A Call For Real Change

 My heart is broken, and my mind is conflicted. I don’t ever want to see another mass school shooter massacre ever happen again. Of that, I’m certain we can all agree. Unlike the talking heads on tv and the masses online, I have zero interest in making this about politics. We need solutions that will help address the issues, not grandstanding or even bills aimed at winning votes rather than solving the problem.

Over 81 million people in the US own guns; 44% of all Americans live in a home with guns. There have only been 14 mass school shootings at K-12 schools since the 1970s. Given those numbers, it’s really hard to make an argument that it’s the accessibility that’s at issue here. It sounds like a commonsense move - guns are used to kill, so let’s eliminate guns, until you look at the numbers. I don’t know that you can really blame .000017% of anything for being the cause. 

Since more than 99.9999% of gun owners have never had their gun used in a school massacre, the real question is what makes .000017% behave differently than the norm and use them in this way. There is also not one weapon that has been used at these attacks - many different types of firearms have been used as well as weapons besides firearms. 

Mass school shooters are exactly who you think they would be. They are either current or former students of the school they attack. All shooters but one have been male. They were bullied & assaulted at the school they later attacked. They are described by others as being social outcasts, isolated, withdrawn, and angry. It’s never been the high school quarterback, the mathlete, or band geek, though the latter two are often bullied. 

The public school day experience has been so ingrained into our society over the past 100 years that adults usually dismiss struggles students face in their day at school. School bullying is something kids are often left to handle on their own - which more often than not just means the child must endure being tormented and sometimes assaulted day after day for years. You know, wives have been known to get away with murder when they kill their abusive husbands. Yet we are surprised when children, with their underdeveloped problem solving skills and long-term thinking, prove to have been at risk for the same actions when they feel trapped by abusers. 

It’s also worth noting that the children who are picked out by bullies are usually somewhat on the outskirts of the peer circles already, they usually are coming from a home that is disadvantaged already, they are often poorer kids, and kids with less family support. They are kids who are less likely to have the support resources to handle the situation and get the victim the needed mental health services they need to heal fully from the experience, not to mention the support needed to change their trajectory in some way so that they are not victimized again in the future.

This country has been sent a message loud and clear from these desperate and damaged perpetrators. Now I call on the adults to respond. We need to prevent children from growing up to be desperate and damaged by preventing abuse at home and at school. When students are bullied at school, they need to be removed from the situation. Ideally that would occur by removing the bully from the school premises, otherwise the bullied student should be moved for their own benefit and protection. Victims need to receive mental health counseling to help them deal with the experience of being bullied and the damage it has done. 

More than just attending to the victims after they have been hurt, we need to work on teaching children not to be unkind. We need to work on promoting safe, healthy families so children don’t go to school with anger in their heart and a need to knock others down. We need to promote acceptance and support, and discourage exclusion and unkindness. Teach by example by reaching out to someone you know who might need a friend. Let your kids see you interact with people from all walks of life, expose them to people different from your family starting at a young age so they will respect others. We need to normalize standing up for others, including those you may not know. Let’s value standing up for truth and right regardless of what others think. 

School Shootings - How Do We Stop Them?

 We’ve had 18 mass school shootings (meaning 4 or more people were killed) from 1979 to June 1, 2022. If we want to figure out how to stop these events from occurring, we first need to look at what has happened. Simply focusing on the issue of banning a certain weapon is not going to get us there. By examining the past shootings that have happened we see that more than 62 different weapons have been used in these attacks. Attackers have used all kinds of different knives, fire, Molotov cocktails, and explosives in addition to 40 different firearms. Three shooters used an AR-15 rifle and three shooters used Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols.

What else can we learn by examining these past attacks? One thing I noticed is that only two shooters at most were not either current or former students of the school they attacked; the two being Brenda Spencer who shot people at Cleveland Elementary School in 1979 and the man who shot the kids at Robb Elementary School last week. These current and former students were outcasts and experienced bullying at school. Most shooters are 17 years old, but ages range from 11 - 43 years old.

