A person with the intent to harm more than one person at a school, that is not simply used as the site of opportunity to carry out gang, drug, or interpersonal violence.
Published in Chapter:
Tightening the Gap: Advocating for Law Enforcement and School Personnel for Identifying Students at Risk of Violence
Maria Ray Langheim (University of Illinois at Springfield, USA) and Ann Maureen McCaughan (University of Illinois at Springfield, USA)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 23
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6246-7.ch007
Abstract
Between January 1, 2012 and January 30, 2018 alone there were 27 school shooting incidents, accounting for 62 victim deaths, 108 victims injured, countless witness and community members affected, and 10 assailants who committed suicide or were killed by a police officer during the attack, at schools or campuses across the United States (U.S.). Clearly, further intervention and prevention strategies are necessary for school personnel and law enforcement, as well as our greater communities, in reducing instances of school violence. Identification of individuals and groups who are at higher risk for violence toward self or others is one essential step in prevention. When prevention is unsuccessful, a student may begin down a path toward violence, eventually posing a threat to the extent that identifying and intervening becomes necessary. Encouraging law enforcement and school personnel to become well-versed in both, so that they might successfully support each other's efforts and develop common goals, is essential to successful communication regarding students and groups of concern.