Gun violence in schools: an outline

Gun Violence in Schools: Statistics, Why, And Recommendations

On December 14, 2013, 20-year-old Adam Lanza massacred 20 children and 7 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School (Barron, 2012). The doors were locked and visitors had to be buzzed in, but Lanza was able to overcome these barriers by shooting his way in. The guns came from her mother's house and she was later found shot dead, apparently by Lanza. After committing the massacre at Sandy Hook, Lanza committed suicide, thus robbing the nation of the possibility of learning why. This essay will examine the history of gun violence in U.S. schools and discuss current professional opinions about why these killings happen and how to stop them.

Historical Perspective

In 2010, Representative Donna Edwards (D-Md) reported that there had been 181 school shootings since the Columbine massacre in 1999. On April 20 of that year, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, 18- and 17-years old, respectively, walked into Columbine High School near Denver, Colorado and killed 12 fellow students and 1 teacher (Lamb, 2008). Their intent, based on what investigators had discovered, were to kill as many as 500 students, staff, teachers, and rescue workers that day. This plan went awry when propane bombs failed to explode in the school cafeteria. The Columbine massacre stood out historically because of the number killed and the degree of premeditation involved. Over the years since, the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007 and the Sandy Hook massacre have been added to the Columbine shooting as reference points against which future shootings will be compared.

The figure of 181 school shootings reported by Rep. Edwards was inaccurate by a third, however. According the figures assembled by Fact Check, there have been 130 school shootings resulting in death and/or injury since Columbine (Farley, Robertson, and Kiely, 2012). A report issued recently by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) reveal how rare a school shooting is compared to other ways children and adolescents can die from gun violence (Brock, 2013). Of all gun-related homicides involving school aged children, less that 1% occur at schools. For example, the risk of being killed by a gun at school was 1 in 2.5 million during the 2009/2010 school year and the vast majority involved a single victim and offender.

Why

The Secret Service has examined school shootings and found that a school shooter profile does not exist (Brock, 2013); however, according to the NASP most school shootings are premeditated and threats or suicide attempts are made in advance. In addition, many school shooters had a history of mental health problems and may have been victimized by bullies. David Brooks (2004) questions the validity of this theory due to subsequent evidence revealing Harris, the Columbine shooter, was a ston- cold killer beyond redemption (Brooks, 2004).