introduction for school shooting essay

School Shooting - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

School shootings are tragic events wherein gun violence occurs within an educational institution. Essays on school shootings could explore the sociopolitical, psychological, and cultural factors contributing to these occurrences, as well as the impact on communities and policy discourse surrounding gun control and school safety. Additionally, discussions might cover preventative measures, crisis response, and the long-term psychological and social implications of school shootings. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to School Shooting you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Prevention of School Shootings

Out of the 235 mass shootings that occured in 2018, 23 of them took place at schools. School shootings are becoming more common today than they were before. Many people believe that something must be done to prevent these shootings. People want to know how many times do school shootings need to happen before something is finally done. The U.S has had back to back school shootings in 2018. It doesn't seem like this phenomenon is slowing down any, so […]

School Shootings and Gun Control

Killing people for pleasure or killing people because a person has mental problem should be an issue to look into. Gun control in schools are a dangerous and devastatin. Kids who go through shootings/ anxiety and PTSD. Gun control in schools and why it should not be a law. Gun controls in schools is a big problem and should be addressed by the community and the state. The history behind guns and gun control can be very interesting. Gun control […]

Do Video Games Promote Violence?

The Internet is rife with articles about the potentially harmful consequences of play. Psychologists and parents have been arguing the pros and cons of this topic for decades now namely whether video games encourage violence, social isolation and obesity, or on the other hand, promote cognitive growth, perception, care, memory and decision-making. Questions flood our mind making it near impossible to truly answer that question: Can a video game truly promote a violent glimpse into a future reality? Summarized below […]

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School Shootings as a Serious Social Problem in America

From coast to coast, we are recovering from recent school shootings, leaving devastating impacts on all Americans. Ask yourself, how many more school shootings do we need before we start talking about this as a social problem, and not merely a random collection of isolated incidents? Society has proven that school shootings can happen anywhere, at any time, and can happen to students of all ages, ethnicity, and religions, as well as teachers and administrators. Small, rural villages have had […]

Effects of School Shootings

School shootings has only recently become a national concern. Just in the past few years' school shootings have become almost ""normal"" and many people will agree with that statement. There are people who believe that those who commit the school shootings are actually victims themselves, and have been bullied. Others believe there is no correlation between the students who do the school shootings because they believe they grew up in a supportive family, with no significant family issues. Within this […]

Violence and Video Games

The latest debate that is long standing in country today is the big debate does or is video games harmful to our children. Do they allow our children to become harmful to their selves or others, there have been studies internationally looking at the ages from nine to nineteen from 2010 to 2017, over 17,000 adolescents found playing video games led to increased physical behavior over time. There were 24 studies done from countries including U.S., Canada, Germany and Japan […]

Political Solutions to the Epidemic Crisis of Mass Shootings and School Shootings

Abstract There have been a numerous amount of mass shootings and school shootings over the last few years. This paper identifies three possible solutions to the political problem, stating both the pros of all three solutions and the flaws found within two solutions. First, Congress passing a law requiring people to have mental evaluations before purchasing a gun as studies show more than half of the incidents that have occurred the perpetrators have physiological instability. Second, a Federal law that […]

Will School Shootings Ever End?

Numerous school shootings that have been reported have made parents fear for their child's life. Many students are intimidated and are traumatized from being bullied. Parents go about their lives providing the safety their children need and when something bad happens at their child's school, they question whether they should send their kids to school or not. If schools aren't safe, as some researchers say, then is there any place in the world for anyone to be safe? Much research […]

Examining the Deep Impact of U.S. Gun Violence on American Society

U.S. gun violence has had put a struggle on american living and the quality of it. Its put America into a spiral of fear, a lot of people don't know the extent of how its effecting are lives and the way we live. Schools have built there security, airports and all other large businesses and or public businesses have also done the same. Laws have been getting stricter and stricter but simply some people just dont listen and obey those […]

School Shootings in America

Why Do the Shooters Shoot? In this paper, I will select a crime to examine and analyze sociologically. I will also suggest a remedy for addressing this social problem at either a local or national level using sociological ideas and previous examples of intervention to justify my argument. One of the most disturbing and researched crimes in America is a mass shootings, particularly – school shootings. The endless reasons for these crimes have lawmakers and enforcement officials, throughout the country, […]

School Shooting and the Impact on the Survivor’s Mental Health

Abstract This research paper focuses on the worst school shootings in the United States and their impact. It provides readers with a brief description of each tragedy, background information on the shooter, and the undetected impact on the survivors. I was able to use various news outlets, such as CNN, ABC, Youtube, Nightline, and other reliable sources to gain knowledge on this topic. Due to recent incidents that took place in my community, I could relate to the subject matter […]

Why Gun Violence Increasing

Gun violence has had a drastic increase over the years, leaving the United States desperate for laws to be implemented concerning the well-being and safety of citizens. Terrifying events surrounding gun violence have left researchers with no option but to investigate gun laws and regulations. Only some states require permits in order to purchase a firearm and background checks are required by federal law to anyone purchasing a gun as well. A citizen at the age of 21 is legal […]

School Shootings: what Can we Do?

Why are school shootings so common in the United States? Students shouldn't be scared to go to school and parents shouldn't have to worry when sending their children off to school every day. Are there ways to reduce the number of school shootings for the future? Some researchers believe that there may be warning signs to look out for in assassins that have malignant fantasies before they commit the pending crime (Robertz). Observing these actions and identifying them as warning […]

School Shootings are Devastating

“The national conversation since the February 14 Parkland, Florida, school shooting that left 17 people dead has been dominated by gun control.” (Burger 1) This quote shows how school shootings are devastating because 17 students or teachers died in the Florida shooting. Numerous people have died in school shootings. The first school shooting to ever happen in the US was on July 26, 1764, in Pennsylvania. A school master was killed following nine or ten children that also died, only […]

Is Arming Teachers Really the Best Solution to School Shootings?

School shootings have been happening more and more frequently over the past few months. There's been many debates on why school shootings are happening, how we could stop them or at least reduce the problem, and overall how we can keep students more safe. However, guns are not the solution. Many school shootings happen throughout the school day and most of the time the shooter is someone who either went to the school or still attends. Many people say it […]

School Shootings are Bad

Everyone is concerned about mass shootings. I think everyone in the country can agree that they are horrible, and we all wish they'd never happen again. Unfortunately they will continue to happen and may increase in frequency. There is a large group of Americans who feel like gun control and confiscation is the answer. While I agree that it's important to prevent or minimize the casualties of future shootings, I strongly disagree with the above mentioned method. The constitution guarantees […]

Research on Video Games and Violence

The day and age we live in are getting more violent and aggressive. Since 2013 there have been at least 300 school shootings. As of 2018, there have been at least ten school shootings. As a result, parents and others have blamed the increase of such horrific acts on violent video games. Some of these video games may include the widely known "Call of Duty franchise, "Halo, "Grand Theft Auto, and "Destiny. Though video games may be correlational to violence […]

The Tragedies of High School Shootings

It is heartbreaking and horrifying feeling when we watch young students on TV or in person running out of their schools, fearful for their lives to be taken away. School shootings are terrifying incidents that make us wonder what if we or our loved ones may face these types of situations. People have been calling for an action to address the increasing number of mass school shootings in the United States during the past decades. In one study that was […]

Arming Teachers and School Shooting

Imagine it is one-thirty in the afternoon and you are walking through a busy high school. You are likely imagining hearing the melody of children laughing, lockers closing, and feet shuffling through the hallways. The last thing you are expecting to hear is running, screaming and the ringing of bullets flying through halls. Now stop imagining, as a result of the increase of guns in America this nightmare has become a reality. Students already have enough to worry about, on […]