Bullying used to be something you were expected to “suck it up, buttercup,” back in the day. However, now we know that it can and often does negatively impact all areas of a victim’s life. Unless they’ve worked through their trauma, bullying victims often harbor deep anger and resentment of the people who hurt them, and everyone who complicity stood by while it happened. 

Online posts, blogs, and journals written by the perpetrator of these shootings usually paints the picture of an angry, isolated, outcast teen male with few friends, interests, or successes. All too often there were warnings before the attack - texts sent to friends, social media posts made showing weapons and sometimes a vague threat, lists or specific threats made by lonely, angry, socially in accepted young people.

I support some commonsense gun legislation, but I don’t think that laws will stop a law-breaker. If your intent is to commit multiple murders, laws are not going to deter or stop you. I don’t see a way to address this issue that doesn’t address the real root issue.

Below is a list of all the mass school shootings going back to 1979. Take a look and tell me what observations you’ve made while reading these synopses. 

January 29, 1979 - Cleveland Elementary School; San Diego, CA. 16 year old girl who lived across the street killed the principal and custodian were killed, 9 others were injured. She was arrested & sentenced to life in prison. Weapon: Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle.

January 17, 1989 - Cleveland Elementary School; Stockton, CA. A 24 year old former student killed 5 students and injured 32 others. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: Arson fire, Norinco Type 56S semi-automatic rifle, Taurus PT92 pistol.

May 1, 1992 - Lindhurst High School; Olivehurst, CA. 20 year old former student killed 3 students and 1 teacher, injured 10 others. Weapons: 6-shot 12-gauge Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun, Sawed-off .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle. 

May 21, 1998 - Thurston High School; Springfield, Oregon. 15 year old student killed his parents and then 2 fellow students, and injured 25 others. Weapons: 9×19mm Glock 19 Gen 2 pistol, Sawed-off .22LR Ruger 10/22 rifle, .22LR Ruger MK II pistol, 

May 24, 1998 - Westside Middle School; Jonesboro, AR. An 11 year old and a 13 year old student killed 4 fellow students and 1 teacher, injuring 10 others. Both shooters were arrested. Weapons: Charter Arms .38 Special revolver, Davis Industries .38 two-shot derringer, Double Deuce Buddie .22 caliber two-shot derringer, FIE .380 pistol, Remington 742 .30-06 rifle, Ruger .44 Magnum rifle, Ruger Security Six .357 revolver, Star .380 pistol, Universal .30 M1 carbine replica, .38 Special revolver,

April 20, 1999 - Columbine High School; Columbine, Colorado. 2 high school seniors killed 13: 12 students and 1 teacher. Shooters committed suicide in school library. Weapons: knives, explosives, and guns: Hi-Point 995 Carbine, Intratec TEC-9 Mini, Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, Stevens 311D double barreled sawed-off shotgun.

Oct 2, 2006 - West Nickel Mines School; Lancaster County, PA. 32 year old man killed 5 little girls and injured 3 others at Amish school. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: Browning BPS 12 gauge pump-action shotgun, Ruger M77 .30-06 bolt-action rifle, Springfield Armory XD 9mm handgun. 

March 21, 2005 - Red Lake Senior High School; Red Lake, Minnesota. 17 year old drop out killed grandfather & then 7 at school, injuring 5 others. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: Glock 22 semi-auto pistol, Ruger MK II semi-auto pistol, Remington 870 shotgun. 

April 16, 2007 - Virginia Tech; Blacksburg, VA. Undergrad student killed 23 people and injured 17; 6 died jumping out of windows. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: Glock 19 pistol, Walther P22 pistol.

February 14, 2008 - Northern Illinois University; De Kalb, Illinois. Former 27 year old student killed 5 students and injured 17 others. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: 9×19mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol,.380 ACP Hi-Point CF-380 semi-automatic pistol, 12 gauge Remington Sportsman 48 shotgun, .380 ACP SIG Sauer P232 semi-automatic pistol.

