A Qualitative Investigation of Averted School Shooting Rampages

Abstract

The recent rash of school violence has again brought to the fore a need to investigate ways to enhance the safety of America’s children. With its emphases on prevention and collaboration with schools, a counseling psychology perspective can add much to the growing body of research on lethal school violence. This article aims to understand school violence prevention from the perspectives of school personnel who intervened to avert deadly shootings. As such, this study used consensual qualitative research methodology. Six primary domains emerged from the data, including school conditions, intervention, crisis planning, relationship, prevention efforts, and problematic issues. A seventh other domain captured important data that did not fit with the aforementioned six domains. From all domains, data were collapsed into 42 core ideas.

The successful resolution of armed hostage/barricade events in schools: A qualitative analysis

“…For example, Daniels et al (2006) are analyzing data of a qualitative study of averted school shooting/bombing rampages. This research, too, must consider factors related to the successful resolution from the perspectives of school and police personnel as well as from the plotters' perspectives.…”

Armed Employees and School Policy: The Issues and Perspectives of School Employees Regarding Armed Personnel in a Rural High School Setting

“…It was also made evident that while previous research has made it clear that building positive relationships and increasing student connectivity are key components toward decreasing school violence, the purpose of this research was to discover the perspectives of employees in regards to responding to a school shooting that was already in progress. (Daniels et al, 2007;Daniels et al, 2010;Bliss et al, 2006).…”

“…Previous research has suggested that in order to prevent school shootings it is important that schools focus on developing relationships and making sure students feel connected to their school, however this is something that can take years to develop. (Daniels et al, 2007;Daniels et al, 2010;Bliss et al, 2006).…”

“…School shooters tend to be narcissistic, have a lack of empathy & conscience, and display sadistic behavior (Langman, 2009). Perhaps the most condemning characteristic for schools however, is that roughly 60% of the time the shooter(s) had told someone else about their plans (Daniels et al, 2010;Fritz & Radka, 2010;JeeHae, 2013;Kanan, 2010). When this occurs, school shooters will not only tell someone else about their plans but they will usually be very specific and then obtain weapons afterward (Department of Justice, 2002).…”

“…This intermediary serves to benefit both the school and the police department: the school benefits in this relationship since the school environment is directly impacted by the community environment (Johnson, Burke, & Gielen, 2011); law enforcement benefits from this relationship because schools are often manifestations of larger community issues . In studying averted school shootings, some characteristics that those schools had in common were: a strong connection between the schools and local law enforcement; interventions occurred at the family, neighborhood, and school levels; and communication along with relationships were key in preventing a tragedy (Daniels et al, 2007;Daniels et al, 2010). Parental and community involvement can also help to decrease fears that students may have in regards to school violence (Hong & Eamon, 2012) Another step that some schools have taken to reduce violence and create a safer environment came through the use of metal detectors.…”