School shooting is an incident when
gun violence occurs in educational
institutions.
Definition
The term
school shooting most commonly describes acts
committed by either a student or intruders from outside the school
campus.
They are to be distinguished from
crowd-containment shootings by law-enforcement personnel, such as
the shootings at Kent State
and Jackson
State in the United States, or the 6 October 1976 Massacre in Thailand
.
They are
also differentiated from other kinds of school violence, such as the mass killings
of the Bath School
disaster
(which involved a homemade bomb rather than
shooting), the Cologne school
massacre (which involved a flamethrower); or terror attacks
involving multiple kinds of weapons, such as the Ma'alot massacre, or the Beslan school hostage
crisis.
One of the
most prominent school shootings was that at Columbine High
School
, near Littleton, Colorado
. On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, students
Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold murdered thirteen people on the school campus before
they committed suicide.
In the United States, one-on-one public-school violence, such as
beatings and stabbings or
gang related
violence, is more common in some densely-populated areas.
Inner-city or urban schools were much more likely than other
schools to report serious violent crimes, with 17 percent of city
principals reporting at least one serious crime compared to 11
percent of urban schools, 10 percent of rural schools, and five
percent of suburban schools in the 1997 school year.
However school
shootings in other countries may take on more national or religious
overtones, such as the Mercaz HaRav massacre
.
Profiling
School shooting is a topic of intense interest in the United
States. Though companies like
MOSAIC Threat Assessment
Systems sell products and services designed to identify
potential threats, a thorough study of all United States 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
apply to a potential perpetrator. 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. Some experts such as
Alan
Lipman have warned against the dearth of empirical validity of
profiling methods.
While it may be simplistic to assume a straightforward "profile",
the study did find certain similarities among the perpetrators.
"The researchers found that killers do not 'snap'. They plan. They
acquire weapons. These children take a long, considered, public
path toward violence." Princeton's Katherine Newman points out
that, far from being "loners", the perpetrators are "joiners" whose
attempts at social integration fail, that they let their thinking
and even their plans be known, sometimes frequently over long
periods of times. The shootings seem as though an attempt to adjust
their social standing and image, from "loser" to "master of
violence."
Many of the shooters told Secret Service investigators that
alienation or persecution drove them to violence. According to the
United States Secret Service, instead of looking for traits, the
Secret Service urges adults to ask about behavior:
One "trait" that has not yet attracted as much attention is the
gender difference: nearly all school shootings are perpetrated by
young males, and in some instances the violence has clearly been
gender-specific. Bob Herbert addressed this in an October 2006
New York Times editorial. Only two
female school shooting incidents have been documented.
School shootings receive extensive media coverage and are
infrequent. They have sometimes resulted in nationwide changes of
schools' policies concerning discipline and security. Some experts
have described fears about school shootings as a type of
moral panic.
Such incidents may also lead to nationwide discussion on gun
laws.
Notable school shootings
North America
United States
| Name |
Location |
Date |
Year |
Death toll |
| University of Texas at Austin
massacre |
Austin, Texas , United
States |
August 1 |
1966 |
15 |
| SC State killings |
Orangeburg, South Carolina , United
States |
February 8 |
1968 |
3 |
| Kent State shootings |
Kent,
Ohio , United
States |
May 4 |
1970 |
4 |
| Jackson State
shootings |
Jackson, Mississippi , United
States |
May 14-15 |
1970 |
2 |
| Olean High School
shooting |
Olean, New York , United
States |
December 30 |
1974 |
3 |
| California State
University, Fullerton massacre |
Fullerton, California , United
States |
July 12 |
1976 |
7 |
| Cleveland Elementary School
shooting |
San Diego, California , United
States |
January 29 |
1979 |
2 |
| Parkway South
