The word ‘school shooting’ implies acts carried out by either intruders or students within a school. These incidences are usually confused with other forms of school violence like Bath School tragedy where a homemade bomb exploded leaving behind several causalities. Is there a certain ‘type’ of students most likely to carry out these atrocious acts?
Well, a profiling carried out in the United States of America showed that, there are no certain groups or individuals, who are more likely to commit these school-shooting incidences (Egan para. 9).
However, the perpetrators seem to share one thing; they plan for the shootings. These individuals do not wake up and decide to carry a gun into a class and open fire to fellow students or teachers. No, they plan how to do it in advance. Theirs is a well-developed path towards violence.
Apart from being ‘loners’, these individuals are ‘joiners’ and it appears that after failing to gain social acceptance, they come up with a way of letting their thinking and actions known by shooting fellow students or even teachers (Egan para. 6). Though not proved, these shooting incidences may be an attempt by the perpetrators to uplift their social image from a ‘loser’ to a ‘master’.
What else can explain such incidences? Interestingly, young males have been exclusively associated with these shootings save for only two documented incidences carried out by female students.
Barry Loukaitis in Frontier Middle School perpetrated one of the most outstanding school shooting instances on 2 February 1996. On the material day, Loukaitis, wielding two handguns and a hunting riffle with over 78 rounds of ammunition; shot dead his algebra teacher; Leona Caires and two fellow students; Arnold Fritz, Jr. and Manuel Vela; injured Natalie Hintz, and held the entire class hostage for ten minutes.
After hearing the gunshots, Jon Lane, a gym coach, walked in and volunteered to be taken hostage instead of the students before grabbing the weapons and disarming Loukaitis (Egan, para. 5). It later emerged that these weapons belonged to his father. Interestingly, on that day, Loukaitis was apparelled like Gunslinger, a prominent character in cinema. What could lead someone to making such flagitious move?
According to Egan, Barry said, ”This sure beats algebra doesn’t it” (para. 4). After thorough searching, it emerged that violent videos littered Loukaitis’ house. He learnt shooting from his father. Additionally, Barry Loukaitis reportedly confessed to a friend that it would be cool to embark on a shooting fling, to emulate some lead characters in Natural Born Killers. To be precise the character, Oliver Stone in this film was Barry’s paragon.
From this incidence, it is clear that this was a pre-planned venture through watching of deadly movie series and close learning about shooting from a father. Barry’s comments that ‘this sure beats algebra doesn’t it’, is a clear indication that he had deep seated problems and this experience made him feel superior making his thoughts known to the world.
The whole story brings into spotlight the issue of carelessness on part of parents. Guns and other weapons should be kept out of children’s reach. There is a dire need to bring up children in a way that will discourage these behaviours.
Barring children from watching these violent films would solve this problem in part. The contemporary generation of young people is exposed to many destructive things. Consequently, out of curiosity, coupled with issues like negligence and social misfit, may engage in more school shootings. We need drastic actions to avert this emerging behaviour. We cannot afford to lose yet another soul in such circumstances.
It is without doubt that The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting will go down in history as the deadliest school shooting incident involving minors in America (Blad, 2013), and one which attracted a high number of calls to implement a multiplicity of school safety legislations aimed at protecting schools from gun-related violence (“School safety legislation,” 2013).
In this particular incident which occurred in Newton on December 14, 2012, a mentally-disturbed young man by the name of Adam Lanza forced his way into the elementary school and shot dead 20 school children and 6 adults before taking his own life to avoid arrest (Blad, 2013).
The main objective of this paper is to analyze this incident with the view to interrogating a whole set of issues related to school violence (e.g., gun control policies in schools, incident communication, and incident response) and developing a school safety policy based on the analysis.
School administrators responded to the shooting incident by calling for a change in gun laws and by requesting for the development and implementation of various pieces of legislation aimed at protecting the safety of children and workers within the school environment.
The decision to arm school teachers and workers attracted widespread attention in the wake of Sandy Hook School shootings, as it was felt that the lone gunman could have been easily overpowered if some teachers or workers had been armed (“School safety legislation,” 2013).
Indeed, some administrators and school districts requested for the training and arming of staff members to effectively deal with such shooting incidents in the future, although other educator groups felt that it was wrong for staff members to be allowed to possess guns (Blad, 2013).
Other school administrators and education stakeholders responded to the unfortunate school shooting by advocating for laws and policies that included
increasing police presence in learning institutions,
enhancing mental health and counseling services in schools,
introducing emergency planning measures in schools,
availing additional money to undertake school security upgrades.
Still, others advocated for loosening of general rules that make it illegal for teachers and workers to bring guns to schools, and a few advocated for proposals to change regulations governing firearms such as magazine size and purchasing limitations on particular guns (“School safety legislation,” 2013).
Analysis
The Sandy Hook School shooting incident brings into the fore various issues that need to be carefully analyzed to note the weaknesses that could have played a part in providing an enabling environment for the lone gunman to attack and kill so many people.
An assessment of the policies that existed before this shooting incident demonstrates a general prohibition on the possession of guns in school compounds (“School safety legislation,” 2013), implying that no member of staff could have accessed a weapon when Adam Lanza entered the school compound and started to shoot indiscriminately.
Of particular importance here is the United States federal law known as the gun-free school zones act of 1990 and how it proscribes any unauthorized person from intentionally or deliberately possessing a gun at a place or location that may be perceived as a school zone (National Crime Prevention Council, 2014).
Although this and other related policies have acted to secure educational institutions from gun-related violence and crime, they have nevertheless failed to address a situation whereby an attacker may force his or her way into the school compound as happened in the Sandy Hook incident.
Owing to the elementary nature of the school in question, this paper assumes that the young students of Sandy Hook School were not aware of the policies related to this incident prior to its occurrence. However, although students may not have been aware of the existing gun regulation policies, it is evident that the school had implemented several policies related to the creation of a culture of safety.
The two mostly used safety strategies included
visible identification and screening of visitors using a security system, and
locking the school doors each day after the commencement of classes (“Sandy Hook shooting,” 2014).
Many policy changes have been proposed since the Sandy Hook shooting incident, with available documentation demonstrating that states such New York, Colorado, and Connecticut have already enacted various legislations aimed at reducing gun violence (Johnson, 2013).
According to this author, the various legislations being enacted by these states “include strengthening background checks on gun sales, bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and other laws that aim to keep firearms out of the hands of violent individuals” (para. 8).
A law passed in Connecticut, which was epicenter of Sandy School shooting, aims to address mental health concerns ostensibly because the alleged shooter was suffering from a mental health illness. It is clear that the many fatalities witnessed in Sandy School shooting could have been avoided if some of the rules had been implemented prior to the attack.
Today, most educational activities include a component of mental health, as education stakeholders come face to face with the reality that many students could be suffering from psychological disorders and hence predisposed to violence and other socially undesirable behaviors.
It is also evident that students are taught how to cope with stress, which has been known to occasion socially unacceptable behavior including the predisposition to become violent.
Lastly, most students today receive educational instructions on how to deal with emergencies that may arise in school environments (“School safety legislation,” 2013). Such educational activities, in my view, will go a long way in ensuring that students develop the capacity to deal with own life stressors and emergency situations with the view to preventing unnecessary loss of life.
