Profile & Prevention
There are many different ways that people in general profile a school shooter. All include eerie and dark profiles to describe the shooter. What usually comes to mind when someone thinks of a school shooter includes dad caps, black trench coats, and black clothes. It is easy to generally profile someone as the “next school shooter”, but how do you know when someone truly has intentions of causing harm to their classmates using firearms and other weapons. I have asked several students and workers what they think a school shooter “looks like”.
I have asked many students and other role models including Lexus Downing, Ashley Downing, Macy Glover, and Ellie Steere several questions. They all sum down the same answers. My first question was, “ When you think of a school shooter, what is the first thing that you think of appearance-wise.” All answered a student in black clothing, someone with a blank or evil expression on their face, and a person who is skinny and Caucasian. When I asked what gender, they all answered male. My last question was “ Why do you think that it is always a white male?”, my sister answered, “the majority of the time there are shootings that is what it is like”. Being aware of those stereotypes is key, but also preparing for the unlikely is also important.
No one should just assume that since a student is a female and is a different gender, that they are not capable of being the next school shooters. We should all tend to all of the students needs female or male. Paying attention to both genders and multiple races behavior and problems in the past can weaken the strength of the stereotype that stands. As the Edweek states “So, while most shooters are male, schools should seek to be aware of the needs of all students, working to create a supportive environment and reduce social isolation, safety experts said. That’s because school shooters don’t usually “just snap,” and often hint at their plans in advance. Addressing school climate concerns is important for the educational success of all students, even if they don’t have violent intentions, researchers say.”
Many of the school shooters such as Nikolas Cruz and others all showed signs of having a mental illness or was being bullied from the start. Nikolas Cruz would tend to get into rock fights and had been involved in other violent acts. As said in the article “The Warning Signs Almost Everyone Missed” it says “Neighbors were raising concerns about Cruz as early as age 9, when he got in a rock-throwing fight with another boy. As he became a teenager, he showed a propensity for violence toward small animals, expressed enthusiasm about guns and knives and even began introducing himself as “a school shooter.” These signs could have been taken more seriously and they also do play a key role in the stereotype of school shooters.
It all starts with the kids but falls on to the schools. Maybe some of the kids who are doing these things, think the schools are not capable of preventing the issue as fast as possible, because there are not people who are reporting issues and acting immediately. It would help if schools start looking for problems, instead of waiting until problems escalate.
During the Columbine shooting, the shooters were able to take control for about an hour. They were described as wearing black trenchcoats which is a description that is listed in what was answered during the interviews. As said in the article “Columbine Shooter” on the History network, it says “at approximately 11:19 a.m., Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, dressed in trench coats, began shooting fellow students outside Columbine High School, located in a suburb south of Denver. The pair then moved inside the school, where they gunned down many of their victims in the library.” The shooting finally ended at about noon, after a lot of damage had been done. The shooters were in multiple conflicts with the law and should have been further searched and monitored so it could have been prevented.
Another stereotype of school shooters is how they go about their plan. When most think of how they do it, is usually gathering the students into large crowds and then going about their plan. For example, doing things such as waiting until lunch and until the cafeteria fills up, or pulling the fire alarm. There are many other plans that have been observed, but that is the first thing that you can think of when you think of a school shooter executing their plan. Like I said in the previous article, “Almost all of the school shooters have also expressed their plans to the public. Schools now need to focus more on the mental health of all students and look for key signs to prevent a terrible tragedy that could be least expected.”
We need to be aware of these stereotypes, but also do live by the rules that are not set and assumed. Being aware does not mean assuming someone is a school shooter by the way they dress, but acknowledging anyone who acts strange or suspicious. Anyone could be the next person or the next group of people to cause harm to the students and/or teachers of schools. These stereotypes don’t just come from our own mindsets but come from many examples and situations of an actual school shooting. Being aware of that can increase our knowledge of something that is beyond appearance.