Eric Harris School Shooting

On April 20,1999, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Eric Harris committed a mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. At 11:10, “The two then walked into the school cafeteria, where they placed two duffel bags each containing a 20-pound propane bomb set to explode at 11:17 a.m.” (History.com, 2009) These students entered the school around 11:00am and killed 13 people, injured over 20 people, and then ended the massacre by committing suicide. These boys are classified as mass […]

Effect of School Shooting in Florida

School shootings have become more common over the years, in 2018 alone there have been seven school shootings. There have been a total of fifty-seven school shootings in thirty-six different countries between 2000 and 2010 (Chicago Tribune). School shootings have lead to both social and political change. There have been several studies regarding the attendance as well as the performance of the students academically. The Florida school shootings have lead to a change in New York politics and has led […]

Combating Gun Violence

A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a school or university, involving the use of firearms. The first recorded school shooting in the United States took place in 1840, when a law student shot and killed his professor at the University of Virginia. Despite that crime rates in the United States are declining, and homicide specifically is especially rare, many people believe that school shootings are becoming epidemic, occurring more frequently than the have in […]

Tragedy and the Meaning of School Shootings

""The phenomenon referred to as ""school shootings"" pertains mainly to those shootings where the school is deliberately chosen as the site of violence, the violence is perpetrated by a current or former student, and the targets are chosen symbolically or at random with the intention of causing as many deaths as possible"" (Travers, McDonagh & Elklit, 2018). One of the most recent concerns in education today is school safety protocols to prohibit an intruder. Over the past few decades, school […]

School Shootings have Become a Big Problem after Columbine

Many schools employed security guards, installed metal detectors and cameras, and permitted teachers to be armed. However, doing this did not change most outcomes. The problem is not allowing people to enter, it is a problem within the school. Students do not even feel safe at schools anymore they believe they have to sneak in guns to protect themself, and parents fearing for their children as well. Teachers and parents should become aware of the symptoms (bullied, distanced, negativity, and […]

Today’s Real World Challenge: High School Shooting

  My topic is school shootings. School shootings are when someone invades a school or university and shoots (injures or kills) a student or faculty member of that school. I chose this topic because I feel that this is a real problem in the real world today that needs to stop. Innocent people are dying and being sent to hospitals for problems that they didn’t even start, that they aren’t even involved in. I also know that I would hate […]

Blatant Morals and School Shootings

With bullets flying claiming the lives of innocent students and wounding others in the process, a pool of emotions surfaces. In abundance, the community shouts(demands,questions,) for answers while grieving in pain. Dating back to the first reported school shootings that took place we stumble upon the gruesome discovery of the ""Enoch Brown"" massacre in 1764. ""Four Delaware (Lenape) American Indians entered the schoolhouse near present-day Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and shot and killed schoolmaster Enoch Brown and nine children (reports vary). Only […]

Students Protest and Addresses Gun Violence

A schools' biggest fear is having a shooter come onto campus. There has been so many incidents on the news that people are trying to find solutions for this issue. Students need to feel safe while they are learning. I have found three articles of school shootings that go into detail about what took place on those days. Each author has had an interesting stand-point about what should happen next. In this paper, i will be comparing the authors perspective […]

Rise of School Shootings

School shootings have been on the rise and are more prevalent than ever before. "In less than 18 years, we have already seen more deaths related to school shootings than in the whole 20th century. One alarming trend is that the overwhelming majority of 21st-century shooters were adolescents, suggesting that it is now easier for them to access guns, and that they more frequently suffer from mental health issues or limited conflict resolution skills,". (Katsiyannis et al., 2018) This leaves […]

The Impact of School Shootings

There has been a significant increase in school shootings. This has prompted the debate of whether metal detectors, security guards, and gated entrances should be utilized to enforce school safety. There is a decline in school shootings in certain states. These states have chosen to allow extended measures to increase school safety. Others argue that there is not enough money in the budget to spend on additional safety measures for school security. Should money be put aside for school safety […]

Persuasive Speech on Gun Control to Prevent School Shootings

It's called school, not a shooting range. Students should be focusing on their educations, not living in fear of being harmed in the environment they consider safe. According to CNN, "The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined." If this isn't a glaring pointer that our gun laws must be updated and renovated to create a safer country for our successors, then what is? Every day, children go to school wondering […]

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How To Write an Essay About School Shooting

Introduction to the topic of school shootings.

When writing an essay about school shootings, it is crucial to approach the topic with sensitivity and a deep understanding of its complexity. School shootings are a tragic form of violence that have profound impacts on communities, families, and the public at large. In your introduction, it's important to define what constitutes a school shooting, acknowledging the gravity and sensitivity of the issue. Offer a brief overview of the increase in these incidents in recent years, setting the stage for a thoughtful exploration of their causes, impacts, and potential preventive measures. Your introduction should establish the tone for the essay, which should be respectful, informative, and reflective.

Examining the Causes and Motivations

The first major section of your essay should explore the potential causes and motivations behind school shootings. This involves delving into complex factors such as mental health issues, access to firearms, societal influences, and possible warning signs exhibited by perpetrators. It's important to present a balanced view, acknowledging that there is rarely a single cause for such actions and that they are the result of a combination of factors. Utilize relevant research, case studies, and expert analyses to support your discussion. This exploration should provide readers with a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of the problem, moving beyond simplistic explanations.

Impact on Communities and Policy Implications

Next, focus on the impact of school shootings on communities, survivors, and society at large. Discuss the immediate and long-term psychological, emotional, and social consequences these events have on students, teachers, families, and communities. Explore how school shootings influence public policy, particularly in relation to gun control, school safety measures, and mental health resources. Analyze different policy responses and their effectiveness, drawing from examples in various regions or countries. This section should highlight the ripple effect of school shootings, underscoring the importance of comprehensive and informed policy responses.

Concluding with Solutions and Reflections

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points and offering reflections on potential solutions to prevent future school shootings. Discuss the importance of a multi-faceted approach that includes enhancing school security, improving mental health support for students, responsible gun ownership, and community awareness. Reflect on the societal changes necessary to address the root causes of such violence. Your conclusion should encourage readers to think critically about the issue and consider their role in contributing to safer school environments and communities. A well-crafted conclusion will not only bring closure to the essay but also inspire a sense of responsibility and hope for a future where school shootings are a thing of the past.

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School shootings: What we know about them, and what we can do to prevent them

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, robin m. kowalski, ph.d. robin m. kowalski, ph.d. professor, department of psychology - clemson university.

January 26, 2022

On the morning of Nov. 30, 2021, a 15-year-old fatally shot four students and injured seven others at his high school in Oakland County, Michigan. It’s just one of the latest tragedies in a long line of the horrific K-12 school shootings now seared into our memories as Americans.

And we have seen that the threat of school shootings, in itself, is enough to severely disrupt schools. In December, a TikTok challenge known as “ National Shoot Up Your School Day ” gained prominence. Although vague and with no clear origin, the challenge warned of possible acts of violence at K-12 schools. In response, some schools nationwide cancelled classes, others stepped up security. Many students stayed home from school that day. (It’s worth noting that no incidents of mass violence ended up occurring.)

What are the problems that appear to underlie school shootings? How can we better respond to students that are in need? If a student does pose a threat and has the means to carry it out, how can members of the school community act to stop it? Getting a better grasp of school shootings, as challenging as it might be, is a clear priority for preventing harm and disruption for kids, staff, and families. This post considers what we know about K-12 school shootings and what we might do going forward to alleviate their harms.

Who is perpetrating school shootings?