The introduction of mental health services and education in most curriculums is of immense importance in assisting students to identify and deal with abusive behavior in school, which may include but not limited to bullying, threatening behavior, intimidation, and abuse (Tsiantis, Beratis, & Syngelaki, 2013).
Other behavioral orientations such as anxiety, introverted nature and depression are known to form the basic building blocks for an abusive predisposition.
Indeed, one particular report covering the Sandy Hook killings demonstrates the Mr. Lanza, the killer of 26 people in the school, “was preoccupied with video games and communicated with his mother only through email, even though they were on the same floor” (Flegenheimer, 2013, para. 13).
Such behavioral orientations should not be tolerated within the school environment as they often lead to negative consequences including loss of life.
As already mentioned, some instructional practices changed due to the shooting incident, as more students became exposed to mental health education and counseling services to assist them deal with stressful life events.
Education stakeholders were also encouraged to involve students in updated safety plans and crisis response protocols, done in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies and community service providers, with the view to preparing students on how to deal with emergencies (Brydolf, 2013).
Most of these programs were offered under an instructional practice setting known as teaching for understanding, whereby students were challenged to think and employ their knowledge in addressing daily problems (e.g., what to do when faced with a difficult life challenge) and connecting ideas (e.g., which family influencers can make a child to turn violent or become abusive).
Consequently, it can be argued that there has been a noted change in instructional practices, from the traditional teacher-centered methodologies to student-centered approaches that necessitate students to use critical thinking skills and apply relevant knowledge to understand and solve challenges (Moore, 2014).
It is evident that the Sandy Hook School shooting incident was communicated to the media by law enforcement officers, who were ill-equipped to correctly explain what transpired due to lack of an effective information flow from school administrators.
Many parents received the news of the shooting incident from mainstream media commentators, who had received incomplete information on what transpired at the school from law enforcement officers.
Due to such inadequacies, it is felt that school administrators should receive training in crisis communication to ensure that information is disseminated to relevant stakeholders in the most effective manner to avoid confusion and anxiety during such incidents (Braud, 2014).
Summarization
In a news article on The Guardian newspaper, the author commented on how America was reeling from one of the worst school shootings in its history and also how the incident had triggered new countrywide soul-searching about the role firearms play in the American society.
The author acknowledged President Obama’s speech in stressing the importance of gaining greater controls on gun-related violence, and continued to cite police and media sources to demonstrate how the gunman gained entry, the weapons used in the shootings, and the number of people killed in the incident according to their status and area of operation in the school (Pilkington & Harris, 2012).
Police responded to the incident almost immediately after receiving the first emergency call at around 9:30 a.m., although the killer managed to take his life before he could be arrested (“Sandy Hook shooting,” 2014). Although the school principal perished in the incident, other teachers acted with great courage to save as many students as possible.
Education administrators acted professionally in calming emotions and assisting the affected parents to overcome their grief through material and emotional support. Most parents and students reacted with anxiety and confusion immediately after the incident due to lack of information, but this was addressed once information became available.
Lastly, the local community reacted by showing a lot of concern and providing material, emotional and spiritual support to those in need (Flegenheimer, 2013; Pilkington & Harris, 2012).
Arising from this analysis, the best policy is for schools to invest in training some workers in comprehensive disaster responsiveness and management, as it is believed that many lives could have been saved if the incident was managed well.
Some staff members need to be trained on handling such situations and provided with equipment that will provide the necessary capacity to act without having to wait for law enforcement officers. Schools also need to be funded to undertake security upgrades that may include constructing high-perimeter walls, developing video surveillance, and enhancing physical search capabilities at the gate.
Lastly, as a school leader, it would have been plausible to ensure there existed a comprehensive and collaborative communication mechanism in the school to avoid raising anxiety levels due to lack of adequate information. This proposal requires a selected group of teachers or workers to be trained on conflict communication and provided with a fully-equipped communications office within the school setting.
Tsiantis, A. C. J., Beratis, I. N., & Syngelaki, E. M. (2013). The effects of a clinical prevention program on burying, victimization, and attitudes toward school of elementary school students. Behavioral Disorders, 38(4), 243-257.
Parenting styles involves the way these adolescents (involving themselves in school shootings) were brought up by their parents. It is all about the social life that these victims were exposed to. You will find that most of the school shootings that occur originate from the social life of the victims. This means that parenting style is very important in helping alleviate this challenge.
Reviewing on the background of students, one will definitely notice the different family backgrounds they come from. Such backgrounds include broken marriage families, single parent families, poor families, rich families, caring and uncaring families among others. Some even grow up as orphans with no parental contact at all (Hayes 2).
Many of the behaviors found in students particularly the males, are as a result of their backgrounds. This causes them to develop feelings of self rejection, self pity and total desperation. They eventually turn out to engage themselves in drugs and other acts of terrorism.
Most of them eventually end up developing a don’t-care-attitude which eventually leads to habits of shootings in schools. Other reasons are the religious influences, for example the Muslims who propagate Jihad (Holy war) and also peer influence (Newman et al. 1). An individual can be brought up in a good environment only to be carried away by bad influence from his fellow friends.
Some of these friends might have been brought up in a bad environment. The issue of the holy war as the Muslims claim is also another parenting failure. Young Muslims are brought up in an environment that misleads them about war. They end up applying such teachings in school. To them, war is holy (Kellner 57).
Media Influence
The media and other social surrounding environment have contributed a lot to the growth and development of this kind of behavior among the school adolescents. Despite their efforts in curbing this behavior, the influence of media has been a subject matter by several authors who have published books and other materials used in class and even outside. Some of the media films, books and other materials are of bad influence.
Movies on terrorism acts, fighting and other related themes tend to cause bad influence. Others are the publications made after the columbine tragic events in 20th April, 1999, which caused many authors to publish plays, films, and other sorts of publications to stop the same from recurring again. Examples are the play called, Bang You’re Dead (1999) which later became a movie in 2002, the Duck – Carbine High Massacre (2002).
The internet also forms part of the media influence. There is a lot of information on the internet about guns including pro-gun sites that students obtain information on how to acquire and use guns. Some of these sites allow students to buy guns and other weapons as hyper-masculinity tokens (Kellner 57).
How to prevent Adolescent Masculinities and Guns Amok
Teachers should spend more time with pupils/students to stand a better chance of correcting their behavior. Those who are already victims still have an element of greatness and can be summoned to impart some sense of hope in them and make them change completely. The parents should be very careful with their children and should provide a reputable background that will not expose them to such behaviors.
The media should advocate for movies, books and films that encourage students not to engage in acts of shootings, Adolescent Masculinities and Guns Amok. A good example is a movie titled Anwar published to send a message that, not all Muslims are terrorists; discouraging the adolescents and other age groups from the notion that just because they are Muslims they have to be terrorists (Rhodes 57).
The internet pro-gun sites should also be dealt with. These sites should be closed or imposed with limited access. The internet can then be used as a great information source to enlighten students against terrorism acts and provide themes that promote peace, understanding as well as conflict non-violent resolutions (Rhodes 89).
Kellner, Douglas. Guys and Guns Amok: Domestic Terrorism and School Shooting From Oklahoma City Bombing to the Virginia Tech Massacre. Boulder/London: Paradigm, 2008. Web.
