School Shootings

School shootings have taken their place as a cultural phenomenon in the international community. Though one of the earliest recorded events took place in 1913 in Bremen, Germany, it was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s when these events became more “culturally mainstream.” This shift came in part to high profile cases in the United States, including shootings at Columbine High School (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), and Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012), and events like the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (2018) and Robb Elementary School (2022) have reinforced the saliency of the phenomenon. Several high profile cases from other countries––such as the Dunblane, Scotland, shooting (1996), Erfurt, Germany, massacre (2002), and Jokela school shooting in Finland (2007)––also contribute to the heightened awareness of the phenomenon. The study of school shootings is a relatively new topic of interest, yet it invites research from a number of disciplines, including sociology, criminology and criminal justice, education, public health, communications, and psychology. The multidisciplinary body of research on school shootings takes a number of different approaches to analyzing this topic. A number of books have been written, including those that focus on specific events, such as Columbine and Sandy Hook. Technical reports have been offered, aimed at understanding these and other past events, while also providing threat assessment models and other useful information for practitioners, policymakers, and members of the education community. Articles about school shootings from a variety of perspectives have appeared in both edited volumes as well as special edition journal issues. In an effort to prevent the next episode, a number of researchers have examined both individual and societal-level factors that may assist in profiling school shooters. Similarly, examinations into risk and threat assessment, policy changes, and preventative strategies are also important areas of research when examining the aftermath and legacies of such events. These shootings have the ability to generate fear and concern among the general public, despite whether they are directly or indirectly aware of these events, and such reactions typically are perpetrated by the media. As such, one of the broadest areas of inquiry with regard to school shootings aims at understanding the media construction of both the shooters and the events themselves. To answer many of the difficult and often unanswered questions about these events, some researchers have turned to utilizing theory for potential explanations and understanding. Finally, as school shootings are not solely a problem for the United States, both comparative and international approaches have been used to understand this global problem. When taken individually, these works offer important insights into their relative perspectives; yet, when examined collectively, these works provide a robust and more complete understanding of the phenomenon of school shootings.