As the National Association of School Psychologists says, “There is NO profile of a student who will cause harm.” Indeed, any attempt to develop profiles of school shooters is an ill-advised and potentially dangerous strategy. Profiling risks wrongly including many children who would never consider committing a violent act and wrongly excluding some children who might. However, while an overemphasis on personal warning signs is problematic, there can still be value in identifying certain commonalities behind school shootings. These highlight problems that can be addressed to minimize the occurrence of school shootings, and they can play a pivotal role in helping the school community know when to check in—either with an individual directly or with someone close to them (such as a parent or guidance counselor). Carefully integrating this approach into a broader prevention strategy helps school personnel understand the roots of violent school incidents and assess risks in a way that avoids the recklessness of profiling.

Within this framework of threat assessment, exploring similarities and differences of school shootings—if done responsibly—can be useful to prevention efforts. To that end, I recently published a study with colleagues that examined the extent to which features common to school shootings prior to 2003 were still relevant today. We compared the antecedents of K-12 shootings, college/university shootings, and other mass shootings.

We found that the majority of school shooters are male (95%) and white (61%) –yet many of these individuals feel marginalized. Indeed, almost half of those who perpetrate K-12 shootings report a history of rejection, with many experiencing bullying. One 16-year-old shooter wrote , “I feel rejected, rejected, not so much alone, but rejected. I feel this way because the day-to-day treatment I get usually it’s positive but the negative is like a cut, it doesn’t go away really fast.” Prior to the Parkland shooting, the perpetrator said , “I had enough of being—telling me that I’m an idiot and a dumbass.” A 14-year-old shooter stated in court, “I felt like I wasn’t wanted by anyone, especially  my mom. ” These individuals felt rejected and insignificant.

Our study also found that more than half of K-12 shooters have a history of psychological problems (e.g., depression, suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder, and psychotic episodes). The individuals behind the Sandy Hook and Columbine shootings, among others, had been diagnosed with an assortment of psychological conditions. (Of course, the vast majority of children with diagnosed psychological conditions don’t commit an act of mass violence. Indeed, psychologists and psychiatrists have warned that simply blaming mental illness for mass shootings unfairly stigmatizes those with diagnoses and ignores other, potentially more salient factors behind incidents of mass violence.) For some, the long-term rejection is compounded by a more acute rejection experience that immediately precedes the shooting. While K-12 school shooters were less likely than other mass shooters to experience an acute, traumatic event shortly before the shooting, these events are not uncommon.

Many shooters also display a fascination with guns and/or a preoccupation with violence. They play violent video games, watch violent movies, and read books that glorify violence and killing. Several of the shooters showed a particular fascination with Columbine, Hitler, and/or Satanism. They wrote journals or drew images depicting violence and gore. The continued exposure to violence may desensitize individuals to violence and provide ideas that are then copied in the school shootings.

To reiterate, however, there is no true profile of a school shooter. Plenty of people are bullied in middle and high school without entertaining thoughts of shooting classmates. Similarly, making and breaking relationships goes along with high school culture, yet most people who experience a break-up do not think of harming others. Anxiety and depression are common, especially in adolescence, and countless adolescents play violent video games without committing acts of violence in real life. Even if some commonalities are evident, we must recognize their limits.

What can we do?

Understanding the experiences of school shooters can reveal important insights for discerning how to prevent school shootings. So, what might we do about it?

First, the problems that appear to underlie some school shootings, such as bullying and mental-health challenges, need attention—and there’s a lot we can do. School administrators and educators need to implement bullying prevention programs, and they need to pay attention to the mental-health needs of their students. One way to do this is to facilitate “ psychological mattering ” in schools. Students who feel like they matter—that they are important or significant to others—are less likely to feel isolated, ostracized, and alone. They feel confident that there are people to whom they can turn for support. To the extent that mattering is encouraged in schools, bullying should decrease. Typically, we don’t bully people who are important or significant to us.

Second, because most of the perpetrators of K-12 shootings are under the age of 18, they cannot legally acquire guns. In our study , handguns were used in over 91% of the K-12 shootings, and almost half of the shooters stole the gun from a family member. Without guns, there cannot be school shootings. Clearly more needs to be done to keep guns out of the hands of youth in America.

Third, students, staff, and parents must pay attention to explicit signals of an imminent threat. Many shooters leak information about their plans well before the shooting. They may create a video, write in a journal, warn certain classmates not to attend school on a particular day, brag about their plans, or try to enlist others’ help in their plot. Social media has provided a venue for children to disclose their intentions. Yet, students, parents, and educators often ignore or downplay the warning signs of an imminent threat. Students often think their peers are simply expressing threats as a way of garnering attention. Even if the threats are taken seriously, an unwritten code of silence keeps many students from reporting what they see or hear. They don’t want to be a snitch or risk being the target of the would-be shooter’s rage. With this in mind, educators and administrators need to encourage reporting among students—even anonymously—and need to take those reports extremely seriously. Helpful information for teachers, administrators, and parents can be found at SchoolSafety.gov . In addition, Sandy Hook Promise provides information about school violence and useful videos for young people about attending to the warning signs that often accompany school shootings.

Fourth, school leaders should be aware that not every apparent act of prevention is worth the costs. Some people believe that lockdown drills, metal detectors, school resource officers, and the like are useful deterrents to school shootings and school violence more broadly. However, researchers have also demonstrated that they can increase anxiety and fear among students . Students may also become habituated to the drills, failing to recognize the seriousness of an actual threat should it arise. Additionally, most K-12 shooters are students within the school itself. These students are well-versed in the security measures taken by the school to try to deter acts of violence by individuals such as themselves. While few would suggest getting rid of lockdown drills and other security measures, educators and administrators need to be mindful of the rewards versus the costs in their selection of safety measures.

Ultimately, our goal should be creating an environment in which school shootings never occur. This is an ambitious aim, and it will be challenging work. But addressing some key issues, such as mental health, will go a long way toward preventing future tragedies in our schools. As so aptly demonstrated in the Ted Talk, “ I was almost a school shooter ,” by Aaron Stark, making someone feel that they have value and that they matter can go a long way toward altering that individual’s life and, consequently, the lives of others.

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Home — Essay Samples — Law, Crime & Punishment — School Shooting — The impact of school shootings on education policy

The Impact of School Shootings on Education Policy

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Published: Mar 25, 2024

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Introduction, understanding the context, impact on education policy, balancing accessibility and academic rigor.

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Writing about guns on campus and school safety

Academic writing

Essay paper writing

School shootings are a nightmare scenario for parents, students, and teachers. Unfortunately, massacres in American schools take place quite often.

Since the beginning of this year, several cases of armed attacks resulting in injuries and deaths happened in American schools. According to statistics from Washington Post, starting from the massacre at Columbine, more than 150,000 primary and senior students from 170 schools have witnessed murders or became victims of shooting on campus.

All these events explain the relevance of gun violence essays. The idea of possession of firearms by teachers and ordinary citizens has both supporters and opponents. In this article, we invite you to familiarize yourself with the history of this issue and the most common opinions on how to approach it. On their basis, you can draw your own conclusions and write a quality weapons for college safety research paper or essay.

Analysis of tragedy in Parkland for school violence essay

If you are writing a persuasive essay on should guns be allowed on campus, this recent case might be of a special interest for you. The incident in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018, was not similar to many other tragedies of this kind. The criminal was detained alive; he testified, cooperated with the police, and behaved in a way which is rather uncommon for criminals. The fact that the 19-year-old assassin, Nikolas Cruz, repeatedly demonstrated antisocial behavior is unprecedented. The shooter was earlier expelled from this school because of problems with discipline

A fire alarm sounded ten minutes before the end of the lesson. Survivors told that at first, they thought it was a drill. Cruz was in a gas mask and had smoke grenades. When children went out into the corridor, he had the opportunity to shoot them. The shooter was detained about an hour and a half after the start of the incident. Among the 17 victims, 12 people were killed inside the school, three more – outside the building, and two died in the hospital.

