Trigger Warning
Over the past two weeks, most of the world has heard about the devastating school shooting that recently took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, leaving 22 people dead.
But, what are school shootings?
School shootings are attacks aimed at educational institutions using firearms. They are also often categorized as mass shootings because they usually lead to multiple casualties.
Even though American school shootings are usually the most discussed, they are not a phenomenon limited to the United States.
What happened in Uvalde?
On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers and wounded seventeen others at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The perpetrator had also shot his grandmother in the face earlier in the day, leaving her severely wounded. He fired shots outside the school for approximately five minutes, after which he entered Robb Elementary School armed with an AR-15-style rifle and handgun through a propped open side entrance which was left open by a teacher, without encountering armed resistance.
The perpetrator locked himself inside a classroom, where all 22 of victims were killed. He remained there for nearly an hour before he was killed by a United States Border Patrol tactical team.
This is the third deadliest school shooting to take place in the United States, with the kill count of 22 people being the highest number we’ve seen in nearly a decade.
What are the reasons for a school shooting?
Studies have found that most shooters had led difficult lives.
"Adolescent school shooters, there's no question that they're struggling and there have been multiple failures in their lives," says Reid Meloy, a forensic psychologist who has consulted with the FBI. "We know that mental health issues are very much in the mix," he says. "The child might be just, you know, very depressed. We also found in one of our early studies that you've got this curious combination of both depression and paranoia."
Many perpetrators have been through childhood traumas such as physical or emotional abuse, and unstable families, with violent, absent or alcoholic parents or siblings, for example. Most have experienced significant losses in their lives.
In addition, research has found that feeling like an outcast at school may also play a role in driving these culprits towards this acts of violence.
"A lot of these people have felt excluded, socially left out or rejected," says Van Dreal, a psychologist.
A 2004 study by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education found that nearly three-quarters of school shooters had been bullied or harassed at school.
Despair can turn into anger after one struggles with issues alone, which can then manifest into homicidal thoughts. According to Van Dreal, these fantasies about revenge can lead the teenager to “identify with other individuals who have become school shooters and have used violence as a way to solve their problem.”
“It's easy for a troubled kid to go online and research how previous shooters planned and executed their attacks”, Meloy adds.
On top of that, the availability of firearms in America makes turning these fantasies into reality even easier.
However, psychologists say that these attacks can be prevented before they even begin. The planning period for these school shootings can take up to weeks or even months. By paying attention to behavioural changes that may indicate a student is struggling — or considering taking violent action — one can stop them from committing such atrocities. After recognizing these signs, adequate action must take place.
Next steps?
Oftentimes, the first action schools take with troubled or violent children is to suspend or expel them. According to psychologists who specialize in this field, this is a pitfall that must be avoided. By removing a student from school, the administration is only giving the troubled student time to ruminate and plan out their revenge against all that they feel have slighted them, according to Meloy.
Instead, psychologists recommend a more personal approach to dealing with this issue.
"Anyone contemplating getting a gun and killing people needs to be seen as a person in crisis," says Langman, a psychologist. "And that's why it's so important to reach out and connect with that individual."
Psychologists and educators have found that with the right kind of support and supervision surrounding a young person, they can turn away from violence.
It is important to connect with these at-risk students, to listen to them while lending them support, and to get them the help that they need. With this approach, future attacks can be prevented and American schools can be made a safer place for all.
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Published July 6, 2022
Written by Anushka
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