This is a digest of information included in The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School
Overview of Safe School Initiative Findings
Conceptualizing the Attack
Signaling the Attack
Advancing the Attack
Resolving the Attack
THE FINAL REPORT AND FINDINGS OF THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE:
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES UNITED
STATES SECRET SERVICE AND UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Overview of Safe School Initiative Findings
The findings of the Safe School Initiative suggest that
there are productive actions that educators, law enforcement officials, and
others can pursue in response to the problem of targeted school violence.
Specifically, Initiative findings suggest that these officials may wish to
consider focusing their efforts to formulate strategies for preventing these
attacks in two principal areas:
• developing the capacity to pick up on and evaluate available
or knowable information that might indicate that there is a risk of a targeted
school attack; and,
• employing the results of these risk evaluations or
"threat assessments" in developing strategies to prevent potential
school attacks from occurring. Support for these suggestions is found in 10 key
findings of the Safe School Initiative study. These findings are as follows:
• Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely were
sudden, impulsive acts.
• Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the
attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.
• Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly
prior to advancing the attack.
• There is no accurate or useful "profile" of
students who engaged in targeted school violence.13
• Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the
incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help.
• Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant
losses or personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted
suicide.
• Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by
others prior to the attack.
• Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to
the attack.
• In many cases, other students were involved in some
capacity.
• Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting
incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention…
The findings of researchers’ analysis of the 37 incidents of
targeted school violence that were examined under the Safe School Initiative
fall generally into five areas:
• characterizing the attacker;
• conceptualizing the attack;
• signaling the attack;
• advancing the attack; and,
• resolving the attack.
The findings in each of these areas are presented and
explained below.
Finding -- Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or
injured by others prior to the attack…
Finding -- A history of having been the subject of a mental
health evaluation, diagnosed with a mental disorder, or involved in substance
abuse did not appear to be prevalent among attackers. However, most attackers
showed some history of suicidal attempts or thoughts, or a history of feeling
extreme depression or desperation…
Finding -- Over half of the attackers demonstrated some
interest in violence, through movies, video games, books, and other media (59
percent, n=24). However, there was no one common type of interest in violence
indicated. Instead, the attackers’ interest in violent themes took various
forms…
Finding -- Most attackers had no history of prior violent or
criminal behavior…
Finding -- Most
attackers were known to have had difficulty coping with significant losses or
personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted suicide…
Conceptualizing the Attack
Finding Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely are
sudden, impulsive acts.
Revenge was a motive for more than half of the attackers (61
percent, n=25). Other motives included trying to solve a problem (34 percent,
n=14); suicide or desperation (27 percent, n=11); and efforts to get attention
or recognition (24 percent, n=10). More than half of the attackers had multiple
motives or reasons for their schoolbased attacks (54 percent, n=22). In
addition, most of the attackers held some sort of grievance at the time of the
attack, either against their target(s) or against someone else (81 percent,
n=33). Many attackers told other people about these grievances prior to their
attacks (66 percent, n=27).23…
Signaling the Attack
Finding Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the
attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack…
In most cases, other people knew about the attack before it
took place. In over three-quarters of the incidents, at least one person had
information that the attacker was thinking about or planning the school attack
(81 percent, n=30). In nearly twothirds of the incidents, more than one person
had information about the attack before it occurred (59 percent, n=22). In
nearly all of these cases, the person who knew was a peer–a friend, schoolmate,
or sibling (93 percent, n=28/30). Some peers knew exactly what the attacker
planned to do; others knew something "big" or "bad" was
going to happen, and in several cases knew the time and date it was to occur.
An adult had information about the idea or plan in only two cases…
Finding -- Most
attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the attack…
Finding -- Most
attackers engaged in some behavior, prior to the incident, that caused others
concern or indicated a need for help…
Almost all of the attackers engaged in some behavior prior
to the attack that caused others–school officials, parents, teachers, police,
fellow students–to be concerned (93 percent, n=38). In most of the cases, at
least one adult was concerned by the attacker’s behavior (88 percent, n=36). In
three-quarters of the cases, at least three people–adults and other
children–were concerned by the attacker’s behavior (76 percent, n=31). In one
case, for example, the attacker made comments to at least 24 friends and
classmates about his interest in killing other kids, building bombs, or carrying
out an attack at the school. A school counselor was so concerned about this
student’s behavior that the counselor asked to contact the attacker’s parents.
The attacker’s parents also knew of his interest in guns…
Advancing the Attack
Finding -- In many cases, other students were involved in
the attack in some capacity…
Finding -- Most attackers had access to and had used weapons
prior to the attack…
Resolving the Attack
Finding -- Despite
prompt law enforcement responses, most attacks were stopped by means other than
law enforcement intervention.
Most school-based attacks were stopped through intervention
by school administrators, educators, and students or by the attacker stopping
on his own. In about one-third of the incidents, the attacker was apprehended
by or surrendered to administrators, faculty, or school staff (27 percent,
n=10) or to students (5 percent, n=2). In just over one-fifth of the incidents,
the attacker stopped on his own or left the school (22 percent, n=8). In a few
incidents, the attacker killed himself during the course of the incident (13
percent, n=5). Just over one-quarter of the incidents were stopped through law
enforcement intervention (27 percent, n=10). Law enforcement personnel
discharged weapons in only three of the incidents of targeted school violence
studied (8 percent, n=3)…
The 10 key findings that the authors believe may have
implications for the development of strategies to address the problem of targeted
school violence are as follows:
• Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely are
sudden, impulsive acts.
• Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the
attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.
• Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly
prior to advancing the attack.
