Preventing Violence Starts with You

In the aftermath of Aurora, CO one of the most important questions that comes up is, "How can these incidents be prevented?"

The story from Oklahoma, where a cab driver heard a 17-year old boy talk about a Columbine-style massacre, gives us a clue.

The Denver Post also printed an article by Delbert Elliot and Beverly Kingston that, other than an obvious plug for their product, raised a great point.  "A key violence-prevention strategy is good surveillance and intelligence."  


The Secret Service published a study in 2002 that examined school attacks from 1974 through 2000.  One of its major findings was that, "...school shootings are rarely impulsive acts. Rather, they are typically thought out and planned out in advance. In addition, prior to most shootings other kids knew the shooting was to occur - but did not alert an adult."

There are four phases to emergency management: mitigation/prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.  While taking courses for a Master's Certificate in Homeland Security this past spring, I learned that there are voices calling for prevention to become a separate phase, as it deals only with man-made incidents.  Whether it does or not remains to be seen, but in our current climate, it takes on increasing significance.

Violence rarely, if ever, happens in a vacuum.  The US Department of Homeland Security learned that there are signs that are displayed prior to the incident.  If you compare school attacks to terror attacks, there are seven signs of an impending attack: 1) Surveillance, which may include the use of cameras (either still or video), note taking, drawing diagrams, or annotating on maps; 2) Elicitations, where people attempt to gain information about school operations, capabilities, or people; 3) Tests of security, which are attempts to measure reaction times to security breaches or to penetrate physical security barriers or procedures in order to assess strengths and weaknesses; 4) Acquiring supplies, such as purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons, ammunition, etc; 5) Persons out of place, which is students who don’t seem to belong in the that part of the school; 6) Dry run/trial run, where people and/or equipment are put into position and moving them around according to plan without actually committing the terrorist act; and 7) Deploying assets, where people and supplies are getting into position to commit the act. This is the last chance to alert authorities before the terrorist act occurs.

What needs to be done is to create the kind of climate in schools where kids feel comfortable in approaching an adult and telling them of the signs they have seen that worry them, and to have school personnel who are confident in their abilities to recognize the seriousness of the information they are hearing, and to act properly on that information.

This can involve quick-fixes like hotlines and anonymous drop boxes, which are good ideas, but should involve the long-term actions that develop trusting relationships with students.  Students will not bring forth information if they feel that their information will be ignored, or worse yet, when they get in trouble for bringing it up.  That information is useless if staff members do not act appropriately on it.

Given the increasing number of stories like Aurora and Oklahoma, wouldn't it be prudent to take the time to develop the measures that can prevent such tragedies are occurring?

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Teen Arrested after Cab Driver Alerts Police to Alleged Massacre Plot

Oklahoma
An Oklahoma high school student was arrested after a cab driver reported hearing him plot a Columbine-style shooting at his school, police said.

Timmy Eike, 18, who would have been a senior this fall at Woodward High School, was arrested Tuesday after police found a shotgun, rifle and 250 rounds of ammunition in his bedroom, according to KWTV, News 9.

According to KWTV, court records show Eike bought those weapons illegally in the past month.

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Bonita High Threatened With 'Columbine-Type Shooting,' Police Chief Calls It a 'Hoax'

La Verne, CA
Bonita High School's June 7 graduation ceremony was threatened with a 'Columbine-type shooting,' Chief Scott Pickwith of the La Verne Police Department revealed at a city council meeting tonight.

However, even though Pickwith said the threat was certainly a hoax, he noted that the school and the police took the threat 'seriously.' La Verne police officers were present at both the graduation rehearsal and the ceremony itself.

Pickwith said most of the city's small police force was mobilized to counter the threat.

Louisiana High School Student Arrested For Terrorizing

Louisiana
A 17-year-old student at Parkway High School has been arrested after school officials found a posting on Facebook describing violent threats to the high school.
Nolan Asszony, 17, of the 2000 block of Ray Avenue in Bossier City, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of terrorizing after posting a detailed sketch and information of planned acts of violence at the school that would take place at Parkway High School at a later date, a release from the Bossier sheriff’s office says.
Asszony told deputies he made the posting to Facebook around 4 p.m. Tuesday “so people could see how he draws and what he’s into,” the release said. Deputies say the posting went into great detail on how Asszony would carry out his plan of violence.

Police: Easton High School Attack Plot Thwarted

Easton, MD
Authorities have arrested an Easton High School student accused of planning on using explosive devices and firearms to attack the building and students.

The Talbot County Sheriff's Office reports that on Wednesday, April 25, Easton High School officials received information that a current student at the school was planning an attack on the building and students. The information was initially reported to the Easton Police Department. This initial report and information later led to a location in Talbot County, which involved the Sheriff's Office and the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.  The Sheriff's Office later took primary control of the investigation.

Investigators said that through the course of initial and followup interviews, the student at the center of the threat was interviewed and subsequently arrested on April 25. The student was detained and charged as a juvenile with the crimes of false statement to detonate an explosive device, and manufacture and/or possession of a destructive device.  The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services took custody of the child on the day of the arrest. The student was held in detention pending a formal juvenile detention hearing in the Talbot County Circuit Court.

Another Columbine-Type Threat

Spokane, WA

Spokane police have arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of making threats and scrawling graffiti about an upcoming "Columbine-style shooting" at his Spokane high school.

Kudos to Spokane law enforcement for averting a potential tragedy.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/04/17/2111562/spokane-teen-accused-of-plotting.html?storylink=rss#storylink=cpy