Newman et al. Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Rhodes, Richard. Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist. New York: Knopf/Random House, 1999.
A school shooting is one of the terrible problems that affected modern schools and pedagogy. School violence is not unique to public schools or to the nation’s educational centres. Current media reports and news stories indicate that the issue of violence and shooting in schools is a national problem that has seeped into the very heartland of America. A today school shooting is a social problem that requires special attention of society, and prevention measures accepted on the governmental level. This question is extremely important because with over 200 million guns currently circulating within the US there is now more of a threat than ever for teen violence and violent crimes taking place. Many sociological theories try to explain school shooting, its social roots and causes taking into account social relations and social influences affected school students. Symbolic interactionism theory helps to single out the core elements of violent behaviour and explain the social causes of a school shooting. It is important for colleges and universities to adopt discipline as a guide in decision making for groups of students and staff. These rules are a student’s fundamental orientation toward life, what a student sees as right and wrong, and his/her obligations towards others. Discipline is also closely connected with ethical responsibilities which means how its decisions and actions show concern for what the community consider fair and just.
Symbolic Interactionism Theory
According to symbolic interactionism theory and one of its founders Herbert Blumer (1969), social interaction can be explained in the following way:
Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them
The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows.
These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters (Blumer pp. 23-24).
In terms of this theory, many teenagers follow the example of adults and film heroes trying to obtain guns and use force against innocent citizens. For most of them, guns represent “adulthood”, a stylish and trendy way of life.
Social interaction theory helps to single outs such causes of a school shooting as TV violence and guns availability. Primarily, lack of control resulted in numerous deaths of teens who kill each other. Teens kill each other using arms as a tool to take revenge or prove their imaginary force and adulthood. Foss High School shooting in 2006 is one of the vivid examples of such behaviour. The chief comments;
I’m not sure what the motive was or what was said “I know they were acquaintances. It does not appear to be a gang-related incident. It does not appear to be a random act of violence (Student dies in shooting, 2006).
This situation becomes a common thing for media used as an integral part of the circulation of ideas and social conflict. The stereotype of the man as cruel and aggressive has a great impact on teen’s perception and desire to obtain firearms. The high rate of death among teens is caused by the fact that the friends and relatives of a teenager who has a gun become the major victims of his cruelty. The news reported about the recent Toronto school shooting (2007):
No weapons have been found, no arrests have been made and no information on the identity of the boy has been released. Chief Blair told reporters that the current focus is to get the students out of the school safely” (Toronto high school locked down, 2007).
Because of students’ increased access to weapons, especially guns, and the fact that more and more of these weapons are showing up in schools. Following Carpendale and Muller (2004): “schools are also increasing their use of metal detectors to identify students carrying weapons. In addition, to support school administrators’ efforts to reduce violence, more and more schools’ funds are used to him retired police officers or security guards to patrol buildings” (23). Following symbolic interaction theory, many students violate school rules in order to attract attention and create a ‘unique’ personal image of superhero they watch in movies. (Virginia School Shooting News, 2007).
Taking into account the third core concept of symbolic interactionism, it is possible to say that fight against the society has become popular in society today in spite of the negative influence it has had on students. Guns have encouraged lust, sex, suicide, rebellion against authority, etc. Surprisingly, most of these students are not aware of the adverse effects of guns possession explaining that they need them for personal safety and security. The statistical results show that death among teens killed by teens is very high in comparison with adult statistics. Advertising has a direct impact on the life priorities of youth. In this case, firearms and violence “advertising” encourages extremely aggressive behaviour forcing teens to choose their way of living (Kendall, 2006).
TV has a great impact on teens as the main communication tool that shapes views and controls the circulation of ideas, identifies tastes and social priorities of millions of viewers around the world. These findings show that TV becomes the main form of entertainment appealing so much to everyone through its simplicity and animation. Psychologists prove that TV violence affects the emotions and behaviour of teens increasing their aggression and hostility. It is important to note that there is no direct correlation between TV violence and teens’ aggression, although psychological researches state that TV violence inspires young adults to act aggressively (Kendall, 2006). This proves the fact that many TV programs are insecure and rather dangerous for young adults portraying violent and cruel scenes. For this reason, parents should be conscious about the possible effects of TV on their children reviewing and controlling products their children are going to watch.
Generally speaking, there are three groups of students in school. The majority of young people rarely break the rules and behaviour principles stipulated by the school curriculum. The third part of all students breaks the rules on a “somewhat regular basis by refusing to accept classroom principles and resisting restrictions” (Klawans 2002, p. 44). If not given clear instructions regarding their behaviour patterns, these young people can disrupt learning for all the other students (Klawans, 2002). These students are more likely to commit acts of violence in school and in the community. Virginia Tech shooting on April 17 2007 was one of the cruellest and violent ones: 32 people were killed during two attacks (Virginia School Shooting News, 2007).
According to symbolic interaction theory, “the meaning is derived from or arises out of the social interaction” so lack of parental supervision at home (71%), lack of family involvement with the school (66 %), and exposure to violence in the mass media (55 %) become the main ‘symbols’ and ‘signs’ followed by students. On numerous occasions, teachers have shared anecdotes about students, even very young students, who state that their parents have told them (the children) that they do not have to do what the teacher says or that if anyone tries to take something from them, insults them, or hits them, they should fight back (Carpendale and Muller, 2004). Unfortunately, many parents admit that they do not teach and educate their child as for behaviour [patters and social interaction (Attacks on students and staff, 2007). Most of the school shootings were preplanned as a shooting committed by a 19-year-old student in North Carolina in 2006. “A preliminary investigation indicates “that the shooting at the school and the murder were preplanned,” according to the sheriff’s office’ (School shooting suspect charged with killing father, 2006).
Negative interaction occurs in gangs and negative peer groups. Students who were queried as to their membership in these groups or gangs often responded that they join because they want to be accepted by their peers and need to belong. Disorderly conduct has become increasingly common amongst college and university students in recent years. Disorderly conduct of student has not been widely discussed in the literature but created a great problem for many authorities. In recent years more attention is given to this problem because the conduct of students plays an important role in the general policies of colleges and universities and requires special actions to be made. As a result, “an act of violence [and shooting] could result from idle gossip, courtship jealousies, extortion, feeling slighted or disrespected, or an attempt to impress friends” (Carpendale and Muller, 2004).
The facts mentioned above show that school shooting becomes a reaction towards social symbols popularized by society and the media. The schools’ internal structural organization and their cultures of implicit understanding of how things are and how things ought to be done contribute to processes that differentiate other compensatory education programs.
Conclusion
In sum, school shooting unveils ineffective social and negative symbolic interaction between students and their parents, students and educational staff. Out of control teen shooting and guns results in great national problem causing the death of millions of innocent people. Free circulation of guns causes a high number of homicides and suicides committed by teens and a high unintentional injury risk. Restrictions should be applied to the entire population, in order to reduce guns circulation and their availability to teens. The other problem is that firearms can be easily acquired on the street and stolen. Parental negligence and lack of governmental control are usually “cited” as the main causes of the problem. Guns availability resulted in three main problems: suicide, homicide and high injury risk. It was found that guns availability is dangerous for a teen himself. Lack of special programs resulted in increased violence and guns possession. Many teenagers know much about guns, but do not realize the danger of them. Experts believe that taking preventive measures is better than the abrupt prohibition of guns which can cause the opposite effect on the students. Public policies should be formulated carefully including the goals of the policy, whether the means adopted will achieve those goals, and whether intended benefits outweigh financial and human rights burdens. The solution is the implementation of social campaigns which will involve broad social context: media, social workers, school authorities, etc. A clear understanding of the goals to be achieved is essential. So, without strict control on the national level, it will be impossible to decrease teenage guns possession and school shooting.
