Know Gangs
April 16, 2007

Just four days shy of the Columbine School Shooting we are now witnessing the worst school shooting massacre in our nation’s history. 

Nationally known school shooting expert, Jared Lewis was quoted in October of 2006 as saying, "The way this year has started out, this could be one of the most violent school years we're going to see.”  Unfortunately, he was right.

Based on previous school shootings, it is likely that this shooter will share many of the same indicators as previous shooters.
 
To the outsider, one might believe that the student who resorts to such violence would be an underachiever or have a low IQ.  Studies show this to be just the opposite. 

Although grades may vary from failing to honor roll status, most school shooters have a tested IQ of above average.

Few school shooters were formally diagnosed with a mental illness prior to the attacks and few had histories of drug or alcohol abuse.

The mental status of those studied varies, but the strongest common denominator was nearly 75% had threatened or tried to take their own life at some point prior to the attack.    

What’s interesting is although 75% threatened suicide, only 50% of previous school shooters had been diagnosed with suffering from depression.

Depression usually manifests itself in what some describe as a lethargic feeling or fatigue.  Others symptoms include a dark outlook on life and a loss of interest of activities that they once enjoyed.   When questioned about the future, someone suffering from depression will often express a feeling of hopelessness about their possibilities.

In addition to depression, shooters seem to be full of anger and hatred toward others but they will rarely display or express this emotion.  It is usually deeply buried and oppressed.  This hidden emotion feeds into a feeling of depression and hopelessness.  

Nearly all described their school experience and sometimes their childhood as a daily hell.  Many of them shut down their feelings so that nothing further can hurt them.  They described the anger as continuing to build up inside, with no outlet or way to let it out.  Some had occasional unpredictable and uncontrolled outburst of anger, but most kept it hidden.

In the shooter’s mind, killing is a noble act.  They are punishing the mean and the cruel in a self-appointed role as the vengeance police.

Personalities among shooters varied, but nearly all had what their peers described as having a weird or dark sense of humor.  They were known to find humor with the pain or misfortune of others.

When a person’s lack of empathy increased, their feelings of superiority over their peers will also increase.  As the feeling of superiority increases, it will bloom into a feeling of a sense of entitlement.  It is then they will be further alienated from their peers.  For the potential school shooter, this makes it easier to dehumanize those around them, thus making it easier for them to kill.

The social status of previous shooters varies.  Although the stereotypical loner image of the school shooter is true in many cases, it is not always accurate. 

Research has shown that some shooters belonged to small social groups while others were considered loners and often considered the schools’ social outcasts.  They are not loners by choice but instead they are not accepted by the more popular groups at school. The most common social denominator among shooters is they are most often social misfits.  The terms social misfit in this context is not a suggestion that they do not have any friends.

Most troubled students with a low self-esteem often gravitate to social groups that are generally not the most popular in school.  Those who are not able to find acceptance with the popular groups are able to find the acceptance and friendship that they desire within some of the smaller non-popular groups.
 
For example, the troubled student may be attracted to a gothic group, the computer gamers or the punk rockers.  Little is required for acceptance into these groups.  If the troubled student adopts a Gothic style, it would be likely that they would then be accepted by students with a similar interest.  If they have an obsession with computers or another hobby, there is probably a group of students on campus that would accept that person as well.

To be fully accepted into the popular groups, some have the perception that they must be an athlete or cheerleader, they must be attractive, they must dress a certain way or have excellent social skills.  For some troubled students, even when they are accepted into these groups, they still might have the perception they do not fit in.

As a troubled youth matures, some are accepted into the smaller non-popular groups and for most, any hatred or contempt toward others is replaced with the idea of a new found social outlet.  However for the potential school shooter, even with a new found social outlet, they continue to harbor their hatred and isolation they felt prior to finding new friends.

Although they may socialize with others after school and throughout the weekend, they will never let go of their hatred.  It will grow and fester inside them.

As previously mentioned the belief that all school shooters act alone is not always accurate.  Approximately 81% of all school shooters carried out the attack alone, 11% carried out the attack alone, but had the assistance of others and in 8% of the time the attack was committed with the immediate assistance of another.

Divorce does not appear to be a factor among shooters.  There is a fairly equal split between single and two-parent families, who had children commit a shooting.

A common denominator indicates that most families of school shooters had little interaction or involvement in their teenager’s lives.  A lack of intimacy is common in the school shooter’s family.

Some investigators reported that some parents and guardians seemed intimidated by the child and that the child ruled the home.  It appears that most of the homes lacked structure and often included no limit or monitoring sleeping habits, friends, television, movies, music or what they viewed on the internet.

Another common myth is that all school shooters frequently played violent video games and watched violent movies.  Although that may be accurate in some cases, 50% of all previous school shooters did not have an interest in gaming or movies with a violent theme.

Some shooters had a fascination with gangs, white supremacy groups and Satanism, yet none of them made any active commitment to any of these groups.

An interesting and not widely discussed trait of the shooter is the lack of any outside activities.  Rarely were shooters involved in sports or curricular activities at the time of the shooting.

An indicator of a potential problem among all children and teens is a sudden loss of interest in their normal activities and hobbies.  They may have been involved in little league, soccer, church groups or scouting, but their interest in hobbies they once enjoyed will dwindle.  This is often a possible indicator of a soon to be failing student, involvement in criminal activity or drug and alcohol use.

Many shooters lacked a strong role model in their own home.  They looked elsewhere for their role models and heroes with many of them choosing negative role models.  Some idolized Hitler, some adopted Satanism, while other chose various music artists, who often produced music with lyrics that focused on death, suicide and hatred.

