WRITING

Mass/Rampage Shootings in Schools

Over the past few decades, school shootings have taken the lives of numerous people as well as horrified parents, educators, as well as students in what may be considered as the most “people friendly” towns and suburbs in the United States. These events or disasters seem to be derived from the impulsive actions of detached individuals especially teenagers (Newman, 2004). Their shooting plot is virtually always pre-determined and well-orchestrated far beforehand. In most occasions, some of these individuals who execute the shootings lead a quiet life which makes it hard for other people to detect unusual behavior. The subject of mass shootings in schools has elicited wide debate surrounding the issues on whether it is a matter of policy failure or social problem. The paper will thus focus on what may be the reason, motivation, root cause as well as solution to these events.

There are various incidences of mass shooting in school over the last decade. In the recent event which took place in Florida, a man wielding a gun activated fire alarms at a Florida high school. Through this he lured students out of their classes so that they would be vulnerable to his attempt to shooting as many students as possible using his semi-automatic rifle (Farber, 2018). From the event, 17 people lost their lives and 17 more sustained gunshot wounds, turning the incident into one of the United States’ deadliest school massacres. The culprit was later on apprehended as he tried to flee and was later taken to the hospital after which he was taken into custody.

Another notable school shooting was in Marysville Pilchuck High School in 2014. In the incident, Jaylen Fryberg, a 15-year-old student took his concealed Beretta handgun and killed five other students and critically injured four, before he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide (Kutner, 2015). Fryberg’s father was later arrested and sentenced for unlawfully procuring and being in possession of an illegal firearm that was used in the killing, among other unregistered weapons. The reason behind the shooting by Fryberg was not identified but his motivation can be attributed to his exposure to guns and the use of violence to resolve conflict.

There are numerous cases of school mass shootings in the United States that have been reported including Columbine High School massacre that took place in April 20, 1999 which was well planned by two senior students. Just like several cases, after the offenders killed the other students, they committed suicide. These mass shootings in schools have attracted social, political and religious attention all in a bid to find the root cause and long term solution. In the past, various measures have been put in place to prevent the repetition of such occurrences. However, with very little effort, the offenders often find a way of circumventing they system in order to carry out their plans. The recurrence of the events in the school confirms that the problem is multifaceted and cannot be corrected with an independent approach but will instead need an plan that not only addresses security but also the well-being and mental health of students.

There reasons or motivation of the culprits is varied but a substantial number of people attribute the issue to individual behavior. The expression of these behaviors is provided opportunity due to systemic failures. A study was conducted to gain understanding of the subject of mass shooting in schools and whether such occurrences are associated with behavior and/or individual conduct. According to the Wike & Fraser, safety and security which were paramount in providing a safe learning environment in the American education system have been neglected (Wike & Fraser, 2009). The researchers in the study also assessed that the personal temperaments of perpetrators in addition to the weak points of the schools’ facilities where the rampages have taken place as one of the significant causes. Some of the institutions fell short of prevention strategies which called for the use of security personnel as well as security mechanisms such as metal detectors which could be utilized in order to avert violence at learning institutions or facilities.

School mass shootings can be tied to mental and social disorders because it is believed that people who commit such acts may have been stopped if identification would have taken place and treatment undertook before the incidents occurred. Students and teenagers live in a day and age where society has embraced physical and emotional violence as accepted behavior which may in turn influence the moral disposition of those who use the shootings as a means of vengeance. A study was conducted to examine the moral aspect of the culprits as one of the major causes for rampant mass shootings and killings in the America. According to the article, there is a positive correlation between moral panic and particular social challenges, for example, burglaries, drugs, unlawful behavior in teenagers, cliques, as well as carrying out terrorist activities. The researchers cited instability, hostility, compromise, disproportionality, and distress as the major features of moral panic which can in a significant way be attributable to the rampage shootings in the learning institutions (Schildkraut, Elsass & Stafford, 2015). However, such conclusions may be critiqued for lack of significant empirical support.

Generally, the frequencies of school mass shooting, regardless of whether they result in deaths, are condemned as being morally wrong. It is assumed that the culprit has a broken moral psychology thus prompting them to carry out such actions. Behavioral scientists try to explain the issue by relating previous cases that exhibit some common characteristics. A study was conducted to analyze the mass shootings in American high schools in the period after 2002 in addition to assessing whether some of the reasons highlighted in their preceding research on such shootings from 1974 to the year 2002 establish or confirm the recent cases (Newman & Fox, 2009). From the investigation, the researcher found out that there are several factors which happen to be significant features. The issues identified are comprised of the predisposing factors of an individual, social unconventionality, as well as non-functionality of the security structure, gun availability and also the cultural scripts. The studies supported the assumption that some of the students who engage in the mass shootings do so because they want to detach themselves from the social norms and expectations that are upheld by others. When the perpetrators feel isolated by the community within their social settings, it only serves to exacerbate their mental situation.

The media has also had a share of blame as to the cause of increased mass shootings in schools for the reason that they tend to give a large amount of publicity to the shooters. In current times where social media and influence are widespread, these offenders are taking drastic measures to receive their one moment of fame. Both the mainstream media and the social media are the platforms where offenders are gaining attention in order to display various feats and outrageous acts of violence. Giving too much attention on the offenders of school shootings as well as other mass shootings has been an ongoing issue that persists, especially since the demand is high for real time coverage of violent acts. This was clearly demonstrated when the 1999 Columbine High School shooting took place (Schildkraut, 2018). The extensive coverage and exposure that the media gave the shooters gave them a platform to stand on and in essence made them martyrs for those students that felt dejected and who were looking to conduct the same acts of violence.

