1. who? Mark Matta, D.O. Board Certified Psychiatrist
School Safety Summit
Slippery Rock University- Robert Smith Student Center
Mary 30th, 2018

2. Typology of school shootings
Rampage shootings
Mass murders
Terrorist attacks
Targeted shootings
Government shootings
“By the end of the day, a 17 y/o suspect, Dimitrios Pagourtzis– an introvert who had given off few warning signs– had surrendered and been taken into custody. Law enforcement officials said they found two homemade explosive devices left at the
school during the rampage.”
–NY Times 5/18/18
Rampage shootings—
Member or former member, such as a student, former student, employee, or former employee---Attack on school or group of students selected for symbolic significance, often to exact revenge on a community or to gain power.
Mass murders--Non‐member, typically an adult perpetrator, who is not a former student or employee--Attack on school institution or group of students for symbolic significance, often to gain power.
Terrorist attacks--Individuals or groups engaging in violent acts to advance political or ideological goals--Politically motivated attack on school or group of students selected for their symbolic importance.
Targeted shootings--Member or former member, such as a student, former student, employee, or former employee--Revenge targeted at individuals for some real or perceived maltreatment.
Government shootings--Government agent such as military or police--Response to student protest or riot behavior, often in response to a crisis of government legitimacy.
“We have what are often categorized as red-flag warnings, and here, the red-flag warning were either nonexistent or very imperceptible.”
Typology of school shootings

3. Can Human behavior be predicted?
I want to tear a throat with my own teeth like a pop can. I wantto gut someone with my own hand,to tear a head off and rip outthe heart and lungs from the neck. . .show them who is god. Eric Harris, Columbine shooter (Langman, 2009)
Trends in demographics
Similarities across events
Patterns of behavior
Mental Illness
White, middle class/lower middle class, rural and suburban locations, conservative states, and access to guns (number of guns has increased, but not the amount of people using them)
Can Human behavior be predicted?

4. Social science & psychological research
Psychological Theories of Cause
Social Science Theories of Cause
Individual causes and qualities
Community Contexts
Social & Cultural Contexts
Psychopathic
Psychotic
Traumatized
“The Ceremony” Theory
“Theatrical, tragic and pointless” (Fast 2008)
Individual causes and qualities
Mental illness-depresssion, SI tendencies, persanlity d/o, fixation w/ weapons
Males
Access to firearms
Romantic rejection—Texas
Victim of bullying (Research by Vossekuil, Fein, Reddy, Borum, and Modzeleski (2002) finds that a large majority of school shooters are the victims of bullying (Larkin, 2007; Newman et al., 2004).
Troubled home
Community Contexts
Exlusionary youth peer group dynamic
Intergroup conflict
Poor quality of student/faculty relationship
Intolerant community climate
Social & Cultural contexts
Masculine roles may script violent behaviors in boys
Conservative states
Strong conservative religious population
Widespread availability of guns
Violence in media as glorifying violence or sparking copycat crimes.
(Studies have shown that violent media does produce an increase in aggression)
Ceremonial theory=These events seem to be attempts to gain status and prestige.
Social science & psychological research

5. Homicides vs. suicides in schools
Research in School Shootings, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Pages: 60-80, First published: 18 July 2007, DOI: ( /j x)
The most current data about victimization in schools during the 2004–05 school year indicated that nonfatal incidents were many times more common, including victimization rates of 33 thefts and 22 violent crimes, including 4 serious violent crimes, per 1000 students. In comparison, fatalities in schools are extremely rare: only about 1 in 2,000,000 school‐age youth will die from homicide or suicide at school each year. Less than 2% of homicides of school‐age youth occur at school
Homicides vs. suicides in schools

6. One theory for media coverage is location of shootings, suburban/rural, middle class schools. Inner city schools are usually not media targets.
While the problem of school‐related shootings occurred across history, it was the intense media coverage of the famous incidents, including West Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Littleton, that created the public perception of school shootings as an emergent and increasing social problem. Much of this attention concentrated on rampage‐type incidents.
Is there a media hype?

7. It’s been happening everywhere…I felt – I’ve always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too.
Paige Curry, Student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS NY Times 2018

8. No unifying characteristic trait or behavior has been isolated.01
The media may overreact tending towards public perception. 02
School rampages are rare and data is limited. 03
When they occur, it is due to a complex array of multifactorial reasons. 04
We have learned…..

9. Thank you