School shooting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Revision as of 21:27, 22 July 2006

The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

This June 2006 may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this June 2006 if you can.

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.
You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available.

The Columbine High shooters caught on a security camera during their rampage

A school massacre is an incident of attempted mass murder, involving at least one actual death, that occurs at a school. Unlike other forms of school violence, there is usually no single target; the perpetrator's objective is to kill as many people as possible. Sometimes these events are perpetrated by students; in other cases, expelled students, alumni, or even total outsiders commit them. In the worst school massacre in United States history, the Bath School disaster, the perpetrator was a member of the school board.

In the United States, everyday school violence, such as beatings and stabbings, especially of the gang-related sort, is more common in working-class, inner-city schools, but student-perpetrated school massacres most often occur in middleclass suburbs where they receive the most media attention due to their severity in a brief period of time.

Like terrorist attacks, school massacres are very rare but traumatic. They receive extensive media coverage and often result in nationwide changes of school discipline and security policies.

The most widely publicized school massacre in the United States was the student-perpetrated Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

Staff and Students evacuate Columbine High School shortly after the Columbine High School massacre, which inspired many more school shootings and plots

"Profiling" school shooters

A thorough study of all U.S. 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 fit the potential perpetrators. "The researchers found that killers do not 'snap'. They plan. They acquire weapons. They tell others what they are planning. These children take a long, considered, public path toward violence[1].

And there is no profile. 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. Instead of looking for traits, the Secret Service urges adults to ask about behavior: "What has this child said? Does he have grievances? What do his friends know? Does he have access to weapons? Is he depressed or despondent?"^[1]

Epidemics

A secondary danger of school shootings is that, like youth suicide, they have a tendency to inspire "copycat" incidents or even epidemics of the same behavior. After the Columbine massacre, for example, a number of American and Canadian high school students plotted "Columbine-like" attacks; the vast majority of these plots were half-baked and unlikely ever to be taken to execution; of those attempted, almost all were foiled. The Red Lake High School massacre in 2005 (Red Lake, Minnesota) was a notable exception, copying the element of a gunman in a black trench coat.

Although Columbine prompted a number of shooting plots, most deadly school shootings took place earlier, between 1996 and 1998. As of 2005, there are indications that China is experiencing its own epidemic of school violence. In China, most school killings involve knives; in the U.S., they involve firearms.

In contrast to Columbine, the 1927 Bath School disaster engendered no copycat attempts. Following the forty-five deaths in Bath, Michigan, there was much less media reporting on the event and no legislative response on any level other than local legislation to appropriate small amounts of money for the victims' families.

Significant dates

Every year threats are made on and around April 20, as some sort of a tribute to the Columbine High School massacre, and other historical events such as the birth of Hitler. Dozens of teenagers have been arrested since 2000 for plotting an attack on their school on that day.

Additionally, threats were recently made on the date of June 6, 2006, which translates to 6/6/06, which read 666, (associated with the devil in Christianity). Despite these threats however, there were no incidents of school violence on the day.

Notable school massacres

Notable school shooters

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold

Other primary and elementary school killings

Other secondary school killings

Non-fatal school shootings and attacks

Foiled or exposed plots

Other gun-related incidents in schools

School shootings in popular culture

Films about school shootings

Films with school shootings

Documetaries

Plays

TV series featuring school shootings

Songs about school shootings

Additional Notes;

Novels about school shootings

References

External links