Crisis Management in School Shooting Situations: The School—A Forgotten Factor in the Equation

School Violence: A Cross Cultural Analysis

“…All of these attacks took the form of a 'rampage shooting' and the tragic event is commonly known as "school shooting." Dumitriu (2013) shows that, contrary to to the popular belief that "a crazed killer enters a school and starts shooting," only a few of the attackers were, in fact, diagnosed with a mental disorder. Moreover, in most of these cases, their mental illnesses were diagnosed only during the trial by retrospective assessments by physicians who testified at the proceedings.…”

“…The analysis revealed that the organizational culture of Columbine High School (1999) was dysfunctional in its group dynamics, because it seemed to favor a certain "elite" (students who achieved exceptional athletic performance) -a fact that was a major stress factor for other students who did not possess such athletic abilities, including the shooters themselves. Another feature of Columbine's culture was its tolerance of verbal and physical violence; racist taunts; students' odd appearance (students wearing odd clothes); and violent writings (Dumitriu, 2013). As in all organizations, this culture was propagated by various values, rites, artifacts, and symbols.…”

“…Moreover, in most of these cases, their mental illnesses were diagnosed only during the trial by retrospective assessments by physicians who testified at the proceedings. A school shooting is, in fact, a multiple-victim event and an act of extreme violence that is perpetrated on the school's premises, generally by a school-related perpetrator (student, former student, teacher or outsider who has ties to the school or its community) who carefully plans in advance his or her act (Dumitriu, 2013). The school that is confronted with such an event faces a crisis situation.…”

School shootings as a multi-faceted phenomenon: Social-ecological model-based review

“…• Specificity: usually well-planned, attack on random victims, the act of violence is directed against the school, not particular students or school staff members. • Similarity: shares characteristics with other acts of violence, e. g. suicide, mass murder, gang-related violence (Dumitriu 2013). All research on school shootings is characterized by several specific traits.…”

A case study on threat assessment: Learning critical lessons to prevent school violence.

“…The principles, if implemented correctly, help school staff identify and evaluate students who pose a threat (Fein et al, 2004). Yet, little research examines how school officials implement the principles and guidelines for threat assessment with students of concern (Dumitriu, 2013), raising questions about the quality of the process and outcomes.…”