Immediately after the arrest, the police began to study Cruz’s social networks and found a lot of disturbing evidence. It became obvious that there were reasons for worrying and suspecting something wrong. For example, Nikolas had published photos with guns and cold steel. In addition, he had openly declared the desire to commit an attack, including one on police officers. Perhaps, the tragedy might have been prevented if some measures were taken.

‘He was always depressed, talked about weapons, and often tried to hide his face,’ recalls one of Nikolas’ friends from the school. Some of his acquaintances remember that Cruz had problems with other students and was worried by the fact that he did not receive any help from the teachers. Teenagers even joked that if someone could ever attack the school, it would be Nikolas.

The mathematics teacher, in whose class the boy studied in 2016, said that Cruz was ‘quiet’ and ‘unproblematic.’ However, last year, he was banned from entering school with a backpack after teenager threatened other students.

Weapons: constitutional right or threat?

After the Parkland tragedy, the discussion about gun control in the US raised again. However, one of Donald Trump’s main campaign slogans was the defense of the second amendment, which is the Americans’ right to possess weapons. President often reproaches Democrats for their attempts to deprive the country’s citizens of this freedom.

Many people were outraged by the fact that Nikolas Cruz was able to legally acquire an AR-15 rifle worth $500, and a stormy social reaction was quite understandable. In Florida and other states, protests were held demanding to tighten control over the circulation of guns to prevent future tragedies.

However, Trump said that the main reasons for the tragedy were the attacker’s ‘mental problems.’ This way, the head of the White House avoided touching upon the topic of gun control.

Gun ownership has always been among burning issues in the US. For Americans, constitutional rights are sacrosanct. The second amendment of the Constitution came into force immediately after the attainment of independence by the US. It guaranteed that the government would not be able to take away weapons from citizens as the British did at the end of colonial rule.

Today, the topic of gun control is inextricably linked to the political, social, and cultural splits in the American society. A rich and influential National Rifle Association impacts the appropriate moods.

After the carnage in Parkland, there were people who argued that the problem was not only in the free access to firearms. In their opinion, if schoolchildren and teachers were prepared for the attack, they could confront the shooter. However, many people consider this point of view unacceptable. What do you think about it? A school violence research paper is a perfect chance to express your opinion.

‘Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.’ – this quote by Sarah Hutto became the slogan of supporters of free possession of firearms in the United States. It makes sense in some way as the widespread use of guns does not necessarily lead to a large number of murders. For example, in Switzerland, there are weapons in 1 out of 4 houses (the highest level in Europe), while there are only 0.7% of the murders for every 100,000 inhabitants (the lowest level in the world).

So the issue is that there is a large number of firearms and a lot of people who are ready to use them in the United States.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the United States has the largest number of weapons in the world. According to the GunPolicy.org portal, there are 101 guns per 100 Americans. It turns out that the country has more weapons than residents. Serbia is in the second place (58.2 guns per 100 people).

In addition, American mass culture (cinema, television, music, and video games) promotes excessive and ill-considered use of firearms. This might serve as one of the strongest reasons for school violence. However, many people think that this argument is unpersuasive. And what is your opinion? Ponder over it in your essay.

Other crimes examples for a research paper on school shootings

The case described above was included in the list of the bloodiest crimes in the United States over the past few years. However, there were other shocking incidents. You can also use the information about them for a should students be allowed to carry guns on campus essay.

2012: Sandy Hook Elementary School - 20 dead children aged 5-10 years and 6 adults

On December 14, 2012, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who had a mild form of autism, armed himself with a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, two Glocks, and Sig Sauer pistols and opened fire. As a result, 20 children aged 5-10 years and 6 adults were killed.

Before going to school, he shot his 52-year-old mother, Nancy Lanza, in the head four times. Then, on her car, the shooter went to the elementary school, broke the window with a shot, and got inside. He attacked people at close distance, almost at point-blank. At the time special forces and rescue services arrived, the criminal had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

2007: Virginia Tech - 33 dead, 29 wounded

Another terrible story happened on April 16, 2007. At the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, a schizophrenic 23-year-old student from South Korea, Seung-Hui Cho, opened fire from pistols in a dormitory and educational building and then committed suicide.

As a result of the shooting, 33 people were killed, and 29 more were injured. Between the murders, the offender sent an open letter and a video manifesto to NBC News in which he compared himself to Jesus Christ.

The police found out that the slaughter at Virginia Tech was preceded by a criminal’s quarrel with a girlfriend. After that, he broke into the German language class in the engineering department, shot a professor in the head, and then started killing students. The massacre in Virginia occurred on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the shooting in Columbine High School.

1999: Columbine High School - 13 dead, 24 wounded

The mass shooting in the Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20, 1999, was one of the biggest tragedies in American educational institutions. Two young men, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, broke into the school with weapons in their hands. In 4.5 hours, terrorists killed 12 students and one teacher, wounded dozens of people, and then committed suicide.

The work on this crime involved 80 investigators who collected 10,000 pieces of physical evidence and interrogated 1,400 witnesses. Both boys were from well-to-do, stable, and decent middle-class families. However, they were ‘outcasts’ at school: did not excel in sports and did not enjoy the respect of classmates. They wore long black raincoats, played “bloody” computer games, listened to cacophonic compositions of metal bands, and were obsessed with the Nazis. By the way, their crime coincided with Hitler’s birthday.

Unfortunately, attacks on schools in the US occur almost every month. Therefore, each should guns be allowed on college campus essay is not an abstract philosophical work intended exclusively for awakening the author’s creative abilities. The serious problem of life and death is touched upon. A list of tragedies written above can be supplemented by the following points:

• On February 1, 2018, a student in one of Los Angeles’ schools used firearms in the classroom. Two teenagers were injured.
• On January 23, 2018, there was a shooting in a high school in Kentucky, which resulted in the death of 2 people, while 19 were injured.
• On January 22, 2018, there was an attack in the school in Ellis County, state of Texas; as a result, one person was injured.
• On December 7, 2017, there was a tragedy in the city of Aztec (the north of New Mexico). 2 people became victims of the shooting. The criminal who opened fire was eliminated.
• On November 14, 2017, an unknown man opened fire on the territory of primary school in Texas. Four people died and four more, including three children, were injured. Later, the number of victims increased to five people as the body of murderer’s wife was found in his house.
• On September 13, 2017, there was a shooting in the Freeman High School in Washington State. The criminal was detained. One person was killed, and four were wounded.
• On April 10, 2017, in an elementary school in San Bernardino County in California, an unidentified man opened fire and then committed suicide. Two people were killed – a teacher and a student, and one more student was injured. It turned out that the shooter was an ex-husband of the killed teacher.
• On May 6, 2016, one person was killed, and one was injured in a shootout in a secondary school in Maryland.
• On February 12, 2016, two girls were killed as a result of shooting in a school in Glendale, Arizona.
• On October 24, 2014, an incident occurred in the school in Marysville, Washington. Armed with a pistol, 14-year-old Jaylen Fryberg entered the cafeteria and opened fire. As a result of the attack, one person died on the spot, and seven got injuries of varying severity; two of them died in the hospital. The attacker shot himself.
• On January 5, 2011, the shooting was arranged by Robert Butler Jr., the 17-year-old son of the head of the Omaha Police Department in the Millard High School in Omaha, Nebraska. His body was found later in one of the cars next to the school. He committed suicide. As a result of the incident, two people were killed, and one was wounded.
• On December 10, 2007, in the suburbs of Denver in the state of Colorado, an unknown person opened fire in a school for Christian missionaries. Two people were killed, two more were injured. The offender, a 20-year-old man (according to the description of the witnesses), disappeared from the crime scene.

