Preventing Mass School Shootings

December 1, 1997, Michael Carneal, a freshman in West Paducah, Kentucky opened fire on his classmates, killing three and wounding five. One year later, on March 5, 1998, Mitchell Woodward shot and killed five classmates and wounded eleven in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Just one year after that, Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold committed the most heinous act of school violence in United States History in Littleton, Colorado. There, in Columbine High School, Harris and Kleibold killed twelve students, a teacher and later took their own lives. Random acts of school violence seemed to spread across the nation undetected, and protecting no one.

These events occurred only a few years ago, and it is important for college students to recognize the issue of school violence as a problem that must not go unnoticed. While for the most part, college campuses are isolated from the incidents of violence that engulf many high schools and middle schools, it is possible that college students could be indirectly affected by school tragedies. For example, one may have a friend whose sister was in a shooting, or a cousin whose school was on lock down. Furthermore, there may come a day when one’s own child will be at school desperately hiding from another angry classmate. For these reasons, it is important to address school violence as a significant problem and institute methods of prevention.

Following the shootings in West Paducah, Kentucky, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Littleton, Colorado, many people began searching for similarities between all three incidents. Among these similarities were certain characteristics possessed by the shooters. Michael Carneal, the shooter in West Paducah was “fed up with school, parents not paying attention and nobody caring about him,” according to his defense psychologist Dewey Cornwell (Malone 80). In Jonesboro, Arkansas, Mitchell Woodard was described as angry, and had a long list of past incidents of trouble (Malone 80). Later, in Littleton Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold were also social outcasts, who were constantly teased, and therefor very angry and filled with rage (Malone 80). These common characteristics shared between shooters have led many educators and lawmakers to profile potentially violent students. Many educators have used a checklist provided by the National School Safety Center, which consists of characteristics of students who would be likely to commit an act of violence (NSSC).