Teen Violence

School shooting statistics indicate while school shootings have taken the spot light in American media, school shootings have occurred in public institutions of learning for decades. School shooting statistics show that school violence is often attributed to cases of bullying among students.

In 1999 when the Columbine school shooting took place in Columbine, Colo. media outlets throughout the nation covered the story for weeks. The nation was shocked at the brutality and malice that was used to end the lives of one teacher and 12 high school students, as well as injuring 21 others. In the final culmination of the massacre, the two shooters ended their own lives. Many wonder if this incident as well as the dozens of other school shooting incidents that have taken place in the past decade since Columbine could be stopped. Many schools are taking aggressive precautions to help reduce the school shooting statistics and to end violence in schools.

School Shooting Statistics: 

One of the first incidents of deadly school violence recorded in the United States took place in 1927 in Bath Township, Michigan. In this tragic event, 45 people were killed and 58 were injured when the school was bombed. Unfortunately more school shootings and bombings have taken place since then in both high schools as well as universities throughout the nation. Many of these shooters that cause these deaths and injuries are often found to be described as "different," a "loner," or is often bullied by other students. While these causes of the student's pain is tragic, it is never a reason for the student to resort to killing and injuring other students. School shooting statistics show that about 9.3 schools in the United States have had school shooting incidents over the past few decades. While these numbers are fairly low, there is no reason that a school shooting should ever take place.

This is why so many schools, parents and teachers are taking aggressive efforts to ensure students are unable to bring weapons to school. Many schools require regular locker and back pack checks. Other schools will also add metal detectors at the front doors of the school to prevent students from bringing guns, knives and other deadly weapons into the building. While some students might be able to get away with bringing these weapons to school, most schools make a huge effort to ensure it does not happen by providing extra school safety and security measures. Many schools also employ full-time security to keep watch on campus in case something does occur. 

Unfortunately because bullying is more prevalent than ever in most American schools, teachers and parents are concerned about the growing rates of violence that occur because teens and children are looking to act out in violent ways against their fellow students. Ultimately the goal is to prevent these cases of bullying from occurring as well as violent tendencies in children and teens.

It is important for parents to ensure that if they own firearms to make sure they are out of reach and hidden from their children. Parents should also confront their teens to find out if they are being bullied or are bullying other students. It is important for many of these types of aggressive behaviors to be stopped or recognized at the home level so the problems can be quickly solved instead of escalating into huge problems that result in tragedies and loss of life in cases like school shootings. If teens are ever afraid for their safety or know of a friend that has brought a gun or weapon to school, it is important to tell an adult right away. Teens might feel like they are betraying their friends by telling an adult, parent or teacher, but in reality they likely might be helping save lives. 

Parents should make sure they are keeping the doors of communication open in their children's life to help see the warning signs of school violence, aggression, bullying,etc. before the situation turns into something drastic. Many teens just need attention for the struggles they are facing and don't know how to express themselves. Unfortunately many take the pain they are feeling and reflect that pain on others through violent acts. These are issues that can be prevented if caught early on. Many parents, students, teachers and others can catch these warning signs of depression, anxiety, poor academic performance, isolation, low-self esteem, etc. and get that teen help before matters turn worse. Making efforts to prevent these tragedies can help reduce school shooting statistics and bring safety back into schools. 

Sources: nssc1.org