School Shootings Argumentative Report

A school shooting is a form of mass shooting involving a gun attack on an educational institution, such as a school or university. The U.S. Secret Service defines them as shootings where schools are "deliberately selected as the location for the attack". These shootings have sparked a political debate over gun violence, zero tolerance policies and gun control. While educational institutions are subject to attacks by outside terrorist groups, this article mainly covers students who plan and carry out murders on their campuses.

The United States has the highest number of school-related shootings. From 2013 to October 2015 there were 142 school shootings in the United States.

Profiling

School shootings are a topic of intense interest in the United States. A thorough study of 37 incidents involving 41 perpetrators in the United States from 1974 through

# Do they have access to weapons?

# Are they depressed or despondent?''

One "trait" that has not yet attracted as much attention is the gender difference: nearly all school shootings are perpetrated by young males, and in some instances the violence has clearly been gender-specific. Bob Herbert addressed this in an October 2006 New York Times editorial. However, at least three female school shooting incidents have been documented, including Laurie Dann of Winnetka, Illinois.

Though the perpetrators of school shootings are often said to be almost exclusively white males, this is misleading. A study of 48 shooters found that though white males constituted 79% of secondary school shooters, white males were actually a minority among college and other adult perpetrators. There is significant racial, ethnic, and gender diversity among school shooters.

These shootings have happened in "suburban and rural school districts" and many seem to be random with random targets. Most of these shooters tend to come from two-parent households and have been found to appear on the honor roll at their