Middle School shooting |
Manchester, Missouri , United
States |
January 20 |
1983 |
2 |
| Goddard Middle School
shooting |
Goddard, Kansas , United
States |
January 21 |
1985 |
1 |
| Portland Junior
High School shooting |
Portland, Connecticut , United
States |
December 10 |
1985 |
1 |
| Pinellas Park High School
shooting |
Pinellas Park, Florida , United
States |
February 11 |
1988 |
1 |
| Hubbard Woods School shooting |
Winnetka, Illinois , United
States |
May 20 |
1988 |
1 |
| Atlantic Shores Christian School
shooting |
Chesapeake, Virginia , United
States |
December 16 |
1988 |
1 |
| Cleveland School
massacre |
Stockton, California , United
States |
January 17 |
1989 |
6 |
| University of Iowa
shooting |
Iowa City, Iowa , United
States |
November 1 |
1991 |
6 |
| Lindhurst High School
shooting |
Olivehurst, California , United
States |
May 1 |
1992 |
4 |
| Palo Duro High School
shooting |
Amarillo, Texas , United
States |
September 11 |
1992 |
0 |
| Edward Tilden
High School shooting |
Chicago, Illinois , United
States |
November 20 |
1992 |
1 |
| Simon's Rock College of Bard
shooting |
Great Barrington,
Massachusetts , United
States |
December 14 |
1992 |
2 |
| East Carter High
School shooting |
Grayson, Kentucky , United
States |
January 18 |
1993 |
2 |
| Amityville High
School shooting |
Amityville, New York , United
States |
February 1 |
1993 |
1 |
Reseda High School shooting |
Reseda, California , United
States |
February 22 |
1993 |
1 |
| Wauwatosa
West High School shooting |
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin , United
States |
December 1 |
1993 |
1 |
| Grimsley High School
shooting |
Greensboro, North Carolina , United
States |
October 12 |
1994 |
1 |
| Wickliffe Middle
School shooting |
Wickliffe, Ohio , United
States |
November 7 |
1994 |
1 |
Blackville-Hilda High School
shooting |
Blackville, South Carolina , United
States |
October 12 |
1995 |
2 |
| Richland High School
shooting |
Lynnville, Tennessee , United
States |
November 15 |
1995 |
2 |
| Frontier Middle
School shooting |
Moses Lake, Washington , United
States |
February 2 |
1996 |
3 |
| Hamilton High School
shooting |
Scottdale, Georgia , United
States |
February 2 |
1996 |
1 |
| Mid-Penninsula
High School shooting |
Menlo Park, California , United
States |
February 8 |
1996 |
0 |
| San Diego State
University shooting |
San Diego, California, United
States |
August 15 |
1996 |
3 |
Hetzel Union Building
shooting |
State College, Pennsylvania , United
States |
September 17 |
1996 |
1 |
| Bethel Regional High School
shooting |
Bethel, Alaska , United
States |
February 19 |
1997 |
2 |
| Pearl High School
shooting |
Pearl, Mississippi , United
States |
October 1 |
1997 |
2 |
| Heath High School
shooting |
Paducah, Kentucky , United
States |
December 4 |
1997 |
3 |
| Westside Middle
School shooting |
Jonesboro , Arkansas , United
States |
March 24 |
1998 |
5 |
| Parker Middle
School dance shooting |
Edinboro , Pennsylvania , United
States |
April 24 |
1998 |
1 |
| Thurston High School shooting |
Springfield , Oregon , United States |
May 20 |
1998 |
2 |
Columbine High School
massacre |
Littleton, Colorado , United
States |
April 20 |
1999 |
15 |
| Heritage High School
shooting |
Conyers , Georgia , United
States |
May 20 |
1999 |
0 |
| Fort Gibson
Middle School shooting |
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma , United
States |
December 6 |
1999 |
0 |
| Buell Elementary
School shooting |
Mount Morris Township,
Michigan , United
States |
February 29 |
2000 |
1 |
| Lake Worth Middle
School shooting |
Lake Worth, Florida , United
States |
May 26 |
2000 |
1 |
University of Arkansas
shooting |
Fayetteville, Arkansas , United States |
August 28 |
2000 |
2 |
| Santana High School
shooting |
Santee, California , United
States |
March 5 |
2001 |
2 |
Granite Hills High School
shooting |
El Cajon, California , United
States |
March 22 |
2001 |
0 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School
shooting |
Manhattan, New York , United
States |
January 15 |
2002 |
0 |
| Appalachian
School of Law shooting |
Grundy, Virginia , United
States |
January 16 |
2002 |
3 |
| John McDonogh
High School shooting |
New Orleans, Louisiana , United States |
April 14 |
2003 |
1 |
| Red Lion
Area Junior High School shootings |
Red Lion, Pennsylvania , United States |
April 24 |
2003 |
2 |
| Case
Western Reserve University shooting |
Cleveland, Ohio , United
States |
May 9 |
2003 |
1 |
| Rocori High School
shooting |
Cold Spring, Minnesota , United States |
September 24 |
2003 |
2 |
