What Have We Learned About Preventing School Shootings?
On November 30, a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School in Michigan killed four students and injured seven others. Both the student and his parents are presently incarcerated and charged with numerous crimes.
In the days following this tragic event, questions arose regarding what the parents and school might have done to prevent this from happening. The parents are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and a federal lawsuit, perhaps the first of others to follow, has been filed against the school district alleging that more could have and should have been done.
Warning signs and preventive actions.
With each school shooting we again find ourselves asking ourselves what can be learned in terms of warning signs and actions that could be taken. The September Mental Health Matters column in AJN, which I co-authored with Arlene Holmes—whose son James was responsible for the mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012—highlighted warning signs that might indicate potential violence by someone experiencing mental health problems.
What can be learned from the events that unfolded in Oxford that could be applied to a similar scenario, perhaps heading off another tragedy? The following checklist compiled by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization that aims to educate […]