School shootings are tragic, but parents, students, and school staff can take steps to prevent them, researchers report. PHOTO BY MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
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We are sociologists at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado, Boulder. We study the circumstances that lead to violence in which an attacker picks a target—like a person, group, or school—in advance.
We find that the same patterns of concerning behavior emerge among the perpetrators, but that’s not all. We also find that there are often many opportunities to intervene with the perpetrator before the tragedy that peers, family members, school staff, law enforcement officials, and others miss.
1. Teach Students and Adults to Report Warning Signs
Most school shooters exhibited concerning behavior and communicated their plan to cause harm before their deadly attack.
2. Develop and Publicize Around-the-Clock Anonymous Tip Lines
People need a way to safely report their concerns. Tip line systems include websites, phone numbers to call or text, email addresses, and apps. They let students and others anonymously, or confidentially, share their concerns about another’s threatening behavior or communications.
3. Conduct Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management
One method, called behavioral threat assessment and management, seeks to identify the cause of the concerning behavior—such as a grievance, psychological trauma, or mental health concern. In schools, this process encourages the threat assessment team to evaluate the risk for violence and build a plan for supporting and monitoring the student, their behavior, and their communications.
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