinking about school shootings names like Columbine and Sandy Hook pop up. Those are the most tragic by far, however everyone always ask why such a horrible crime happens, but no one has never stopped and researched why such hate crimes like those happen. Instead people resort to Channel 2 or Fox 5 for answers, not realizing that their story isn’t the full truth. I am truly against school shootings; looking for answers myself. If there’s one thing I’ve picked up from the media is how they portray school shootings with mental illness, but according to Alfred.edu/teen violence says, “They want to get back at those who hurt them or revenge.” Many adults always struggled to realize why things as vigorous as shootings happens; also fail to realize they are the start of something so tragic. There are several reasons that lead to a school shooting but only five are common.
Since 2013, there have been 175 school shootings in America. That is such a horrible number to hear. There's been so much activity on school shooting that it doesn't come as a shock when one happens. As Obama said after the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, where a gunman went on a rampage and murdered at least 10 people, “ Somehow this has become a routine.” All shooters have a motive and it has to do with their life at home, how they were treated at school, and how their mental health is.
In other parts of the world, school shootings were occurring, but not as often and early as they were in America. In Canada, the first school shooting happened in Markdale, Ontario, at Markdale School on August 25, 1884. Head teacher William Norris, wounded a co-worker who rejected his advances with 3 shots, and then committed suicide. In Europe, the first school shooting took place at Bremen School, Bremen, Germany, on June 20, 1913. An unemployed teacher, Heinz Schmidt, shot at students and teachers, and before being restrained by school staff, he killed four girls and wounded more than 20 others. [SOURCE] In Oceanic regions, the first school shooting happened in New Zealand, at Waikino Schoolhouse, on October 19, 1923. John Higgins killed two children and wounded nine others, including the headmaster. [SOURCE] This is the first and only school shooting to occur in New Zealand; Australia has had 5 — the first occurring on June 19, 1991 at Orara High School, in Coffs Harbour when a student brought a rifle to school and injured two teachers and one student. In Asia, the first school shooting happened on January 26, 1962, at Li Shing Junior High School in
To begin making schools a safer environment, prevention measures should focus on educating children and parents about the
There has been an average of one school shooting every week in America since the Sandy Hook shooting. On the fourteenth of December, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza not only killed his mother in her home, but also twenty children and six members of staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This was to be the third deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The Huffington Post reports that as of 2014, there have been over 200 school shootings. These have resulted in at least 94 deaths and over 156 serious and minor injuries. And, with an issue as emotive and contentious as the murder of school children, the question has been frequently asked: why do school shootings happen?
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.
Research in school shootings have been administered in many categories, including sociology, psychology, and etc. past studies, and direct later studies in school shootings, offers a sociology stand point for understanding the differences of school shooting incidents, including rampage shootings, mass murders shootings, and examining the mass media dynamic of school shootings; as well as presenting a combination of causes said in the research, including those on the individual, community, and social levels. Suggestions for studies in the future in school shootings are still yet to be explored.
In the United States mass shootings has been a problem for the last few years especially school shootings which occurs often in the country. Why in this country? Well statistics shows that the United States has 31% of all public mass shootings from 1966 to 2012. Although, the percentage has gone up for the last five years. There is a higher risk of dying at school than at any public places. The government and the president of the United States are not treating this problem right and it has become a phenomenon in the country. According to the blog “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother: A Mom’s Perspective On the Mental Illness Conversation In America” by Liza Long, she discusses her struggles with her mentally ill son and states the lack of help she was getting. She addresses the Sandy Hook incident in Newtown, Connecticut to relate it to her situation and how she fears her son might lead to murderous attack like the Sandy Hook shooting. Many of the causes that lead to school shootings are; lack of gun control, mental health & bullying, and definitely lack of protection at schools.
After the Sandy Hook, there were countless ways for students to be safe at school. In Preparing for the Unthinkable: School Safety after Sandy Hook news article, Vicki Bauman said, “ Instead of gates, guns, and metal detectors, let’s invest in the things we know will make us safer: counselors, health care, teaching positive behavior, and making sure we have services to reach out to disconnected youth and pull them back on track.” Therefore, violence is not the answer to any question or issue. The community and school system should take a stand and get the necessities that the schools need to have a safe environment for the students and faculty and staff. The school can invest in law enforcement. The law enforcement will be able to conduct a consistent search through a metal detector. The law enforcement will help the students to avoid bringing prohibited weapons to school as well as, there to protect the school.
The reality of the situation is that there are many numbers of reasons that a school shooting may happen. There have been 142 school shootings in the United States since 2013, as indicated by a record made by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. There are many reasons we need to use for the reasons for school shootings however the most prevalent one is harassing.