Targeting School Shootings: Using Three Warning Signs - Animal Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Conduct Disorder - to Help Prevent Massacres

Authors

Phyllis Coleman, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Whether packing a superhero lunchbox for their five-year-old’s first day in a public kindergarten just down the block or preparing their twenty-two-year-old for his freshman year at an Ivy League law school 2,000 miles away, parents across the country are terrified by images of panicked children running from schools while an active shooter tries to slaughter as many students, faculty, and staff as he can. But, despite these widespread fears, and numerous governmental and other investigative studies, the only real consensus seems to be that these are horrific, destructive attacks that should stop. The difficulty lies in finding agreement about how to prevent them. This is not surprising, as people cannot even agree as to whether these massacres are a “common occurrence” that exposes a “troubling epidemic,” or merely a “statistical rarity” that reveals “[s]chools are just about the safest place in the world for kids to be.

Recommended Citation

Coleman, Phyllis (2023) "Targeting School Shootings: Using Three Warning Signs - Animal Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Conduct Disorder - to Help Prevent Massacres," Widener Commonwealth Law Review: Vol. 32: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://cwldc.widener.edu/wclr/vol32/iss1/3