On one hand, all these cases might help you support your statements in an argumentative essay on why guns should be allowed on campus. Many Americans believe that the availability of weapons for school personnel will be a serious obstacle to the massacres. Most of them could be prevented if criminals knew that they would face confrontation.

On the other hand, the abovementioned facts can as well be used in a banning guns on campus argumentative essay. Just as many people believe that arming teachers and professors might lead to more casualties as the behavior and reactions of both the killers and the teachers can be unpredictable.

The main question of school shootings essay: do teachers need firearms?

One of the aspects you can cover in a violence in schools essay is a political one. Donald Trump ordered to strengthen control over the purchase of weapons after the shooting in Florida. According to the President, teachers and school employees should be allowed to have guns. This privilege will be granted to approximately 20% of educators who have passed the appropriate training.

Donald Trump emphasized in his speech that criminals understand that no one can resist them in educational institutions. Employees who know how to use the guns will be able to put an end to the attack very quickly. Also, Trump suggested hiring former military officers who know how to handle weapons for school security. Moreover, at the meeting with teachers and students of schools, the President promised to tighten checks for issuing permission to purchase guns, including mental health testing. If you have a different opinion, you are welcome to list the shortcomings of the abovementioned approach in the school shootings research paper.

Let’s consider at least one shortcoming of such an idea. To ensure that military people or law enforcement officers use weapons in combat correctly, an effective range of activities is carried out: shootings, exercises, etc. Will there be any training of such kind for the armed teachers at schools? If you want to write an analytical should teachers carry guns in school essay with a share of valid criticism, it’s definitely worth paying attention to these details.

In general, there are many questions regarding this issue. Most US citizens hope that the safety of schools will be strengthened in other ways. However, it is quite possible that soon we will see a revised reform plan. Indeed, fundamental work must be carried out by the government to dispel doubts of people.

Carrying guns on campus essay title

The title is perhaps one of the most important parts of the essay. It is better to come up with it at the very end of the work when you have re-read the final text and are ready to formulate a compelling. The readers should become interested once they see the title of your paper.

An honest look at things

Do not write about theories in which you do not believe. Do not focus on facts if you are not sure they are precise. Discuss what is really interesting and true. When the argumentative essay on guns on campus is written with a sincere interest in the topic, reading his or her ideas is extremely pleasant.

Truth is the only thing that is valued at all times. When a person reads an essay, they want to answer some questions to themselves and see the real picture and order of things. And of course, they are interested in what others have already learned. You are welcome to share your experience and use reliable information, but not to mislead readers.

It is claimed that everything has already been written before us, so it is impossible to create something new. Still, you have to write a do we really need more guns on campus essay and introduce some new information. Does it mean that you are at a dead end? By no means! As an old proverb goes, “Many men, many minds.” Just provide your own sincere opinion on the matter as well as some solutions to the problem which you consider the most effective.

Now you know how to create are guns allowed on college campus essay. Finally, here is the last tip. Do you want to write an academic paper but do not know how to start? Use your favorite quotation, proverb, or saying as a hook phrase.

In time, writing will become much easier, as you will be more experienced. Just keep up and reach your goal. Good luck

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June 17, 2022

Why do school shootings keep happening in the United States?

Vcu homeland security expert william v. pelfrey jr. answers this question and more., share this story.

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By Joan Tupponce

The first thought that raced through William Pelfrey Jr.’s mind when he heard the breaking news about the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was typical of any parent with young kids.

“It made me want to get into my vehicle and drive to their schools,” said Pelfrey, Ph.D., an expert in the field of homeland security, terrorism and radicalization and a professor of homeland security/emergency preparedness and criminal justice in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. “From a professional perspective, it reminded me there are too many people with guns, the wrong people with guns and that nothing is going to change.”

Guns are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No other developed economy has as many violent firearm deaths as the U.S., according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

“School shootings happen in the U.S. at an alarming rate, but they rarely happen elsewhere in the world. Eighty or 90 percent of all the school shootings in the world happen in the U.S. They are concentrated here,” Pelfrey said.

How did the U.S. get to this point and what can be done? Pelfrey fields those questions and more with VCU News.

Why does this keep happening?

It’s a simple question, but the answers are extremely complicated. There are some political overtones to it. Guns are ubiquitous in the U.S. There are more guns than people. The U.S. population is about 334 million and the number of guns in the U.S. is more than 390 million (according to a report by the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based organization). We have the highest civilian gun ownership in the world by a huge margin. That’s an extraordinary number relative to the rest of the world. The next countries that have as many guns are war-torn countries like Serbia or Yemen.

Another element is school safety is not as high as it should be. It’s easy to maintain basic school safety but not everybody does a good job of that.

A third element is social media, a component that revolves around how people make it OK on social media to act on violence. There is a faction of government, particularly a right-wing government element, that condones or encourages violence. They do so in an oblique way saying something like, “Our country is under threat. We have to stand up and protect our country. We need to take up arms to defend our country, our way of life.” When you do that, you are condoning acts that are dangerous. The U.S. border is populated by a lot of citizens who have dubbed themselves border protection and they stand at the border with guns waiting for someone to illegally cross the border and they take them into custody even though they are not law enforcement.

How do you categorize mass shootings?

Some are artifacts of bullying. A victim of bullying decides they are going to respond with extreme violence, and it’s usually not against their perpetrators. It’s a show of force to demonstrate they won’t be bullied again. They can stand up for themselves. That describes Sandy Hook and Columbine and some other shootings.

The second category of mass shootings is domestic terrorism. Those people had been self-radicalized on social media and believe their actions represent a higher good. What they are doing is for a bigger purpose than themselves. They are willing to die, almost like a suicide terrorist, to further the goals of the theology they support.

A lot of people don’t fit into either category. The mass shooting era began with Charles Whitman in 1966 when he climbed a bell tower at the University of Texas and started shooting people. He did that because he had a tumor in his brain. There was no kind of pattern, but it created a behavioral matrix that has been followed by any number of people in the U.S.

How easy is it to buy a gun?

In the U.S., you can walk into a gun store and buy as many assault rifles as you want if you have cash and are over 18 and you meet just a couple of other loose criteria. Guns are so easily obtained that it’s easy to commit violent crime. We don’t do a good job in our criminal justice system of prohibiting people that probably shouldn’t have them from securing guns.

In most countries there are tests you have to take. You have to demonstrate you need a gun for a specific reason. You have to pass a gun ownership exam to show you can use it safely. You have to maintain license requirements. We don’t do any of that in the U.S. We are going the other way. Texas last year made it easier for people to get a gun in what was already an incredibly permissive state.

What types of guns are especially dangerous to own?

Assault weapons — assault rifles and assault pistols. We don’t track who buys them. You go into a gun store and buy a gun. A criminal background check is run, but no one keeps track of what you bought or how much you paid for it or what you do with it when you walk out the door. You could buy 20 assault rifles, drive to Washington, D.C., and sell them and nobody knows it because there is no reporting mechanism to identify that you sold the guns.