An examination of past school assignments turned in by shooters often reflected an underlining theme of suicide and homicide.  Some shooters were found to focus their writings on themes surrounding hatred, prejudice, death, dismemberment, mutilation and the use of weapons.

Few teachers expressed a concern over the theme of assignments turned in by the soon to be shooters.  At the time, many educators felt the writings were just creative writings completed by a student with a big imagination.

There are many normal, healthy teenagers who have a fascination with violence and according to a growing number of psychologists, this is completely normal.  They explain it as a reflection of a harmless but rich and creative fantasy life.  But they caution that if the adolescent can no longer separate their imagination with reality then intervention is required.

Some shooters reflected their feelings in poetry and writing their own music lyrics.   Recently, the most common venue for a troubled student to express their feelings is on the internet in the form of blogs.

It is on the internet you will find their most intimate feelings and in some cases a list of people they hate.  Websites such as http://www.myspace.com or personal profiles on MSN or AOL are often popular places where troubled students have posted their feelings.

Records show that just slightly more than half of school shooters had a prior criminal record, ranging from theft to weapons possession.  Most of the prior police contacts were brief and for the most part the first act of violence was on the day of the shooting.

Revenge appears to be the leading motivator.  Of the shooters interviewed after the event; over 66% felt they had been continually bullied or threatened by classmates and named that as the main motivating factor that led to the shooting. 

They often described feeling rejected, bullied or tormented and their goal was to punish the perpetrators or in other words, to gain revenge against those who had wronged them. 

Some school violence experts have described the shooter as an injustice collector.  They will not forget or forgive the wrongs of their peers or those who they feel are responsible for their anger and sadness.

Although revenge is the most common motivator, there have been other shootings where there were other motivating factors.

Most shooters had been thinking about and planning the shooting for months prior to the event.  Unless they have a specific date in mind, there is often a triggering event that will put their planning into place. 

The shooter does not “snap”.  The attacks are not spontaneous or impulsive.  Half of the shooters thought about the attack at least two weeks prior to the shooting and had an actual plan in place at least two days prior to the event.  Some had actually conceived the idea over a year prior to the shooting with an actual plan in place.

Although the shooter has their plan in place, most often there is a triggering event that puts their planning into motion.  Rejection by a romantic interest is often the main triggering factor. 

In nearly 3 out of 4 of all school shootings, the underlying issue of the shooter’s acts was a recent loss of status in a significant relationship, a personal failure or a romantic rejection.

Other triggering events often involve humiliation by school officials, an arrest, a planned move or problems at home.  In other words, the shooter generally has difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures.

In the aftermath of any highly publicized school shooting, all educators and law enforcement should be on high alert for what is known as the copycat syndrome.  If a school shooting is receiving a lot of attention in the media, there tends to be more school shootings and school shooting attempts soon afterward.

Within the school itself, the most heavily populated areas are the most targeted by shooters.  Generally the school shooting will not begin in a secluded spot where only a handful of students are present.  The shooter wants an audience.  They want witnesses.

There have been many shooters who have hidden themselves in secluded places, such as bathrooms or in wooded areas near the school.  Although the shooter may attempt to camouflage their location, they still target their classmates in crowded areas.

Although some shooters have attempted to hide their identity during the attack, few made any realistic plans for escape following the shooting.

If your school were to suddenly fall siege to a shooter, statistics show that the shooter will almost always be either a current or recently expelled student as opposed to a stranger coming on campus to randomly kill.  Keep in mind there have been several shootings on school property where the shooter had no affiliation to the school.

It appears that nearly all school shootings at an elementary school are at the hand of a shooter with no affiliation to the school, but someone who is looking for the most innocent victims.  Shootings at junior and high schools are almost always done by a current or previously expelled student.

If your school were to fall under siege by a shooting, keep in mind that the shooter could have no affiliation to your school and picked your school randomly.

Every school has troubled students who have thought about becoming a school shooter.  Some may have only briefly contemplated the idea, while others have made more active steps towards preparation. 

Investigators have found that all school shooters let their intentions leak out, leaving glaring warning signs and numerous clues of their intention.  These included;

• making statements to friends, parents and teachers
• comments written in their school assignments and journals
• comments left on internet websites and personal profiles
• items left in plain view in their cars, lockers and rooms

Some shooters even warned friends what day they planned on doing the shooting instructing them to skip school for their safety.

It’s unfortunate, but in nearly all school shootings there had been a host of warning signs that were either overlooked or not taken seriously.  In most incidents, there were concerned adults, but little proactive steps were taken to provide intervention to the troubled student prior to the shooting.

In 75% of all school shooting incidents, at least one adult had been concerned about recent conversations or behavior prior to the shooting and in 50% of the shootings at least one adult communicated their concern about the student’s behavior prior to the shooting.

Students, educators, parents and law enforcement should take all threats and information indicating possible violence to be taken seriously.
 
It has been discovered only half of the school shooters had a familiarity of gun use.  What is interesting is that fifty percent did not have experience with firearms.

The most common gun used was a semi-automatic handgun—highly accurate and capable of firing many rounds with a quick reload.

All shooters reported getting their weapons was easy. Approximately 66% took the gun from their own home or that of a relative where they were often unsecured.  Others were given the guns as gifts, while others stole the guns from neighbors.  A few shooters had older friends purchase the guns for them.

Potential targets could be students, administrators, counselors, teachers, campus supervisors or school police officers.

Many shooters have predetermined targets and some have mentally tested different orders of killing to be the most effective.   Even when the shooter has a list of intended victims, they do not always threaten their targets prior to the attack.

For many shootings, once the shooters engage in the actual shooting, few follow through with their list of intended targets.  This seems more accurate among student victims, but if they had a specific educator or administrator on their list of targets they often will attack that person first.