In cases such as school shootings social workers and law enforcement officers have made in an objective to determine whether the wrongdoers are suffering from mental illness. A research was conducted to determine the relationship between mental illness and mass shootings in learning institutions. The motivation or assumption behind the study was that if a person was found to be suffering from mental illness, then it was possible to avert mass shootings (Metzl, Jonathan & MacLeish, 2015). The results showed that there is some link between mental illness and shooting but the propensity to execute an attack was intensified by accessibility to guns.

The issue of linking mass shooting to mental illness has triggered a lot of debate in regards to the reasoning of why it occurs. Although there are conflicting views on the matter, statistics have confirmed that there is a positive correlation between such rampages and psychological problems. According to the research carried out, 59 percent of the 185 public mass shootings (Rocque, 2018), which were carried out in the U.S. from 1900 through 2017 were undertaken by individuals who had at one point in their lives, either been identified as having a mental problem or manifested signs of severe psychological disorder before the attack. Even though the statistics covered mass shootings in general public, the assumption is that those that took place in schools have been captured in drawing the conclusion.

The increased mass shootings in schools have provoked debate on the awareness and preparedness of the institutions in case of such atrocities. A research study was conducted in order to collect crucial data linked to learning institutions’ level of preparation in the event of mass shootings. The objective of the survey was to provide a comprehensive report on the awareness and preparation of public schools in America for the avoidance of and also the responsiveness to a riotous shooting event. According to the study, the results established that the district schools were found inadequate in terms of emergency and crisis planning (Graham, Shirm, Liggin, Aitken, & Dick, 2006). They were also found to be less equipped to proactively handle such critical occurrences. Surveillance cameras and metal detectors and other systems are cited as important and basic features of security required for schools. However, even with those schools with the basic features, some of the offenders have in the past found a loophole in the security system and executed their plans.

There have been various views and opinions on what should be done to prevent the trend of mass shootings in schools. One of the options that majority of people from different quarters suggest is on the tightening gun control policies. The United States’ gun laws are documented in several federal statutes. The provisions of the laws regulate the production, record keeping, transport, business, ownership, transfer, as well as the weapon destruction including ammunition, or guns accessories. The issue of gun control has been a political debate for a long time and there have always been opposing views (Spitzer, 2015). It is argued that some of the events of school shootings could have been prevented if there had been stricter gun control. For instance, the case where a 14-year-old boy shot a 16-year-old girl student in a restroom at Alpine High School after which he committed suicide could have been avoided.

School mass shootings in the United States have prompted significant public uneasiness and fostered a wide-ranging perception that the institutions of learning do not meet the safety standards for a lot of staff and students. A study was carried out to counter those mistaken beliefs by investigating empirical evidence of the schools as well as community criminal trends and scrutinizing evidence on the feasible solution for averting future mass school shootings (Borum, Cornell, Modzeleski & Jimerson, 2010). According to the study, a good number of the school safety mechanisms as well as the procedures of security put in place in responding to the incidents have minimal investigative backing. Additionally, tactics of zero-tolerance discipline as well as profiling of the students have been extensively critiqued as being unreliable practices. Through this research, it shows that there is more to the conventional method of security measures required to avert instances of mass shootings.

In conclusion, there are many deaths that occur each year in the United States caused by mass shootings in schools and to the general public. Psychological problems, mass media influence, and availability of guns among other factors have been cited as some of the causes of increased school shootings in America. Some measures have been implemented as part of the solution for preventing the occurrence of these events but they have not stopped the offenders from executing their plans. The recent proposal by President Donald Trump is to arm the teachers (Smith, 2018), but the workability of the proposal is yet to be proved since the armament of teachers is quite controversial and would in turn place weapons is the place where violence prevention is the objective. Mass shooting is multifaceted and requires the problem to be addressed from various agencies in the country.

Reference

Borum, R., Cornell, D. G., Modzeleski, W., & Jimerson, S. R. (2010). What Can Be Done About School Shootings? A Review of the Evidence. Educational Researcher, 39(1), 27-37.

Farber, M. (2018). Florida school shooting timeline. [online] Fox News. Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/28/florida-school-shooting-timeline.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].

Graham, J., Shirm, S., Liggin, R., Aitken, M. E., & Dick, R. (2006). Mass-casualty Events at Shools: A National Preparedness Survey. Pediatrics, 117(1), e8-e15.

Kutner, M. (2015). Anatomy of Jaylen Fryberg's High School Murder-Suicide. Newsweek. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/2015/09/25/jaylen-ray-fryberg-marysville-pilchuck-high-school-shooting-372669.html

Metzl, Jonathan M,M.D., PhD., & MacLeish, K. T., PhD. (2015). Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms. American Journal of Public Health, 105(2), 240-249.

Newman, K. S. (2004). Rampage: The social roots of school shootings. New York: Basic Books.

Newman, K., & Fox, C. (2009). Repeat Tragedy: Rampage Shootings in American High School and College Settings, 2002-2008. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(9), 1286-1308.

Rocque, G. (2018). Actually, there is a clear link between mass shootings and mental illness. latimes.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-duwe-rocque-mass-shootings-mental-illness-20180223-story.html

Schildkraut, J. (2018). The media should stop making school shooters famous. Vox. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/2/22/17041382/school-shooting-media-coverage-perpetrator-parkland

Schildkraut, J., Elsass, H. J., & Stafford, M. C. (2015). Could it Happen Here? Moral Panic, School Shootings, and Fear of Crime Among College Students. Crime, Law and Social Change, 63(1-2), 91-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-015-9552-z

Smith, D. (2018). Trump's solution to school shootings: arm teachers with guns. the Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/21/donald-trump-solution-to-school-shootings-arm-teachers-with-guns

Spitzer, R. J. (2015). Politics of gun control. Routledge.

Wike, T. L., & Fraser, M. W. (2009). School Shootings: Making Sense of the Senseless. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(3), 162-169.