It is a crime to sell a gun to a convicted felon or to take them out of state to sell. But our penalties are so lax that it’s not a deterrent. A straw buyer is a person who buys guns legally and then illegally sells them for profit. There are a small number of gun stores that welcome straw buyers and subsequently represent easy funnels for guns in illegal locations. Straw buyers go to stores where they know they can walk in with $30,000 or $40,000 in cash and walk out with a bunch of pistols and assault rifles and go back to the streets and sell those guns, especially in cities with restrictive gun laws. That’s one of the cheap mechanisms for guns getting into the hands of criminals.

Why is screening a person who wants to buy a gun so important?

There are people who should have red flags that would preclude gun ownership, but we don’t have that in place. We could look over the past 20 or so years at some of the major school shootings like Parkwood (Florida); Newtown (Connecticut); Columbine (Colorado); Uvalde (Texas); even the shooting in Buffalo (New York). These were people that had a history of mental illness or a history of being bullied and were threatening to lash out. People don’t seem to connect the risk factors to gun ownership and the propensity for subsequent violence. And that is just a tragedy.

What is the role of social media in all of this?

It has a powerful role because of far-right extremism. The Buffalo shooter was a self-radicalized domestic terrorist. He had a strongly held belief about the infringement of races on the Caucasian race. He was an avid follower of far-right extremists’ diatribe and used some of what he found as rationalization to act and commit violence.

Not true for every shooter. In Columbine, Newtown, Uvaldi, these were bullied misfits. They didn’t fit in groups and had a history of being marginalized by their peers. They found a different path for getting even and that was through violence. But there is a different population and I believe it’s one of the most dangerous threats to the U.S. and that is far-right extremists, which inspired far-right violent extremists. Social media has a tremendous role in that. There is no single bad guy we can legitimize or take out. There are hundreds of podcasts and thousands of self-proclaimed thought leaders and they write really nasty, vicious stuff and have followers. Some of those people act on what they read. No government entity does a good job counter-messaging extremists.

How does bullying play into this?

Schools don’t do a great job with bullying prevention. One of my areas of research is bullying and cyberbullying. I’ve worked with schools, and we talk about bullying identification. Schools don’t do that until it’s too late. Schools need to adopt bullying and cyberbullying identification measures and then practice them. The best tactic I’ve seen is analogous to the “see something, say something” messaging that was rampant in New York after 9/11. That same logic can be applied in schools to enable citizens to get involved in terrorism prevention. Students can be empowered to identify bullies and then the school can come in to support fellow students.

Some people talk about arming teachers or school administrators. What do you think of that as a way of prevention?

Several years ago, Virginia considered doing that. I did a report for the Department of Criminal Justice Services in Virginia on the merits and risks of arming school personnel. Most high schools have an armed resource officer on scene, but most middle and elementary schools don’t. Arming teachers or school personnel is an incredibly dangerous enterprise that could lead to the death of that person because if police respond to a shooting and see someone with a gun, they are going to shoot them. Or, the teacher could accidentally shoot another staff member or police officer or, in the worst case, a student.

At Uvalde, there was a police resource officer on scene, at Columbine a school resource officer was on scene, at Parkland a school resource officer was on scene. If a trained police officer can’t prevent a school shooting, what are the chances that a teacher who is not well trained can prevent a school shooting? I think the odds are pretty low. I think the risk dramatically outweighs any potential benefits.

Can you talk about the opposite views we have in the U.S. about guns?

We live in a country with two competing paradigms. One thought paradigm is that everybody needs guns and then we will all be safe. The other is the exact opposite. Nobody should have guns and we will all be safe. Those two paradigms cannot coexist. They are diametrically opposed. But our political structure is such that they can’t be reconciled.

After the Sandy Hook shooting there was a huge motivation for gun control, limiting who could buy guns and the kind of guns people could buy. That faded away rapidly. I expect the same thing will happen here, and it’s depressing to say that, but I see very little political will to enact any meaningful changes.

Mass shootings are going to happen again. It’s a pattern. School shootings and mass shootings happen about every year or two in the U.S. and I guarantee that there is going to be another one in a year and another one after that and nothing is going to change until enough people develop a political will to support meaningful gun changes.

What predictions do you have for the future when it comes to gun laws?

I expect there will be some change in gun laws, but they won’t be substantial. It will provide political cover for some people to say we are doing things, we are making things safer, but they won’t make things safer. I expect gun sales will go up even more because people now feel like they have to protect themselves and their family members because the government isn’t doing that.

I also expect that there is going to be some investigation into police practices at Uvalde because police didn’t go into that school immediately. In fact, several police officers stood outside waiting for reinforcements to arrive. That is going to lead to internal investigation and also police policy changes, which I expect will become popular across the U.S. Many police departments implemented a policy suggesting officers need to go into a school and engage an active shooter no matter what. That didn’t happen in Uvalde. As a policing expert, I don’t know how that is possible.

Do people use mental health as a scapegoat for these shootings?

Yes, it’s an easy target. A lot of people point to mental health and say the U.S. needs more mental health funding. They disregard there was a gun that shot these people. Only a small percentage of these shootings were people that had been diagnosed with a mental illness. We want to rationalize this type of behavior. We want to understand it. We presume that the people who commit these vile acts are disturbed, that they are mentally ill, otherwise they are like us and that’s untenable.

It creates an easy political target that allows politicians to rationalize their failure to enact reasonable gun laws. We have laws about who can buy guns — you have to be 18, you can’t be a convicted felon. There are guns that are restrictive. It’s not legal to sell fully automatic weapons. You can’t buy a tank. But whenever reasonable gun restrictions are opposed or discussed, there is a small faction of citizens and politicians that go crazy, and that’s a tragedy.

Over the past 50 years there has only been one meaningful law passed limiting guns — the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, passed under President Bill Clinton. That expired 10 years later under a Republican president. When that expired, people began buying guns at a substantially higher rate than ever before. They presumed that under another Democratic president or Congress gun sales would be limited again. So assault rifles, which had been a small portion of gun purchases prior to the ban, became a big part of gun sales.

Estimates are that a quarter to a third of all guns sold now in the U.S. are assault rifle platforms. That is a big number. Seven years after the ban expired, guns sales had doubled. A few years later they doubled again. It’s amazing that the ban had a counter-productive effect, which is it dramatically increased gun sales and people’s motivations to buy guns, particularly assault rifles.

As a policing expert, there is no reason anyone who is not military or law enforcement should ever have an assault rifle. I come from a family of hunters. Every year we would go hunting. I know rifles and shotguns. An assault rifle is a vastly inferior tool for anything other than shooting people. It’s not good for hunting or self-defense. A shotgun or a pistol is more effective. There is no reason for a civilian to have an assault rifle, but they do.

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School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

General Purpose: To highlight the problem of school shootings in the USA and the political and social debates surrounding the issue.

Specific Purpose: To provide insights into what leads to the high frequency of school shootings in the United States and what could be done to stop or reduce them.

Thesis Statement: Some reasons contributing to the high frequency of school shootings include the lack of gun control and school bullying. The U.S. can minimize the occurrence of school shootings by limiting access to guns and using more violence risk assessments in U.S. schools.

Introduction

School shootings have become frequent across the United States, with over one hundred school shootings occurring between 2010 and 2015 alone. The motivation for school shooters varies widely depending on their unique situations or experiences. It is essential to discuss the reasons for school shootings because it would help to formulate solutions that would help to reduce their occurrence or frequency.

Some reasons contributing to the high frequency of school shootings include the lack of gun control and school bullying. The government can reduce school shootings by limiting gun access and using more violence risk assessments in U.S. schools.

