Kansas students can help classmates who are hurting before another senseless shooting

School shootings and gun threats more than doubled this past September compared with the same month in previous years, with 55 occurring that month alone. Since then, the trend has continued, and we just last week witnessed another tragic event at Olathe East High School.

This school year, the incidents have been not so much premeditated attacks, but fights gone out of control. This appears to be an extension of the rise in public gun-carrying: Americans purchased a record 23 million guns in 2020, an increase of 64% over 2019, according to a Washington Post analysis. These new escalation shootings are an additional concern on top of the pattern of premeditated school shootings we have been experiencing for years, and which often involve more victims.

November’s shooting at Oxford High School outside Detroit — like the Parkland, Florida, shooting of 2018 — was a tragic example where there were clear warning signs about a troubled, imminently dangerous young person. Fellow students are the most often aware of warning signs or indicators of concern, but teachers, coaches, school resource officers, counselors, nurses and parents also may pick up on signs of potential trouble.

Specific warning signs include written notes and threats, depression and anger combined, suicidal expressions, family problems or chaos at home, abuse or neglect, escalating disciplinary actions at school, indirect warnings on social media (“Don’t come to school Thursday morning”), bringing a weapon to school, threats made during angry outbursts, harmful bullying, and signs of severe mental illness, such as hearing voices.

A school must particularly be on alert if:

▪ A threat is made toward a target person or group.

▪ A student expresses intent to do harm or get revenge.

▪ There is evidence of a student researching, planning or recruiting for violence.

Research indicates 94% of attackers exhibit warning signs at school. All schools or districts should have a designated and trained threat assessment team, as well as a relationship with a mental health expert who can do violence risk assessments on short notice. And sometimes there are state agencies that can give immediate expert consultation. For example, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has formed K-STAT, its Kansas Student Threat Assessment Team. The KBI provides an anonymous Suspicious Activity Reporting website, which students and others can use to report concerning observations. This team has distributed key chains with QR codes that can be scanned to link students immediately to the KBI site. Trained agents analyze these reports regularly. School and law enforcement personnel can contact K-STAT directly for assistance.

The science of violence risk assessment has advanced greatly, and while violent actions cannot be predicted, risk factors and recent behavioral trends can help identify troubled students and point the way toward safety interventions.

Some students I have evaluated in risk assessments have posted threatening or disturbing things on Facebook, yelled out threats in school, brought a weapon to school, made subtle indications of possible danger, and generally acted out of control. One actually shouted in class, “I am a school shooter!” However, most of the students I have assessed do not pose an actual threat of violence, but often have mental health or family issues that need attention.

The U.S. Secret Service found that 91% of premeditated school shooters have had psychological, behavioral or neurological problems, and 94% have had at least one home stress factor, such as parental divorce. Almost all planned shooters have shown lack of empathy, rage, extreme reactivity, a sense of failing in manhood or in gaining respect, or use of fantasy in rehearsing. And almost all have had bad academic or school disciplinary experiences.

Several takeaways: Students almost always signal their distress, either directly or through their actions and performance. Common warning signs are well known. Other students are the most likely to observe those warning signs. Mental health issues or family disruption are more likely the issue rather than a plan for violence. Intervention is possible and very often successful, and expert help is available. Schools should have trained threat assessment teams with a link to a mental health professional. And importantly, students showing warning signs and who have access to guns require our special attention.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 2:43 PM.