References
Attacks on students and staff. (2007,).
Blumer, Herbert (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Carpendale, J. I. M., Muller, U. (2004). Social Interaction and the Development of Knowledge. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kendall, D. (2006). Sociology of Our Time. Wadsworth Publishing; 6 edition.
Klawans, S. (2002). License to Kill. The Nation. 275 (14), p. 44.
School shooting suspect charged with killing father. (2006).
‘Student dies in shooting at Foss High School; suspect captured’ (2006).
Toronto high school locked down after shooting. (2007).
On 2nd October, 2006, a lone gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV went into the one-roomed Amish school in west nickel mines, Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, armed with three firearms and about six hundred rounds of ammunition at around 9:51 am.
He barricaded the school doors with boards and eye bolts then using tape, he went ahead to bind the arms and legs of ten female students after releasing a pregnant woman, three parents with infants and fifteen male students.
At around 10:36 am one of the teachers, Emma Zook, who had escaped together with her mother to a nearby farm, where, with the help of an Amish man, Amos smoker, made a 911 call to the state police troopers who arrived at around 10:42 (Books 2010)1.
While they were waiting for reinforcements, the police tried to communicate with Mr. Roberts through their cruisers’ PA system, which did not succeed as Roberts asked them to leave.
At around 11:07 he started shooting the girls and as the troopers approached the building the shooting suddenly stopped as Roberts committed suicide (Pennsylvania police state police, 2006). The troopers took about two and a half minutes to enter the building to assist the injured girls.
The crisis intervention approach in response to this crisis or trauma
The appropriate crisis intervention approach in this case would be divided into three parts. These are: the proactive crisis management; intervention and communication; and post crisis management.
Proactive crisis management
The Amish community generally lacks a sense of danger and despises the use of technology in general for cultural reasons. Therefore, it was not a surprise that the particular school and its board had no crisis management plan at the time of the tragedy.
They had never seen a gun and did not see any danger posed by a gun trotting man in the school. These cases of ignorance are not only evidenced in this Amish school, but as was the case in the Scottish Dunblane School, the headmaster ignored the gun shots thinking they were noises from a nearby construction site.
Also, in the Columbine High School, the students thought that it was a prank and therefore, ran towards the shooter instead of away from him. The Amish students stayed there instead of running away (Books, 2010)2.
Intervention and communication
In this case analysts differed on their opinion on the police intervention with some terming it as ‘excellent’ due to their rapid response, while others thought it was a ‘blunder’ due to their ‘wait and see’ strategy that wasted a lot of valuable time.
This strategy is informed by their need to take a gradual approach in protecting the lives of both the hostages and the crowd that forms in such cases. Due to the rigidity of police protocols, after the first scream was heard the troopers stationed at a shed behind the building radioed for permission to approach the building, but were told to stay put.
This institutional resistance to change in the police force has to be addressed and tactics reviewed since a single gunman in a one roomed school should not have been able to progressively shoot ten girls in the presence of a crowd of police officers who were armed without any of them moving a muscle.
This is mainly blamed on the strict following of written police guidelines that dictate that when the police arrive at a scene, they should first set up a perimeter while waiting for qualified police teams such as SWAT and hostage negotiators. They then have to coordinate their actions with medical teams who have to be waited for to set up a crisis management centre, and all this has to be done outside.
This leads to wastage of valuable time and in most school shootings like the Columbine High School case the shootings happened when the police were already in the compound. Therefore, the Columbine Review Commission recommended that the police should avoid wasting time and take any necessary action to stop the impending attack.
It also happens that the longer the incident progressed, the more the people involved which makes the chain of command even longer and decisions even harder to make leading to a further waste of time (Books, 2010)1. The troopers should be given authority to promptly intervene on their arrival since if they were equipped, but have to wait for ‘off-site’ commands they would not be in a position to stop the killings.
Also, in this case the communication, process was also questionable since the Pennsylvania State Police and Bart township Quick Response Service teams were asking for more help as the situation progressed. They first asked for emergency medical services then advanced life support and finally they asked for Aerial support.
This resulted in the arrival of too many emergency response teams which contributed in further complicating the process. One of the emergency medical technicians later described the situation on the ground as organised chaos as there were sixty nine fire companies, twenty ambulance crews with their twelve ambulances, four police helicopters and five emergency medical services helicopters.
In analysis of the situation, due to the huge number of emergency teams dispatched, it would not have been possible for, besides the two girls who had died instantly, three more girls to have died and five others to be left with permanent disabilities.
This would have been mainly caused by either or both of the following scenarios; the Pennsylvania state police underestimation of the incident; the overestimation of the potential number of victims and underestimation in terms of speed required by state agencies.
This led to intervention coming too late after the girls had already been shot and the resultant chaos and confusion due to the many teams involved (Books, 2010)2. This was later aggravated by the delays in the triage, treatment and transportation process that had been adopted by the first emergency medical services teams that arrived at the scene.
Post crisis management
There should have been the establishment of a crisis centre where parents and students information would have been gathered and shared early. The identification of the victims and communication to their families proved challenging due to the nature of the Amish culture. The Amish school kept no records of pupils and due to the Amish culture of the resentment of technology communication was almost impossible.
The students had similar homemade clothes and had no school badges. Since in this community everyone knew each other, the chaos that came after the arrival of the police and the emergency team made it tough for people to establish who the direct victims were. The parents were offered transportation by the police, but they declined and opted for ground transportation.
The hospitals also received patients whose information was inconclusive, hence identifying which girl was taken where was tough for both family members, hospital practitioners and the police and this led to flawed crisis communication.
There should also have been a counselling centre set up for the families of the victims including the boys, the teachers and the other women who were spared (Kraybill, Nolt, & Weaver-Zercher, 2010).
Considerations related to the crisis
Analysis of ethical considerations related to this crisis
As much as the first police officer to arrive had to follow protocol, they still had an ethical obligation to do whatever they deemed necessary to stop the situation from degenerating into murder. The police and the public officers should learn to put human life before the tenure and authorities of the offices they hold.
The relatives of the girls should not have had to undergo the traumatising task of visiting hospital after hospital looking for their daughters. Though it is unethical for the police to profile individuals who are likely to commit such acts, it is important to monitor individuals who show such tendencies. However, this case was different from other school shootings where the shooter is usually a student.
Legal considerations related to this crisis
The legal implications in this case served to worsen a situation that could have been saved. Though the police felt the need to storm the building after the first screams were heard, the law dictated that they wait for further communication from their superiors. Therefore, it is advisable that the police force makes some of the laws that govern these bureaucracies less rigid.
There is also a need to make it mandatory for all schools to have safety measures that govern the entry of outsiders, irrespective of their religious or cultural affiliations. The incident generated government interest in school shootings as the president called for crisis meetings to debate the issue. A training program for the community service officers who were tasked with the role of ensuring school security was implemented.