A significant number of U.S. school shooters were victims of bullying in their respective schools. Regular bullying makes potential school shooters turn wrath and frustration against their teachers and schoolmates (Burton et al., 2021). It has led to the coining of a phrase known as injustice collectors. The phrase injustice collectors refer to individuals who believe they have been mistreated or harmed by others. They often keep lists of people who bullied or were mean to them.

A relative lack of gun control laws and regulations in the United States makes it easy for potential school shooters to access weapons. Collecting an arsenal that most school shooters have would be almost impossible in other countries with strict gun control (Keatley et al., 2020). However, the United States has over 15,000 gun shops, and most homes have at least one firearm. Teenagers are often trained to use guns at a tender age (Gammell et al., 2022). Many studies argue that easy access to guns explains why school shootings in the U.S. are prevalent, and the number of casualties is usually high.

School shootings can be reduced by significantly limiting gun access and using more violence risk assessments in U.S. schools. Many school shootings are conducted by high-capacity assault rifles like the AR-15. It means placing meaningful restrictions or, in some cases, bans on firearm equipment linked to lethal outcomes. Leaning institutions should use empirically-backed violence risk assessment tools to help them identify students that are most likely to participate in school shootings (Keatley et al., 2020). Such tools would enable school officials to notify law enforcement departments a few weeks or months before shootings occur.

School shootings have generated heated debates on all sides of the socio-political divide. The reasons highlighted in the essay can be used as a benchmark for formulating solutions required to minimize or stop school shootings. The most viable solutions should focus on gun control and using effective and practical risk assessment tools.

Topic to Investigate

This presentation aims to delve into the critical issue of school shootings in the United States, examining the underlying causes that contribute to their alarmingly high frequency. Furthermore, it will address the political and social debates that have emerged as a result of this ongoing crisis. This research will not only explore potential solutions but also analyze their feasibility in order to reduce the number of school shootings plaguing the nation (Gammell et al., 2022). By understanding the complexities of this multifaceted problem, this research will provide valuable insights that can inform policy decisions and contribute to creating a safer environment for students and educators alike.

Research Objectives

The research objectives encompass a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing the high frequency of school shootings, including the critical role played by the lack of gun control and the prevalence of bullying in educational settings. In addition to identifying these contributing factors, the research will also focus on proposing potential solutions to address this pressing issue. These solutions may encompass measures such as limiting access to firearms, implementing violence risk assessments in schools, and promoting a culture of safety and inclusivity within educational institutions (Gammell et al., 2022). By adopting a multi-pronged approach, this research aims to provide a thorough understanding of the issue and offer actionable recommendations to curb the occurrence of school shootings.

Affected Populations

The impact of school shootings extends to various individuals and groups, encompassing not only students and school staff who are directly involved in these tragic incidents but also parents and families who bear the emotional burden. Furthermore, communities in which shootings occur experience a profound sense of loss and fear, and policymakers and legislators are tasked with the crucial responsibility of addressing this multifaceted issue. Consequently, the ripple effect of school shootings reverberates throughout society, necessitating a collective effort to understand and address the root causes and implement effective preventative measures.

Limitations of the Populations to Be Studied

When examining the populations or groups involved in school shootings, researchers encounter numerous limitations that can affect the analysis. These challenges encompass a wide range of factors, such as the diverse motivations among shooters, the difficulty in obtaining comprehensive information about the individuals involved, and the inherently subjective nature of personal experiences related to these incidents (Mielke & Farrington, 2021). Moreover, potential biases in the data sources used for research may also influence the findings. As a result, researchers must carefully consider these limitations when interpreting and drawing conclusions from their investigations to ensure a nuanced understanding of the complex issue of school shootings.

Characteristics of the Groups

In exploring the groups involved in school shootings, researchers must consider various characteristics that can provide valuable insights into the underlying factors contributing to these tragic events. These characteristics encompass the shooters’ demographics, which may reveal patterns or trends, the nature and extent of bullying experienced by the perpetrators, any mental health issues they might be grappling with, and their relationship with firearms (Burton et al., 2021). A thorough examination of these aspects can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of school shootings, ultimately informing effective prevention strategies and policy decisions.

Dates, Moments, and Episodes When the Problem Arises

The issue of school shootings manifests and impacts individuals and society through a multitude of channels. These include the concerning historical trends of escalating frequency, high-profile incidents that garner widespread public attention, and media coverage that has the power to sway public opinion on the matter. Additionally, political debates surrounding school shootings often play a crucial role in shaping policy decisions that may influence the course of action taken to address this complex and pressing problem (Keatley et al., 2020). Understanding these various aspects is essential for developing effective solutions and fostering a safer environment in educational institutions.

Reflection of the Impact

School shootings exert a profound impact across multiple dimensions, affecting not only the psychological well-being of individuals directly involved but also the coping strategies adopted by families dealing with the aftermath of such incidents. Moreover, the responses of communities grappling with these tragic events can reveal valuable insights into societal resilience and support networks. Furthermore, school shootings often serve as catalysts for national debates and policy changes as stakeholders strive to find effective ways to prevent future occurrences and ensure the safety of students and educational staff (Burton et al., 2021). A comprehensive analysis of these various aspects can contribute to the development of meaningful and lasting solutions.

Study Relevance

Investigating the phenomenon of school shootings holds great importance in unraveling the root causes and facilitating informed policy decisions. Through such research, the goal is to contribute to the formulation of effective prevention strategies, bolster school safety, and create a secure learning environment for students and educators alike (Keatley et al., 2020). By gaining a comprehensive understanding of this complex issue, it is hoped that the frequency and impact of these devastating events can be significantly reduced, fostering a more secure and nurturing educational landscape.

Surveys and Data Reviews to Complete Goal

In order to accomplish the research objectives, a multifaceted approach will be adopted, encompassing a thorough review of existing literature, in-depth analysis of case studies pertaining to school shootings, and conducting surveys within communities directly affected by these incidents. Furthermore, the research will scrutinize policy changes that have been implemented or proposed in relation to gun control and school safety measures (Mielke & Farrington, 2021). By utilizing these diverse methods, the research seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue and offer valuable insights for formulating effective preventative strategies and policy recommendations.

Research Background

A wide array of background and reference materials will be utilized in conducting this research, encompassing academic articles, news reports, official government statistics, and personal accounts from individuals who have been directly affected by school shootings. Drawing upon these diverse sources will help to provide valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of the issue, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to school shootings and the potential solutions that may help address this pressing concern in society.

Burton, A. L., Pickett, J. T., Jonson, C. L., Cullen, F. T., & Burton Jr, V. S. (2021). Public support for policies to reduce school shootings: A moral-altruistic model . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 58 (3), 269–305. Web.

Gammell, S. P., Connell, N. M., & Huskey, M. G. (2022). A descriptive analysis of the characteristics of school shootings across five decades . American journal of criminal justice , 47 (5), 818-835. Web.

Keatley, D. A., Mcgurk, S., &Allely, C. S. (2020). Understanding school shootings with crime script analysis . Deviant behavior , 41 (9), 1084–1096. Web.

Mielke, M., & Farrington, D. P. (2021). School-based interventions to reduce suspension and arrest: A meta-analysis . Aggression and Violent Behavior , 56 , 101518. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, March 2). School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them. https://ivypanda.com/essays/school-shootings-in-the-usa-and-reasons-behind-them/

"School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them." IvyPanda , 2 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/school-shootings-in-the-usa-and-reasons-behind-them/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them'. 2 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/school-shootings-in-the-usa-and-reasons-behind-them/.

1. IvyPanda . "School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/school-shootings-in-the-usa-and-reasons-behind-them/.

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IvyPanda . "School Shootings in the USA and Reasons Behind Them." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/school-shootings-in-the-usa-and-reasons-behind-them/.