| Columbia High School
shooting |
East Greenbush, New York , United States |
February 9 |
2004 |
0 |
| Fairleigh
Dickinson University shooting |
Florham Park, New Jersey , United States |
April 4 |
2004 |
2 |
| Red Lake Senior
High School massacre |
Red Lake, Minnesota , United
States |
March 21 |
2005 |
8 |
| Campbell County
High School shooting |
Jacksboro, Tennessee , United
States |
November 8 |
2005 |
1 |
| Pine Middle School
shooting |
Reno, Nevada , United
States |
March 14 |
2006 |
0 |
| Essex Elementary
School shooting |
Essex, Vermont , United
States |
August 24 |
2006 |
2 |
| Orange High School
shooting |
Hillsborough, North Carolina , United
States |
August 30 |
2006 |
1 |
| Platte Canyon
High School shooting |
Bailey, Colorado , United
States |
September 27 |
2006 |
2 |
| Weston High School
shooting |
Cazenovia, Wisconsin , United
States |
September 29 |
2006 |
1 |
| Amish school shooting |
Nickel Mines , Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania , United
States |
October 2 |
2006 |
6 |
| Henry Foss High School
shooting |
Tacoma, Washington , United
States |
January 3 |
2007 |
1 |
| University of
Washington shooting |
Seattle, Washington , United
States |
April 2 |
2007 |
2 |
Virginia Tech massacre |
Blacksburg, Virginia , United
States |
April 16 |
2007 |
33 |
| Delaware State
University shooting |
Dover, Delaware , United
States |
September 21 |
2007 |
1 |
| SuccessTech Academy
shooting |
Cleveland, Ohio, United
States |
October 10 |
2007 |
1 |
| Louisiana
Technical College shooting |
Baton Rouge, Louisiana , United States |
February 8 |
2008 |
3 |
Mitchell High School shooting |
Memphis, Tennessee , United
States |
February 11 |
2008 |
0 |
| E.O. Green School shooting |
Oxnard, California , United
States |
February 12 |
2008 |
1 |
Northern
Illinois University massacre |
DeKalb, Illinois , United
States |
February 14 |
2008 |
6 |
| Davidson High School
Shooting |
Mobile, Alabama , United
States |
March 9 |
2008 |
1 |
| Central
High School shooting |
Knoxville, Tennessee , United
States |
August 21 |
2008 |
1 |
| Henry
Ford High School shooting |
Detroit, Michigan , United
States |
October 16 |
2008 |
1 |
| 2008
University of Central Arkansas shootings |
Conway, Arkansas , United
States |
October 27 |
2008 |
2 |
| Dillard High School
shooting |
Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States |
November 12 |
2008 |
1 |
| Henry Ford Community
College shooting |
Dearborn, Michigan , United
States |
April 10 |
2009 |
2 |
Hampton University shooting |
Hampton, Virginia , United
States |
April 26 |
2009 |
0 |
| Larose-Cut Off
Middle School shooting |
Larose, Louisiana , United States |
May 18 |
2009 |
1 |
Skyline College shooting |
San Bruno, California , United States |
September 2 |
2009 |
0 |
| Deer
Valley High School shooting |
Antioch, California , United
States |
September 16 |
2009 |
0 |
not a "school shooting" in the contemporary sense
Canada
| Name |
Location |
Date |
Year |
Death toll |
Notes |
| Altona schoolhouse
shooting |
Altona, Manitoba , Canada |
October 10 |
1902 |
2 |
|
Centennial Secondary School
shooting |
Brampton, Ontario Canada |
May 28 |
1975 |
2 |
|
| St Pius X High
School School |
Ottawa , Ontario , Canada |
October 27 |
1975 |
1 |
|
École
Polytechnique Massacre |
Montreal , Quebec , Canada |
December 6 |
1989 |
14 |
|
| Concordia University
massacre |
Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
August 24 |
1992 |
4 |
|
| W. R. Myers High School
shooting |
Taber , Alberta , Canada |
April 28 |
1999 |
1 |
|
Dawson College shooting |
Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
September 13 |
2006 |
1 |
|
C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute
shooting |
Toronto , Ontario, Canada |
May 23 |
2007 |
1 |
|
| Bendale
Business and Technical Institute shooting |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
September 16 |
2008 |
0 |
|
Europe
| Name |
Location |
Date/Year |
Death toll |
Notes |
| Bremen school
shooting |
Bremen , Germany |
June 20, 1913 |
5 |
|
| Eppstein school
shooting |
Eppstein , Germany |
June 3, 1983 |
6 |
|
| Raumanmeri school
shooting |
Rauma , Finland |
January 24, 1989 |
2 |
|
Colston's School |
Bristol , England |
March 5, 1991 |
0 |
|
| Aarhus University
Shooting |
Aarhus , Denmark |
April 4, 1994 |
3 |
|
| Dunblane massacre |
Dunblane , Scotland |
March 13, 1996 |
18 |
|
Erfurt massacre |
Erfurt , Germany |
April 26, 2002 |
17 |
|
| Coburg shooting |
Coburg , Germany |
July 3, 2003 |
1 |
|
| Terra College |
The
Hague , Netherlands |