The FBI also created a program where schools were allocated resources meant to hire armed school resource officers who would serve as a force to deter any outsiders from executing such crimes and also offer counselling and educational programs.
Multicultural considerations related to this crisis
In as much as we respect the diversity of cultures and respect their cultural practices in their own rights, there should be some level of flexibility. In this case, though the Amish do not use cars and helicopters, they allowed the injured girls to be transported through this means while denying themselves such transportation services.
The police in this case did not show any effort to understand the inherent cultures of the Amish community as they did not anticipate their lack of modes of communication which led to confusion for the community further aggravating their traumatic experiences.
However, it was impressive for the Amish community, despite their loss to forgive Mr. Robert and not hold grudges against his family and they still went ahead to mourn their loss together.
Assessment of the potential impact of the crisis
Effect
The Amish community was greatly affected by the shooting, but the psychological consequences were mitigated by their strong religious beliefs. They explained it as an act of God rather than blaming the shooter or as it is evidenced in some cases, the shooter’s community.
The five girls who survived were permanently maimed and one of them was permanently disabled and as of 2009, she could not speak or walk. The psychological implications, however, were mitigated by the demolition of the school as another one that was totally different was built.
Behaviour
Though in most school shooting cases the parents often pulled their children from the particular school choosing to either transfer them to another school or home school them, in this case, the pupils still returned to the school. However, this was less traumatic since the school was demolished and rebuilt further from the site. The community forgave the shooter and they were also seen comforting Roberts’ family for their bereavement.
The teacher and the boys who were released from the school by the shooter showed signs of suffering from survivors’ guilt syndrome and the teacher went ahead to resign from her job after two years. The other victims who did not receive much attention were the shooters’ family that moved from their house which was near the school and relocated further, though still in the Lancaster county area.
Cognition
The victim’s perception of crime and safety changed as the new school was built with all the possible safety standards in place. However, their memories of that tragic day have not faded and the trauma of that incident will probably haunt them for more years to come.
Though the Amish community doesn’t accept charity, the nature of this tragedy forced them to accept assistance from outsiders. ABC news reported that the community received donations to the tune of $ 4.3 million dollars.
Development
The Amish community got a new sense of insecurity and although they previously never undertook any insurance policy, the community’s charity fund was started and Capital Blue Cross, a local insurance company, set up a fund to cover medical expenses for $ 500,000.
Though the students were traumatised their education was not interrupted that much, except the five girls who were injured the others returned to school after the new school building was built. The other four girls eventually resumed schooling though after some time, but one of them who suffered a total, permanent disability never went back to school.
The global impact of the crisis or trauma
Throughout the world, governments and scholars were interested on this violent incident and the subsequent underlying issues that prompted individuals to act in such a violent manner, especially against young innocent students. Different governments reviewed their school safety mechanism measures and gun control since this incident could have happened anywhere.
It also brought the much needed scrutiny into the underlying psychological issues that are always prevalent after such cases. School shootings have now been the interest of researchers, not only in the United States where they are mostly reported, but also in other parts of the world.
Different profiles of individuals who would probably exhibit such violent behaviour have been formulated in the quest to recognise the possibilities of such events and stop them before they happen through violence prevention intervention. There are also interests in the production of a movie on the tragic event and numerous books have been published on the event.
Crisis intervention strategies and skills
Crisis intervention strategies are the methods that are used by those offering immediate short-term help to victims of an event that pose physical, mental, emotional and behavioral problems to them (Fairchild, 1997). It is meant to help the victims resume their normal lives as they were before the tragic event by reducing the intensity of the victim’s physical, mental, emotional and behavioral reactions towards the tragedy.
This is done by helping the victims develop new coping mechanisms and eliminates previously adopted ways of coping like substance abuse, isolation and withdrawal.
In talking about the event and expressing their feelings, on the event while also developing these coping mechanisms, the victims are able to come to terms with the effects of the event hence through crisis intervention the victims do not end up suffering the consequences of the event in the long-term, which sometimes may be all through their lives.
Contrary to popular perceptions, victims are more willing to accept help during and right after the traumatic event. In this case of the Amish who previously did not believe in accepting charity, they had to accept help due to the overwhelming magnitude of the tragedy (Roberts, 2005). The crisis intervention takes about four weeks though others yield successful results earlier depending on the magnitude of the tragedy.
It is mainly done in the hospital emergency rooms, schools, clinics, crisis centers, mental health hospitals, correctional facilities and counseling centers. It is imperative that crisis intervention should not only be limited to the victims, but also the perpetrators of the crimes that led to such tragic events and their families.
A typical crisis intervention process starts with an assessment of the events and how the victims responded to it. The victims’ responses range from physical reactions such as headaches and fatigue, mental reactions such as nightmares and confusion, emotional reactions such as fear, grief, anger and guilt, and behavioural reactions such as isolation, sleeping and appetite problems and substance abuse.
Individuals’ social support networks and relations have to be obtained so as to successfully assess the individual’s coping skills. There should be an assessment of suicidal tendencies that often come up during tragic events especially where individuals feel guilty or feel that they could have done something to prevent deaths.
Individuals have to be educated on the consequences of traumatic events. They have to be reassured that their resultant reactions to an abnormal situation are usually normal and are only temporary (James, 2008). This helps the individual to easily express their feelings towards the traumatic event openly.
Coping skills that may be used to mitigate the effects may include writing of one’s thoughts on paper to openly relieve them and the use of exercise and relaxation techniques that relieve body tensions as well as stress. Individuals are also encouraged to spend time with other people as a mode of providing them with social support and comfort in sharing their thoughts.
Cognitive therapy which assumes that thoughts do influence the behaviour and the feelings of individuals is also usually used in crisis intervention.
Problem solving is also an important aspect of crisis intervention where victims are taken through a process of understanding the problem, its desired effects, alternative problem solving techniques and their advantages or disadvantages, formulate a solution and its implementation plan and finally the assessment of the resultant outcome.
There should be a critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) and management structure in place to mitigate the effects of the traumatic event not only to the victims, but also the police and the emergency response units. It is done by a trained team of personnel such as mental health personnel, the emergency services teams and in some cases the religious leaders.
Previous research has, however, cautioned against the use of CISD by untrained personnel as this may end up stressing and harming the victims further (Hendricks, McKean & Hendricks, 2010). Psychological, social and physical problems may require further medical attention and medical counselling in order to heal the victims and reduce their distress levels. There should also be follow ups to ascertain the success of these processes.
The potential long-term psychological effects
The victims who survived will always have the memory of that tragic day in their heads and though these memories might seem repressed for a while they still end up reappearing even in old age. There is also the tendency of sexist crimes to induce sexist emotions in the victimized persons.
They may have this throughout their lives and since it is a psychological issue rather than a perception one the paradigm shift instilled by the community may not always work to suppress such feelings of resentment in this case to men.
In some cases of such traumatic magnitudes, the victims get flashbacks and upsetting memories of the event, nightmares, become detached, they lack interest in their routine activities and avoid people, thoughts and places that remind them of the traumatic event (Litz, 2004). The victims may also exhibit concentration difficulties, startle and anger easily. They also become hyper-vigilant.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
A good social support and desensitization treatment may be necessary to help the members of the community and the victims to cope with post-traumatic stress disorders and acute stress disorder (Corales, 2005). This treatment helps in reducing the symptoms of PTSD by encouraging victims to remember the traumatic events and openly express their feelings about it. This makes the memories of the event less traumatising after a while.