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When the first shot is fired in a school shooting, the news stations rush to cover the massacre. News media personnel are not just the ones who report the crimes, they have a direct impact on Americans’ opinions and ideas following a shooting.

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School shootings are tragic events that have profound impacts on communities, families, and individuals across the world. Writing an essay about such a sensitive and significant topic requires a respectful, thoughtful, and well-researched approach. In this guide, we will outline the steps for writing a comprehensive and insightful essay on school shootings.

If you need to buy dissertation , essay or research paper about school shootings, consider reaching out for help from StudyMoose. Their team of experienced writers can provide you with a professionally crafted paper that is well-researched, sensitively handled, and tailored to meet your specific needs and academic standards. With StudyMoose, you can be assured of receiving a paper that not only meets the highest academic criteria but also approaches the topic with the gravity and respect it demands.

Choose a Specific Angle

Start by narrowing down the topic. School shootings can be examined from various angles – psychological, sociological, political, etc. Decide what aspect you want to focus on: the causes, the aftermath, prevention strategies, or a case study of a particular event, for example.

Develop a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should be a clear and specific claim that you will argue in your essay. This could relate to the causes of school shootings, the effectiveness of proposed prevention strategies, or the impact on survivors, for example.

Conduct In-Depth Research

Thorough research is fundamental. Use credible sources like academic journals, government reports, and reputable news outlets. Gather statistics, firsthand accounts, and expert opinions that can bolster your argument.

Organize Your Thoughts

Develop an outline that organizes your main points and evidence logically. This should include an introduction, body paragraphs (each with a specific point and supporting evidence), and a conclusion.

Approach the Topic with Sensitivity

When writing about a topic as grave as school shootings, it’s imperative to approach the subject matter with respect and sensitivity. Avoid sensationalism and be mindful of the tone and language you use.

Write, Revise, and Proofread

Begin writing your essay based on the outline, then revise it multiple times. Ensure your arguments are clear and your evidence is compelling and directly supports your thesis. After revising, proofread meticulously for grammar and style.

Cite Your Sources

Given the sensitivity of the topic, it’s essential that your information is accurate and reliable. Properly cite all the sources you used for your research in the required citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

Writing an essay about school shootings is a challenging yet important endeavor. It allows you to engage deeply with a critical issue, fostering a better understanding of the causes, impacts, and potential solutions associated with these tragic events. By approaching the topic with sensitivity, conducting thorough research, and crafting a thoughtful and well-organized argument, you can contribute to the broader conversation about school shootings in a meaningful and respectful way. Whether you are writing this essay as part of an academic assignment or a personal exploration, these steps can guide you in producing a paper that is insightful, impactful, and considerate of the gravity of this topic.

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School shootings

Risk factors for school shooters, race, gender, class, and school shootings, media portrayals of school shootings.

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school shooting , in the typical case, an event in which a student at an educational institution—an elementary, middle, or high school or a college or university—shoots and injures or kills at least one other student or faculty member on the grounds of that institution. Such incidents usually involve multiple deaths. Rampage school shootings are a type of school shooting where no single or specific individual is targeted by the shooter. Although school shootings occur worldwide, the United States has been the scene of the vast majority of the attacks, especially since the late 20th century.

Although school shootings have a long history in the United States, the 1990s were a pivotal point, with high-profile occurrences in such cities as Pearl, Mississippi (1997); West Paducah, Kentucky (1997); Springfield, Oregon (1998); and Jonesboro, Arkansas (1998). However, it was the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999 that brought particular urgency to the issue. In that attack, two students—Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold—killed 13 people before taking their own lives. The shootings garnered massive media attention and sparked a national debate on gun violence. In addition, some schools began taking extra security precautions.

Despite such efforts, school shootings continued, with multiple attacks taking place each year. In 2007 there were about 10 such shootings, the most notable of which occurred at Virginia Tech , where a gunman killed 32 people were killed before killing himself. Later high-profile attacks included the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown , Connecticut, where 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 27 people before committing suicide; shortly before the attack he had also killed his mother in their home. The shooting garnered particular attention due to the age of the victims: 20 of those killed were 6–7 years old. In 2018, a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida , killed 17 students and staff members. The attacker was arrested and pled guilty. In 2022, an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas , where over the course of an hour he killed 19 students, between the ages of 9 and 11, and two teachers. The gunman was eventually killed by a team of federal law enforcement officers.

Given the prevalence of such shootings, many journalistic and scholarly investigations focused on identifying the major risk factors for becoming a school shooter. Most studies identified extreme social rejection and bullying as key risk factors. Social rejection, perpetrated by peers, often included romantic rejection. Bullying took numerous forms, both verbal and physical, and was heavily characterized by actions and words meant to humiliate the victim. Other research-identified risk factors included the availability of guns and the consumption of violent media (especially violent video games, but also violent music, television shows, and films).

Significantly, a more recently identified risk of would-be school shooters was bullying and social rejection that challenged boys’ masculinity, particularly in the form of “gay-baiting.” Other masculinity-driven taunting of boys who became shooters included mocking their physical bodies with labels such as scrawny, little, short, fat, skinny, chubby, or small. Shooters were often the most bullied male members in the school, and the primary bullies of future school shooters were often the most popular male youths in the school, typically the male athletes and “preppies.” Thus, when the bullying victims became shooters, they often attacked the popular males who bullied them. However, the shooters were also likely to attack others with low status in the school, and it was not unusual for school shooters to espouse racist (e.g., Nazi) dogmas .

In addition, it was noted that some of the shooters suffered from psychological problems. In the case of Newtown’s Lanza, medical experts had diagnosed him with various psychiatric disorders, but they had largely been untreated. Cho also had a history of mental illness , and in 2005, two years before his attack at Virginia Tech, a court had found him to be a danger to himself.

The majority of school shootings are committed by white middle-class males living in suburban or rural areas. In attempting to explain this phenomenon, some researchers argued that African American parents recognized the need to prepare their children to face not only bullying but also humiliating racist comments and acts from the dominant culture . They frequently emphasized to their children that racist behaviours are wrong and that their children need not feel alone in their struggle.

Research on the predominantly or exclusively white communities where the white male middle-class school shooters resided painted a very different picture. Parents and school staff in these areas indicated that they offered little or no opportunity either to stop the intense bullying or to help the victims process the emotions and identify strategies for responding. Because the boys were sometimes ashamed to report these violations of their masculinity, parents and school staff were often ignorant of, or ignored, the daily demoralizing, humiliating, and taunting environments embedded in the school and community cultures where the white school shooters lived. Thus, some future school shooters were left to determine on their own how to negotiate their feelings of intense rejection and discrimination relating to their social standing in their schools and among their peers—they were on their own in defending their sense of self in the context of their often extreme physical and verbal bullying and severe personal humiliation.

Research on media representations of school shootings suggested that in the case of white suburban school shootings, newspaper articles were written in a manner more likely to foster sympathy for the shooters. In the case of Klebold and Harris, the shooters at Columbine, they were often portrayed as bullied youths who were victims of a society inundated with violent video games and handguns, blocked from the entitlements their social status typically promised.

Articles on African American urban shootings, however, were found to be shorter, and they portrayed urban crime as “reality.” Furthermore, the research indicated that the media were more likely to stress the need to pursue the shooters and hold them accountable. For example, the media largely portrayed the 1992 school shooting by Joseph White—a 15-year-old African American male who shot and killed another 15-year-old black male and injured two other students at his Chicago high school—as random and without provocation. However, the resulting court case indicated the shooter was responding to the reality of the prevalent dangerous youth and gang culture in which he lived.

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