January, 2004 |
1 |
|
| Grund-
und Hauptschule von Rötz shooting |
Rötz ,
Germany |
March 7, 2005 |
0 |
|
| Geschwister
Scholl School attack |
Emsdetten , Germany |
November 20, 2006 |
1 |
|
Jokela school massacre |
Tuusula , Finland |
November 7, 2007 |
9 |
|
Kauhajoki school shooting |
Kauhajoki , Finland |
September 23, 2008 |
11 |
|
Winnenden school shooting |
Winnenden , Germany |
March 11, 2009 |
16 |
|
| Kanebogen
elementary school shooting |
Harstad , Norway |
April 28, 2009 |
0 |
|
| University of Pécs
shooting |
Pécs , Hungary |
November 26, 2009 |
1 |
|
South America, Asia and Australia
| Name |
Location |
Date/Year |
Death toll |
Notes |
| Sanaa massacre |
Sanaa , Yemen |
March 30, 1997 |
6 |
|
| University of the
Philippines shooting |
Quezon City , Philippines |
February 19, 1999 |
1 |
|
Monash University shooting |
Melbourne , Australia |
October 21, 2002 |
2 |
|
| Pak Phanang school
shooting |
Nakhon Si Thammarat , Thailand |
June 6, 2003 |
2 |
|
| Islas Malvinas
School schooting |
Carmen de Patagones , Argentina |
September 28, 2004 |
4 |
|
| Beirut Arab
University shooting |
Beirut , Lebanon |
January 25, 2007 |
4 |
|
| Euro
International school shooting |
Gurgaon , India |
December 12, 2007 |
1 |
|
Mercaz HaRav shooting |
Jerusalem , Israel |
March 6, 2008 |
9 |
|
Impact
Political impact
School shootings have had a
political
impact, spurring some to press for more stringent
gun control laws.
The National
Rifle Association
is opposed to such laws, and some groups have
called for fewer gun control laws, citing cases of armed students
ending shootings and halting further loss of life, and claiming
that the prohibitions against carrying a gun in schools does not
deter the gunmen. One such example is the Mercaz
HaRav Massacre
, where the attacker was not stopped by police but
rather a student, Yitzhak Dadon, who stopped the attacker by
shooting him with his personal firearm which he lawfully carried
concealed. At a
Virginia law school, two
students retrieved pistols from their cars and stopped the attacker
without firing a shot. Also, at
a Mississippi high school, the
Vice Principal eventually stopped the attacker. In this case his
car was over 1/4 mile away due to the "gun free zone", and multiple
students were shot in the time it took to retrieve his gun (though
he still ended the shooting five minutes before the first police
arrival).
In the United Kingdom
a ban on ownership of
handguns was introduced following the
Dunblane massacre.
Armed classrooms
Some areas in the US are experimenting with the idea of armed
classrooms to deter (or truncate) future attacks, presumably by
changing helpless victims into armed defenders.
Students at the
University of Utah
have been allowed to carry concealed pistols (so long as they possess
the appropriate state license) since a State Supreme Court decision in 2006. In 2008, Harrold Independent School
District in Texas
became the first public school district in the U.S.
to allow teachers with state-issued firearm-carry permits to carry
their arms in the classroom; special additional training and
ricochet-resistant ammunition were required for participating
teachers.
In a Vernon Daily Record
op-ed, Joseph
Gutheinz, who is both a criminal justice college instructor and a
retired Senior Special Agent, took his opposition to pilots flying
armed in commercial jets and extended it to armed teachers in
classrooms. He said "anyone who has ever gone to an indoor pistol
range will see ... bullet holes in the ceilings, floor, walls and
support beams. The bullet holes were not the target the shooters
intended but were due to accidental discharges. Even the best
trained with pistols have an off day, and off days can be fatal."
He criticized the Harrold school district for not imposing the same
standards on its armed teachers that progressive police departments
require for rookie police officers; those requirements include
extensive training, and passage of both a psychological examination
and lie detector test.
A
commentary in the conservative National
Review Online argues that the armed school approach for
preventing school attacks, while new in the US, has been used
successfully for many years in Israel and Thailand. Teachers and school officials in Israel are
allowed and encouraged to carry firearms if they have former
military experience in the IDF, which almost all do. Statistics on
what percentage of teachers are actually armed is unavailable
however.
See also
References
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