The Secret Service released its exhaustive report on school violence for 41 incidents 2008-2017, in Nov. 2019. I have invested several blogs in highlighting the findings for you. You can read it in its entirety at: https://www.secretservice.gov/protection/ntac/research/
A number of patterns surrounding school violence were observed:
Although not statistically significant, attackers who engaged in more planning behaviors caused harm to a greater number of victims: Mass attackers planned more than twice as much as 1-2 victim attacks.
These planning behaviors, as we have seen elsewhere, were observable to various people in advance of the attacks. Though this study indicates that it is statistically insignificant, we know that these attackers plan and the more detail, the more they are likely to advance the plan successfully.
Most attackers who targeted specific people had made a prior threat: About 90% of attackers who selected specific targets had made a threat prior to the attack. Less than 60% of attackers who targeted random individuals had made a threat in advance.
Again, gaps in reporting at the levels of students, school administration, law enforcement, and prosecutors. Students who feel the world is against them and they have no voice.
Although not statistically significant, a larger share of attackers who experienced a persistent pattern of bullying had bullying as a motive for carrying out the attack: Of the 20 attackers who experienced a persistent pattern of bullying, 12 (60%) had bullying as a motive, compared with one third who were not persistently bullied.
Statistically significant or not, we all know this is true.
Nearly all attackers primarily motivated by a desire to kill targeted random victims: Six of the seven attackers (86%) whose primary motive was a desire to kill targeted randomly. Only two of the seven attackers (29%) primarily motivated by a desire to kill had specific targets, compared with most individuals with a different motive. Five of the ten attackers (50%) who only targeted random victims were primarily motivated by a desire to kill.
Notice the general displeasure with life rather than with a specific individual.
Incidents in which attackers used firearms were significantly more fatal than those involving knives: While the majority of both types of attacks were nonfatal, nearly half of the firearm attacks resulted in one or more deaths, while only 2 of 16 knife attacks (13%) were fatal.
On the surface, Leftists would scream that this is why we need to eliminate guns. Of course, their desire to eliminate guns has nothing to do with school safety, but rather enforcing their power. Set aside for a moment that t is estimated that on he average there are nearly 2 guns for every America man, woman, and child, and confiscation, even if desirable, is impossible. What it really shows is that, when there is lethal force of any kind, it takes a superior force like a gun to defeat it quickly and decisively.
In total what the study on school violence indicates is that, among other improvements needed in normal values education, respect for life; in tracking and reporting on mentally unstable individuals; on taking the politics out of it and really institutionalizing dangerous people; above all, we must arm school personnel so that there is neve another mass attack, but if any, ones that are limited to one or two victims due to the successful intervention of deadly force.