It would also be imperative for people to organise themselves into support groups where they can share their feelings and experiences on a traumatic event, which helps people with PTSD not to further degenerate into depression, alcohol and abuse of other drugs, and other related medical conditions.
Mostly, it is advised that support groups should be tried before applying the desensitization therapy since it is more effective and less stressful for the victims (Dattilio, & Freeman, 2007). There can also be the use of drugs that like antidepressants and sleeping drugs to relieve anxiety and other effects of PTSD.
However, it is important that crisis managers undertake an early diagnosis of PTSD and commence treatment promptly for the victims to quickly and effectively treat them. They should also establish a strong social support for the victims as soon as possible.
Potential risk and resilience factors
School shootings and other dramatic killings often have the tendency of generating copycats which ends up causing further harm to the affected communities. However, officials are usually vigilant during the weeks after the shooting for anyone who might attempt to imitate the event.
Shortly after the Amish school shooting some other schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey had to be closed by authorities after they received threatening letters.
There are also cases of revenge that are due to the grudges held by the victims’ relatives or even the surviving victims. In cases such as the Columbine and the Dunblane School shootings there were numerous lawsuits with the victims’ families suing the shooter’s family and the police. This served to further disintegrate a community that had been brought together by the tragedy (Lieberman & Sachs, 2008).
There are also the health related consequences that follow such school shootings where some of the victims sustain long-term and short-term physical injuries. In the case of the Amish school shooting, five of the girls who survived had physical disabilities with one of them being totally incapacitated. There are also psychological problems that often affect the victims of the traumatic event and also their relatives.
How Each Might Impact Recovery
If other shooters (copycats) come up to try and imitate the previous shooter, this would further aggravate the traumatic event, and make the whole recovery process degenerate by both causing more physical injury to other victims and also rekindling the memories of the previous tragedy to the victims.
If the victims go ahead to hold grudges against the shooter’s family or community, the recovery effort may not be as successful as these grudges may degenerate into future violent revenge attacks against each other and these serve to hamper recovery efforts by gorging already healing wounds.
If the psychological and health related issues that often follow such events are not addressed with utmost urgency the victims and their families may end up physically and psychologically scarred for life which would make the recovery efforts hard as they end up reliving the consequences of the tragic event every day.
Trends and or future research related to the crisis or trauma
There is a need to further investigate the effectiveness of the emergency response mechanisms in place in the United States so as to come up with more effective emergency services and also to be able to mitigate the extent of injuries incurred in such tragic events. There is also need to contribute more on the research that exists on the recovery of victims who are involved in school shootings and their families.
This is to make the recovery more effective since through the Amish school shootings, victims and the Amish community showed impressive recovery. Other school shootings incidences have not enjoyed the same level of success, leaving communities and victims shattered and psychologically scarred for life.
There is also a need to advance research on to the underlying causes of such inhumane acts of violence, especially on innocent school pupils (Friedman, 2009).
Though this topic has solicited quite a lot of interest after the Amish event among governments and scholars alike, it still lacks the impetus that is required to completely eradicate such cases in the future. There is also the need to come up with an in-depth statistical analysis of the Amish school shooting and more research into the motives of Mr. Roberts.
References
Books Llc. (2010)1. Murder in Pennsylvani: Amish School Shooting. Memphis: General Books LLC,
Books Llc. (2010)2. School Killings in the United States: Charles Whitman, Kent State Shootings, Northern Illinois University Shooting, Amish School Shooting. Memphis: General Books LLC
Corales, T., A. (2005). Trends in posttraumatic stress disorder research. New York: Nova Publishers.
Dattilio, F., M. & Freeman, A. (2007). Cognitive-behavioral strategies in crisis intervention. London: Guilford Press.
Fairchild, T., N. (1997). Crisis intervention strategies for school-based helpers. New York: Charles C. Thomas.
Friedman, L., S. (2009). School Shootings. Writing the Critical Essay: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide. New York: Gale.
Hendricks, J., E. & McKean J, and Hendricks C G. (2010). Crisis Intervention: Contemporary Issues for On-Site Interveners. New York: Charles C Thomas.
James. R., K. (2008). Crisis intervention strategies. Upper Saddle River: Cengage Learning.
Kraybill, D., B, Nolt, S., M. & Weaver-Zercher D L. (2010). Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Lieberman, J., A. & Sachs B. (2008). School Shootings: What Every Parent and Educator Needs to Know to Protect Our Children. New York: Citadel Press.
Litz, B., T. (2004). Early intervention for trauma and traumatic loss. New York: Guilford Press.
Pennsylvania police state police. Annual report, 2006 (Edward G. Rendell, Govenor, and Colonel Jeffrey B. Miller, commissioner). 141p. Retrieved from https://www.psp.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
Roberts, A., R. (2005). Crisis intervention handbook: assessment, treatment, and research. London: Oxford University Press.
In the context of the events that happened in the past two or three decades (such as the tragedy in Columbine), it is possible to state with certainty that school shootings appear to be one of the most prevalent and worrying social problems in the contemporary United States. Statistically, there is a gradual increase in the number of students killed in such mass shootings.
Fig. 1. The number of mass school shootings and deaths from 1940 to early 2018 from Katsiyannis et al.
One of the most recent school shootings that occurred on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is mentioned by Katsiyannis et al. as the “deadliest U.S. school shooting to date,” and also the authors argue that it “serves as a powerful reminder that school violence is ever-present” (2562). The situation requires not only an immediate response but also long-term continuous work towards the improvement of the current situation is urgently needed. It is possible to state that school shootings in the United States are a highly complex social problem that impacts various spheres of social, political, and economic life in the country.
School shootings represent a highly important moral concern for the whole population of America. Such events, as they have occurred more frequently in the last decade, create an atmosphere of terror and uncertainty (Beland and Kim 113). It affects the educational system to a considerable degree (Beland and Kim 113). Another highly significant aspect of the problem is the involvement of mass media in the creation of such an atmosphere.
However, the most evident reason for the prevalence of mass school shootings is the current firearm law, which provides the access to weapons to nearly everyone who has an intent to obtain it. The thesis statement of this argumentative essay could be formulated as follows: school shootings, as they are one of the most significant social problems in America in recent years, are subject to a profound discussion about the important aspects of this phenomenon to develop perspectives on possible solutions for the improvement of the issue.
Causes of the Problem
First of all, it is essential to observe the causes of the problem to put further reasoning in the proper context. As it is evident from the brief overview of the situation given in the introduction, the issue under consideration has numerous underlying reasons, which often influence each other reciprocally (Katsiyannis et al. 2562). For example, Fox and DeLateur mentioned in their article that politicians, pundits, and professors of various disciplines had been promoting various proposals for change even before the Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which was considered to be “the final death toll” by the authors (126). Some of these stakeholders “talked about the role of guns, others about access to mental health services, and still more about the need for enhanced security in schools and other public places” (Fox and DeLateur 126). However, from a large-scale perspective, the most apparent problem is the availability of firearms caused by the current legislation.
