The shooting rampage in Minnesota
is a tragedy that will leave many students and educators scrambling
to recapture a feeling of safety. Today, some kids around the country
are afraid.

18-year-old Nick Juliano says, “It’s pretty scary.
We have security guards here, but they aren’t armed. So it
would be very easy if someone were to come here and to try and
create an act like this.”

His classmate, Kate Sternstein says, “After Columbine everyone
said, ‘We have solutions, we know how to solve it, we’ll
put metal detectors in schools and we’ll do all these things
to prevent it…so to have someone walk in with a gun and
open fire, it’s scary to think that could happen to me.”

Experts say it’s tough to admit that we cannot guarantee
our children’s safety. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Paul Schenk
says, “The student in the case in Minnesota, went to a school
where there were metal detectors. That didn’t stop him. They
had guards. That didn’t stop him. There’s only so much
that we can do and still allow people to get on with the ordinary
course of business.”

He says after grief and fear, the next stage is separation. Dr.
Schenk says people will say things like, “My children don’t
go to a school with Indians so that won’t happen at my school,
or we don’t live in that part of the country, or we don’t
keep guns at home. The reality is it can happen unfortunately just
about anywhere.”

18-year-old Jason Harms says, “It makes me think a lot about
our school community and whether that could happen here. I can’t
help feeling like it wouldn’t. That everyone here is really
interconnected.”

And yet, as recent history has made clear, school violence can
happen anywhere. It is hard to predict.

Dr. Randall Flanery, a child clinical psychologist says, “If
you send me a hundred kids who say they’re going to hurt
somebody, 98% of them are not going to do it.”

But there was one warning sign. Accused shooter Jason Weise had
a dad who killed himself.

Dr. Schenk says, “The incidence in suicide later is much
higher in families where one member used that as a solution. So
by definition, it becomes a red flag that if there is a suicide
in the family, I’m going to want to pay more attention to
how the rest of the family is doing.”

According to witnesses, Jeff Weise, the suspect of
the school shooting at Red Lake High School in Redby, Minn., smiled and waved
as he shot five students, a teacher and a school guard before shooting himself.
The school shooting, which is the worst in the U.S. since Columbine High
School in 1999, occurred after the student had allegedly shot his grandfather
and his grandfather’s girlfriend. Acquaintances say Weise, 16, was
an introvert who held anti-social beliefs, but no one could’ve imagined
him doing what he did.

So what led to this tragedy? And what causes a person to punch,
kick, stab or fire a gun at someone else or even himself or herself?
No simple answers exist, according to the American Psychological
Association (APA), but people often commit violence because of one
or more of the following reasons:

• Expression: Some people use violence to release feelings
  of anger or frustration. They believe that no answers to their
  problems exist so they turn to violence to express their out-of-control
  emotions.
• Manipulation: Violence is used as a way to control others
  or to fulfill a desire.
• Retaliation: Some people use violence as a way to retaliate
  against those who have hurt them or someone about whom they care.
• Learned behavior: Like all learned behaviors, violent
  action can be changed. This isn’t easy, though. Since no
  single cause of violence exists, no one simple solution exists,
  either. The best a person can do is learn to recognize the warning
  signs of violence and get help when he/she sees those signs in
  friends or himself or herself.

In the case of youth, the APA cites these factors that specifically
contribute to teenage violent behavior:

• Peer pressure
• Need for attention or respect
• Feelings of low self-worth
• Early childhood abuse or neglect
• Witnessing violence at home, in the community or in the media
• Easy access to weapons

According to the American Academy of Adolescent & Child
Psychiatry (AACAP), some people think that making others fear them through
violence or threats of violence will solve their problems or earn them
respect. This isn’t true. People who behave violently lose respect.
They find themselves isolated or disliked, and they still feel angry and
frustrated. The AACAP suggests you teach your child the following immediate
warning signs indicating that a person may become seriously violent:

• Losing one’s temper on a daily basis
• Frequent physical fighting
• Significantly vandalizing or damaging property
• Increasing use of drugs or alcohol
• Increasing risk-taking behavior
• Making detailed plans to commit acts of violence
• Announcing threats or plans for hurting others
• Enjoying hurting animals
• Carrying a weapon

As a parent, you can take several steps to protect your child from
becoming the victim of a violent crime. The National Crime Prevention
Council suggests teaching your child the following safety rules and
responsibilities to help your child stay safe and prevent crime:

• Refuse to bring a weapon to school, refuse to carry a weapon
  for another and refuse to keep silent about those who carry weapons.
• Report any crime immediately to school authorities or police.
• Report suspicious or worrisome behavior or talk by other students
  to a teacher or counselor at your school. You may save someone’s
  life.
• Learn how to manage your own anger effectively. Find out ways
  to settle arguments by talking it out, working it out or walking
  away rather than fighting.
• Help others settle disputes peaceably. Start or join a peer
  mediation program in which trained students help classmates find
  ways to settle arguments without fists or weapons.
• Set up a teen court in which youths serve as judge, prosecutor,
  jury and defense counsel. Courts can hear cases, make findings
  and impose sentences, or they may establish sentences in cases
  where teens plead guilty. Teens feel more involved and respected
  in this process than in an adult-run juvenile justice system.
• Become a peer counselor, working with classmates who need support
  and help with problems.
• Mentor a younger student. As a role model and friend, you can
  make it easier for a younger person to adjust to school and ask
  for help.
• Start a school crime watch. Consider including a student patrol
  that helps keep an eye on corridors, parking lots and groups and
  instituting a way for students to report concerns anonymously.
• Ask each student activity or club to adopt an antiviolence theme.
  The school newspaper could run how-to stories on violence prevention,
  and the art club could illustrate costs of violence. Career clubs
  could investigate how violence affects their occupational goals.
  Sports teams could address ways to reduce violence that’s
  not part of the game plan.
• Welcome new students and help them feel at home in your school.
  Introduce them to other students. Get to know at least one student
  unfamiliar to you each week.
• Start (or sign up for) a “peace pledge” campaign,
  in which students promise to settle disagreements without violence,
  to reject weapons and to work toward a safe campus for all. Try
  for 100 percent participation.

You can also protect your child by ensuring that you have an active
role in his/her life. The National PTA suggests the following methods
for curing teenage violence through continued involvement in your
child’s life:

• Talk to your child. Keeping the lines of communication open
  with your child is an important step to keeping involved in his/her
  schoolwork, friends and activities. Communicating with your child
  does not have to be a game of 20 questions – ask open-ended
  questions and use phrases such as “tell me more” and “what
  do you think?” Phrases like these show your child that you
  are listening and that you want to hear more about his/her opinions,
  ideas and how he/she views the world. Start important discussions
  with your child – about violence, smoking, drugs, sex, drinking
  and death – even if the topics are difficult or embarrassing.
  Don’t wait for your child to come to you.
• Set clear rules and limits for your child. Children need clearly
  defined rules and limits set for them so that they know what is
  expected of them and the consequences for not complying. When setting
  family rules and limits, be sure your child understands the purpose
  behind the rules and be consistent in enforcing them. Discipline
  is more effective if your child has been involved in establishing
  the rules and, oftentimes, in deciding the consequences. Work together
  to set limits for behavior at home and at school. Remember to be
  fair and flexible – as your child grows older, he/she becomes
  ready for expanded rights and changes in rules and limits. You
  also need to model appropriate and positive behaviors. When parents
  say one thing and do another, they lose credibility with their
  children. Show your child through your actions how to adhere to
  rules and regulations, be responsible, have empathy toward others,
  control anger and manage stress.
• Know the warning signs. Knowing what’s normal behavior
  for your son or daughter can help you recognize even small changes
  in behavior and give you an early warning that something is troubling
  your child. Sudden changes – from subtle to dramatic – should
  alert you to potential problems. These could include withdrawal
  from friends, decline in grades, abruptly quitting sports or clubs
  your child had previously enjoyed, sleep disruptions, eating problems,
  evasiveness, lying and chronic physical complaints (stomachache
  or headaches). Know your child well, and know the early warning
  signs.
• Don’t be afraid to parent and know when to intervene.
  Parents need to step in and intervene when children exhibit behavior
  or attitudes that could potentially harm them or others. It’s
  okay to be concerned when you notice warning signs in a child,
  and it’s even more appropriate to do something about those
  concerns. Concerned parents should seek a diagnosis from a doctor,
  school counselor or other mental health professional trained to
  assess young people. And you don’t have to deal with problems
  alone – the most effective interventions have parent, school
  and health professionals working together to provide on-going monitoring
  and support.
• Stay involved in your child’s school. Show your child
  you believe education is important and that you want your child
  to do his/her best in school by being involved in his/her education.
  Get to know your child’s teachers and help them get to know
  you and your child. Communicate with your child’s teachers
  throughout the school year, not just when problems arise. Stay
  informed of school events, class projects and homework assignments.
  Attend all parent orientation activities and parent-teacher conferences.
  Volunteer to assist with school functions and join your local PTA.
  Help your child seek a balance between schoolwork and outside activities.
• Join your PTA or a violence prevention coalition. All parents,
  students, school staff and members of the community need to be
  a part of creating safe school environments for children. Many
  PTAs and other school-based groups are working to identify the
  problems and causes of school violence and possible solutions for
  violence prevention. When people work together for a common cause,
  great things can happen. According to the NCPC, the crime rate
  can decrease by as much as 30 percent when a violence prevention
  initiative is a community-wide effort. Find out what violence prevention
  programs or community groups are already working together in your
  area. Contact those that interest you the most and ask how you
  can join or support their efforts.

Help develop a school violence prevention and response plan. School
communities that have violence prevention plans and crisis management
teams in place are more prepared to identify and avert potential problems
and to know what to do when a crisis happens. The most effective violence
prevention and response plans are developed in cooperation with school
and health officials, parents and community members. These plans include
descriptions of school safety policies, early warning signs, intervention
strategies, emergency response plans and post-crisis procedures. The
U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice have developed
the resource ‘Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe
Schools” to help adults reach out to troubled children quickly
and effectively.

American Academy of Adolescent & Child
Psychiatry
American Psychological Association
National Center for Victims of Crime
National Council on Crime and Delinquency
National Crime Prevention Council
National PTA
National Education Association