April 2, 2012 - Oikos University; Oakland, CA. 43 year old former student killed seven students and injured 3 more. Shooter was arrested on site. Weapon: .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with four fully loaded 10-round magazines.

December 14, 2012 - Sandy Hook Elementary School; Newton, CT. 20 year old former student killed 20 students and 6 teachers, and his mom. Shooter committed suicide. Weapons: Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle, Glock 20SF handgun, 22LR Savage Mark II bolt-action rifle.

June 7, 2013 - Santa Monica College; Santa Monica, CA. 23 year old former student shot and  killed 4 people, injured 4 others. Shooter was shot & killed by police. Weapons: Homemade AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle, Remington Model 1858 revolver. 

October 24, 2014 - Marysville Pilchuck High School; Marysville, WA. 4 students killed; 5 students injured; shooter was killed. Weapon: .40-caliber Beretta Px4 Storm Subcompact handgun. 

February 14, 2018 - Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School ; Parkland, FL. 17 year old expelled student killed 17 students and injured 17. Shooter was arrested after escaping the scene. Weapon used: AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

May 18, 2018 - Santa Fe High School , Santa Fe, New Mexico. 17 year old student killed 8 students and 2 teachers, 13 more were injured. Shooter was arrested on site. Weapons: Explosives, Molotov cocktail, 12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun, Rossi .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver.

Nov 30, 2021 - Oxford High School, Oxford Township, Michigan. 15 year old sophomore shooter killed 4 students, injuring 6 students and 1 teacher. Shooter was arrested. Weapon: 9 mm SIG Sauer SP 2022 semi-automatic handgun.

May 24, 2022 - Robb Elementary School; Uvalde, TX. 18 year old killed 19 students and 2 teachers, 18 more were injured. Authorities shot & killed shooter. Weapon:Daniel Defense (DDM4 V7) AR-15 style rifle. 

For those wondering, here is a complete list of the weapons involved in mass school shootings:

Arson fire

Explosives

Knives 

Knives

Two hunting knives

Molotov cocktail

AR-15 semi-automatic rifle

Homemade AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle

Sawed-off .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle

.38 Special revolver,

.45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with four fully loaded 10-round magazines

.40-caliber Beretta Px4 Storm Subcompact handgun

Browning BPS 12 gauge pump-action shotgun

Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle

Charter Arms .38 Special revolver

Daniel Defense (DDM4 V7) AR-15 style rifle

Davis Industries .38 two-shot derringer

Double Deuce Buddie .22 caliber two-shot derringer

FIE .380 pistol,

Glock 19 pistol

9×19mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol

9×19mm Glock 19 Gen 2 pistol

Glock 20SF handgun

Glock 22 semi-auto pistol

380 ACP Hi-Point CF-380 semi-automatic pistol

Hi-Point 995 Carbine

Intratec TEC-9 Mini

6-shot 12-gauge Mossberg Maverick 88 pump-action shotgun

Norinco Type 56S semi-automatic rifle

12 gauge Remington Sportsman 48 shotgun

12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun

Remington 742 .30-06 rifle

Remington Model 1858 revolver

Rossi .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver

Sawed-off .22LR Ruger 10/22 rifle

Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle

.22LR Ruger MK II pistol

Ruger .44 Magnum rifle

Ruger M77 .30-06 bolt-action rifle

Ruger MK II semi-auto pistol

Ruger Security Six .357 revolver,

Savage 67H pump-action shotgun

22LR Savage Mark II bolt-action rifle

9 mm SIG Sauer SP 2022 semi-automatic handgun

.380 ACP SIG Sauer P232 semi-automatic pistol

Springfield Armory XD 9mm handgun

Star .380 pistol

Stevens 311D double barreled sawed-off shotgun

Taurus PT92 pistol

Universal .30 M1 carbine replica

Walther P22 pistol