Another highly important factor that influences the continuous occurrence of school shootings is the impact of mass media. It is possible to notice that, in the contemporary society, mass media, including television, newspapers, radio as well as the Internet and social media platforms, plays an immensely important role by providing the population with various information. It could be further suggested that mass media is capable of promoting ideas and behaviors. Since people are often not able to access the information about events, which are covered by various media platforms, they have to believe what is shown to them. Therefore, the media coverage of such events as school shootings, although it does not intend to praise or promote gun violence among teenagers and young people, could influence the promotion of mass shooting ideas indirectly. This factor will be later discussed in the separate section since it requires a profound examination.
It is also highly apparent that school shootings have a considerably negative impact on the contemporary education system. As was stated previously, school shootings have tended to happen more often in the past decade than it was in the 90s, and thus the atmosphere of terror, disbelief, and paranoia was established. It could be suggested that school students suffer the most from the occurrence of such events. People who were directly involved in school shootings as victims and survived this tragedy are traumatized significantly by this experience. The impact of such psychological, as well as physical, traumas could hardly be underestimated as it negatively influences nearly every sphere of the individual’s life. Accordingly, it is logical to assume that the student’s academic performance will be considerably aggravated by the traumatizing experience. Even though they were not directly traumatized by school shootings, people who were involved in such events could also be negatively affected, as they will fear for their lives or expect one of their classmates to be the next shooter. Therefore, this factor needs an additional investigation in the separate section.
The third factor that should be mentioned in the context of this discussion is the prevalence of mental illnesses and the current state of the United States healthcare system at large. One of the most significant problems in this area of concern is that mental disorders are largely stigmatized by society, especially among the children of school age (Metzl and MacLeish 240). People could be excluded from socializing based on their mental state. It could also be problematic for a teenager to access proper treatment for his or her mental illness, or an individual could consider his or her condition as something that does not need any medical or psychological treatment. Moreover, it is apparent from numerous cases that the majority of people involved in school shootings as shooters have troubles in the sphere of mental health at least to some extent (Metzl and MacLeish 240).
The correlation between the mental state of a person and the probability of him or her being involved in crimes is well-recognized and studied in contemporary academic literature. For example, Metzl and MacLeish assume that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, and also that school shootings “represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners” (240). Also, Fox and Fridel mention the following typical characteristics of a mass shooter, which are often disregarded by the society and only come into focus with hindsight: “depression, resentment, social isolation, externalization of blame, fascination with weapons and violent entertainment, and even verbal or written expressions of hate or malice” (14). Therefore, it is essential to notice that people with mental illnesses, even though they should not be automatically considered as potential school shooters, are to be treated with special attention. In the majority of cases, people try to seek help to cope with the stress factors of their life which they do not know how to deal with alone.
At this point, it is evident that the mentioned factor could hardly be adequately estimated, evaluated, and analyzed separately. It is essential to perceive the causes of school shootings as a highly complex set of interdependent reasons that influence each other reciprocally. Therefore, the following sections will attempt to dwell upon the discussion of more particular aspects of the mentioned domains of the overall problem under consideration. Legislations in response to school shootings will be observed in the last part of this essay as they appear to be the key approach to a more stable and adequate situation. Therefore, it is essential to first observe the existing legislative acts, and then to propose possible solutions and improvement for the current situation to develop a comprehensive conclusion.
The Impact of School Shootings on the Education System
As was suggested previously, school shootings could have a vast impact on the academic performance of students and other school-related measures. The study by Beland and Kim is focused on this particular topic, as the authors argue that “the educational consequences of deadly school shootings on enrollment and student performance are not well known” even though this phenomenon is largely covered in media (113). The authors investigate a wide range of aspects that are affected by the occurrence of such events. Among these factors, it is possible to mention the following: enrollment patterns, negative changes in test scores in the subsequent year, as well as behavioral variables such as graduation, attendance, and suspension rates (Beland and Kim 113).
As a result of their study, the authors came to conclusions that are considerably similar to the previously developed premises about the impact of school shootings on the educational system. In general, the authors state that students are directly affected by shootings (Beland and Kim 124). In particular, it is possible to state that math and English standardized test results show a considerable decline after a shooting occurs at a school (Beland and Kim 123). Therefore, the previously formulated assumption about the traumatizing experience that negatively affects the students’ academic performance is true. Also, enrollment patterns change. In schools, which experienced a homicidal mass shooting, the number of people who enroll in Grade 9 drops considerably (Beland and Kim 123). However, the authors did find out that such events have no significant influence on such measures as suspension, graduation, or average daily attendance rates. In general, it is possible to observe that the magnitude of the problem of school shootings is immense.
The Effects of Mass Media Coverage on the Prevalence of School Shootings
In this section, the discussion is largely based on the phenomenon of mass media in the context of its vast impact on the prevalence and, indirectly, the promotion of mass school shootings. Regarding the issue of interest from a broader perspective, it is appropriate to observe that each school shooting is a tragedy, which repeatedly devastates communities and shakes public opinions (Garcia-Bernardo et al. 1). It is also apparent that such events are largely driven by personal intents and motivations, and also rarely there are apparent signals or precursors, and thus it is significantly difficult to predict a school shooting. Nevertheless, the study by Garcia-Bernardo et al. attempts to identify the role of the copycat effect in school shootings as well as the correlation between the amount of information about such an event provided by a mass media platform and the prevalence of the copycat effect.
One of the most principal findings made by Garcia-Bernardo et al. is the significance of the copycat effect in the context of school shootings investigation. As it is mentioned in the article, the interaction between attacks on schools “can be attributed to an acute ‘issue-attention cycle’ with the media reacting strongly to every attack” (Garcia-Bernardo et al. 5). The authors developed their conclusions based on the profound and very inclusive investigation of a large number of tweets since Twitter appears to be one of the most prevalent and diverse social media platforms/mass media. The authors also investigate FBI databases about school shootings. One of the principal findings of the study is that “social media publicity about school shootings correlates with an increase in the probability of new attacks” (Garcia-Bernardo et al. 6). The research is based on the use of a comprehensive mathematical theory, and thus it is possible to state with certainty that the results are reliable.
The Concept of Contagion in the Context of School Shootings
Another concept that should be mentioned in the context of the impact of mass media coverage on the probability of school shootings is contagion. The article by Towers et al. focuses on the implementation of the concept of contagion as a framework for analyzing the phenomenon of school shootings (see Fig. 2). The authors reinforce the findings of the article by Garcia-Bernardo et al., stating that “media reports of suicides and homicides appear to subsequently increase the incidence of similar events in the community” (Towers et al. 1). However, the originality of the approach by Towers et al. is that they use the contagion model to analyze how the occurrence of school shootings increases the probability of a similar event in the immediate future.
Fig. 2. Relationship of state prevalence of firearm ownership, mental illness, and state rankings of strength of firearm legislation, to the state incidence of mass killings, school shootings, and mass shootings from Towers et al.
The findings of the study by Towers et al., as well as those of the article by Garcia-Bernardo et al., reinforce the assumption which was made in the causes section of this paper. Contemporary mass media appears to be a highly influencing force in terms of spreading ideas and creating a public opinion about various things. In the context of school shootings, Towers et al. suggest that the temporary increase in the probability of another shooting lasts for 13 days on average since the day of the antecedent shooting (1). Therefore, it could be concluded that the spreading of school shooting ideas is considerably similar to the process of contagion.