• There is no accurate or useful profile of students who
engaged in targeted school violence.
• Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the
incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help.
• Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant
losses or personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted
suicide.
• Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by
others prior to the attack.
• Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to
the attack.
• In many cases, other students were involved in some
capacity.
• Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting
incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention…
The
Implications of Key Study Findings
Key Finding 1 -- Incidents of targeted violence at school rarely are
sudden, impulsive acts…
Key Finding 2 -- Prior to most incidents, other people knew
about the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack. In most cases, those who knew
were other kids–friends, schoolmates, siblings, and others. However, this
information rarely made its way to an adult…
First and foremost, this finding suggests that students can
be an important part of prevention efforts. A friend or schoolmate may be the
first person to hear that a student is thinking about or planning to harm
someone. Nevertheless, for a variety of reasons, those who have information
about a potential incident of targeted school violence may not alert an adult
on their own. Schools can encourage students to report this information in part
by identifying and breaking down barriers in the school environment that
inadvertently may discourage students from coming forward with this
information. Schools also may benefit from ensuring that they have a fair,
thoughtful, and effective system to respond to whatever information students do
bring forward. If students have concerns about how adults will react to
information that they bring forward, they may be even less inclined to
volunteer such information…
Key Finding 4 -- There is no accurate or useful profile of
students who engaged in targeted school violence…
Rather than trying to determine the "type" of
student who may engage in targeted school violence, an inquiry should focus
instead on a student’s behaviors and communications to determine if that
student appears to be planning or preparing for an attack. Rather than asking
whether a particular student "looks like" those who have launched
school-based attacks before, it is more productive to ask whether the student
is engaging in behaviors that suggest preparations for an attack, if so how
fast the student is moving toward attack, and where intervention may be
possible…
Key Finding 5 -- Most attackers engaged in some behavior,
prior to the incident, that caused others concern or indicated a need for help…
Several key findings point to the fact that kids send
signals–both directly and indirectly–to others regarding their problems. The
boys who engaged in the targeted school violence examined by the Safe School
Initiative were not "invisible" students. In fact nearly all of these
students engaged in behaviors--prior to their attacks--that caused concern to
at least one person, usually an adult, and most concerned at least three people…
Key Finding 6 -- Most attackers had difficulty coping with
significant losses or personal failures. Many had considered or attempted
suicide…
Key Finding 7 -- Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or
injured by others prior to the attack…
Key Finding 8 -- Most
attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack…
Access to weapons among some students may be common.
However, when the idea of an attack exists, any effort to acquire, prepare, or
use a weapon or ammunition may be a significant move in the attacker’s
progression from idea to action. Any inquiry should include investigation of
and attention to weapon access and use and communications about weapons.
Attention should also be given to indications of any efforts by a student to
build a bomb or acquire bomb-making components…
Key Finding 9 -- In many cases, other students were involved
in the attack in some capacity…
This finding highlights the importance of considering what
prompting or encouragement a student may receive from others in his life that
influences his intent, planning, or preparations for a potential attack. Any
investigation of potential targeted school violence should include attention to
the role that a student’s friends or peers may be playing in that student’s
thinking about and preparations for an attack. It is possible that feedback
from friends or others may help to move a student from an unformed thought
about attacking to developing and advancing a plan to carry out the attack…
Key Finding 10 -- Despite prompt law enforcement responses,
most attacks were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention, and
most were brief in duration…
The short duration of most incidents of targeted school
violence argues for the importance of developing preventive measures in
addition to any emergency planning for a school or school district. The
preventive measures should include protocols and procedures for responding to
and managing threats and other behaviors of concern…
Taken together, the findings from the Safe School Initiative
suggest that some future attacks may be preventable. Most incidents of targeted
school violence were thought out and planned in advance. The attackers’
behavior suggested that they were planning or preparing for an attack. Prior to
most incidents, the attackers’ peers knew the attack was to occur. And most
attackers were not "invisible," but already were of concern to people
in their lives. In light of these findings, the use of a threat assessment
approach may be a promising strategy for preventing a school-based attack.
Educators, law enforcement officials and others with public safety
responsibilities may be able to prevent some incidents of targeted school
violence if they know what information to look for and what to do with such
information when it is found. In sum, these officials may benefit from focusing
their efforts on formulating strategies for preventing these attacks in two
principal areas:
• developing the capacity to pick up on and evaluate
available or knowable information that might indicate that there is a risk of a
targeted school attack; and,
• employing the results of these risk evaluations or
"threat assessments" in developing strategies to prevent potential
school attacks from occurring. Threat Assessment and Targeted School Violence
Prevention Threat assessment, as developed by the Secret Service and applied in
the context of targeted school violence, is a fact-based investigative and
analytical approach that focuses on what a particular student is doing and
saying, and not on whether the student "looks like" those who have
attacked schools in the past. Threat assessment emphasizes the importance of
such behavior and communications for identifying, evaluating and reducing the
risk posed by a student who may be thinking about or planning for a
school-based attack. The Department of Education and the Secret Service
currently are completing work on a publication that will provide school
administrators and law enforcement officials with guidance on planning and
implementing a threat assessment approach within school settings.30 In relying
on a fact-based threat assessment approach, school officials, law enforcement
professionals and others involved in the assessment will need tools, mechanisms
and legal processes that can facilitate their efforts to gather and analyze
information regarding a student’s behavior and communications. For example,
school and law enforcement personnel should be offered training regarding what
information to gather, how to gather and evaluate it, and how they might try to
intervene in cases where the information collected suggests a student may be
planning or preparing for a school-based attack.
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