Research Highlights Conditions Prevalent in School Rampages
Other researchers have explored the topic of school rampages. Newman, Fox, Harding, Mehta, and Roth’s (2004) study looked at two school incidents that were successful, and Daniels, Buck, Croxall, Gruber, Kime, & Govert’s (2007) study explored others that were prevented.
Newman et al.’s (2004) theory claims that five conditions are present when a school attack occurs. (Note: it is not appropriate to use them to predict attacks.) The five conditions are: the shooter views himself as marginal in his social world; the shooter suffers from some psychosocial problem; the shooter is swayed toward an attack by some social script; the shooter avoids systems designed to assist troubled teens, such as mental health services, teacher meetings, etc.; and the shooter has access to weapons.
Daniels et al. (2007) identified several themes present in school rampages that were prevented. Most incidents occurred in high schools; most suspects acted alone; almost all suspects were males; and guns were likely to be the primary weapons. The attacks were often prevented by students coming forward, and schools often took action to mitigate the threat. In most cases, the police were notified and got involved, and the most common criminal charge was making terroristic threats.