Legislations in Response to School Shootings
In the final section of the paper before the conclusion, it is essential to overview how the problem of school shootings is responded to by the current legislative acts and what could be possibly done to improve the situation. As it was mentioned several times previously, the importance of gun control is considered to be one of the most important aspects of decreasing the negative impact of mass shootings. This perspective is well-recognized in the contemporary academic literature. For example, studies by Kalesan et al., Katsiyannis et al., as well as Metzl and MacLeish indicate that the existing firearms laws are not significantly efficient in terms of preventing school shootings.
It is possible to assume that one of the most worrying aspects of the current firearm legislation is that there are few attempts to regulate the weapon ownership in households where children or teenagers can access these weapons. As it is mentioned by Schildkraut and Hernandez, Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter, obtained guns that had his mother (359). Other studies also exemplify similar circumstances that preceded other school shootings. Therefore, it is essential to propose that more strict and thorough rules of gun ownership, possession, and storage were created. Another problem, which is mentioned by Vlahov, is that there have been no government-sponsored studies on the issue of mass shootings since 1996 (293). Therefore, it is particularly difficult to estimate the potential efficiency of newly proposed gun laws. Accordingly, it is of high significance to create and promote a community-based and research-based firearm legislation agenda.
However, one of the most effective means of decreasing access to weapons and thus lowering the probability of school shootings is the implementation of background checks for those who wish to purchase weapons. For example, Kalesan et al. state that, as of 2013, only “14 out of the 50 states and District of Columbia had some form of background checks (BCs) for firearm purchase, out of which 5 states required BC for handgun purchases alone but not for long guns or assault weapons” (321). A considerable part of the article by Schildkraut and Hernandez is also dedicated to the discussion of background check legislation. The authors argue that even though such legislation exists, they often do not adequately work (Schildkraut and Hernandez 369). However, it is proven statistically that states with background check laws for firearm and ammunition purchases have lower school shooting incidence rates (Kalesan et al. 326). Therefore, it is essential to implement such legislation.
Conclusion
As to conclude on the conducted analysis, it is essential to restate the immense significance of the problem of school shootings for contemporary America. Considering the thesis statement of this paper, it is possible to extend it by observing that the phenomenon of school shootings is a highly complex set of factors and variables which influence each other reciprocally, and thus it is considerably difficult to predict and prevent such events. Nevertheless, several important arguments could be made to build a comprehensive conclusion on how to decrease the negative impact of the problem under discussion.
First of all, firearm legislation should be changed with the help of the government so that it would be more difficult for teenagers to access various weapons. This aspect of the proposed solution includes the creation of a community and research-based agenda, the implementation of more thorough background checks, and stricter regulation of the conditions of firearm possession. Secondly, it is argued that it is essential to pay more attention to the prevalence of mental illnesses and psychological problems, which are common among school students so that it would be easier to detect some mental health problems that would later lead to another school shooting. Thirdly, the role of mass media, which might increase the probability of a school shooting, should also be considered by policymakers and other stakeholders.
Works Cited
Beland, Louis-Philippe, and Dongwoo Kim. “The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance.” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 38, no. 1, 2016, pp. 113-126.
Fox, James Alan, and Emma E. Fridel. “The Tenuous Connections Involving Mass Shootings, Mental Illness, and Gun Laws.” Violence and Gender, vol. 3, no. 1, 2016, pp. 14-19.
Fox, James Alan, and Monica J. DeLateur. “Mass Shootings in America: Moving beyond Newtown.” Homicide Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, 2014, pp. 125-145.
Garcia-Bernardo, Javier, et al. “Social Media Affects the Timing, Location, and Severity of School Shootings.” Cornell University Library, Web.
Kalesan, Bindu, et al. “School Shootings during 2013–2015 in the USA.” Injury Prevention, vol. 23, no. 5, 2017, pp. 321-327.
Katsiyannis, Antonis, et al. “Historical Examination of United States Intentional Mass School Shootings in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Implications for Students, Schools, and Society.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 27, no. 8, 2018, pp. 2562-2573.
Metzl, Jonathan M., and Kenneth T. MacLeish. “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 105, no. 2, 2015, pp. 240-249.
Schildkraut, Jaclyn, and Tiffany Cox Hernandez. “Laws that Bit the Bullet: A Review of Legislative Responses to School Shootings.” American Journal of Criminal Justice, vol. 39, no. 2, 2014, pp. 358-374.
Towers, Sherry, et al. “Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings.” PLoS One, vol. 10, no. 7, 2015, pp. 1-12.
Vlahov, David. “Building the Evidence Base to Prevent Firearm Deaths and Injuries.” Journal of Urban Health, vol. 95, no. 3, 2018, pp. 293-294.
The FOX News article written by Lisa Bennatan refers to the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The massacre resulted in the death of 19 children and two teachers. The police, however, have reported not getting involved for around 45 minutes due to the fact that a commander believed the shooter barricaded himself. The revelation has caused the Uvalde community to criticize the decision of law enforcement. The main argument is that a quicker reaction would have helped save the victims. However, since the police officers were waiting in the hallway, the shooter was not stopped until later. Moreover, the backlash is partially a result of the fact that there were 19 equipped police officers and only one gunned shooter who was to be stopped. Whether the decision to wait was generated by a misunderstanding or a lack of training is ultimately unknown.
The current article was chosen due to the multiple recent political discussions on such topics as gun laws and police defunding. On the one hand, it could be argued that an armed guard or teacher would be able to possibly save the victims. On the other hand, a lack of police involvement, as presented in the article, leads to horrible results. This tragedy is important for the entire nation since it portrays the limitations and weaknesses of the law enforcement system. It is significant since it impacts parents who want their children to be protected, and the lack of necessary training or skills illustrated in how the police handled the situation affects all people through a feeling of a lack of security.
In my opinion, the situation highlights the need to focus on training and investing in high-quality techniques to address both school security systems and law enforcement in regard to reactions to such situations. Thus, the article was selected due to the polarizing public opinion on how to handle such events, which either relates to reliance on law enforcement or maximizing individual potential for protection. It was surprising to learn that while multiple school shootings occur in the US, officers are still not able to adequately confront them. On the other hand, it was not surprising that the guard and other individuals could not get involved. This may be attributed to the overall inclination to criticize gun ownership and encourage reliance on other forces instead of the individual right to protect others. The topic is still relevant, and I am interested in it since a universal solution is still to be found in regards to addressing school shootings in the US.
In order for future implementations to align with society’s aim to minimize the occurrence of such tragedies, it is important to ask ourselves about the actions we are ready to take to confront the issue. A question that people have to ask themselves relates to their opinions on police training. Would you feel safer in a society in which officers are encouraged to participate in daily training sessions to address various dangerous situations that can affect civilians? Another topic of discussion is school safety and ways to confront the problem that has become a national concern due to its prevalence in this country. Do you think schools have to have strict security rules, armed guards, high-quality surveillance, and strict school visitation guidelines for outsiders? These questions address both limitations highlighted in the article, namely, a lack of adequate security measures implemented by the school and the inadequate response from the law enforcement officers.