A plethora of studies have appeared which argue that, prior to their attack, the perpetrators of school shootings had experienced intense conflicts and problematic relations (e.g. bullying) with peers and teachers, and were on the periphery of the schools' social life. This in turn resulted in the perpetrators' view of themselves as marginalized victims. However, methodological problems and inconsistencies mark many studies, and findings vary. In an attempt to clarify the role of perpetrators' negative social experiences with peers and teachers prior to their attack, we have undertaken a systematic search of the literature, including 35 international primary studies on school shootings. In selecting the studies we limited ourselves to ones which deal with at least two (Range: 2-39) cases in which a violent targeted attack was carried out by a current or former student who chose their school or university as the site of the attack. A total of 126 cases (128 perpetrators) from 13 countries (USA,

The standardized, indicated school-based prevention program "Networks Against School Shootings" combines a threat assessment approach with a general model of prevention of emergency situations in schools through early intervention in student psychosocial crises and training teachers to recognize warning signs of targeted school violence. An evaluation study in 98 German schools with 3,473 school staff participants (M age = 46.2 years) used a quasi-experimental comparison group design with three measurement points (pre, post, and 7 months followup) with schools randomly allocated to implementation conditions. The study found increases in teachers' expertise and evaluation skills, enhanced abilities to identify students experiencing a psychosocial crisis, and positive secondary effects (e.g., teacher-student interaction, feelings of safety).

The standardized, indicated school-based prevention program "Networks Against School Shootings" (NETWASS) combines a threat assessment approach with a general model of prevention of emergency situations in schools through early intervention in student psychosocial crises and training teachers to recognize warning signs of targeted school violence. The present review summarized the underlying program theory, gives examples from German cases of severe targeted violence, gives an overview of the program components, and a summary of the evaluation study and its results. Finally, the NETWASS crisis prevention approach is reflected with regard to its feasibility for the prevention of violent extremism.

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