Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Northern Illinois University, Oikos University and Umpqua Community College. Most, if not all of these names are probably all to familiar to you, and unfortunately it is not for their academic successes or athletic teams. These schools have been the sight of mass killings by Active Shooters over the past decade. Ranging from elementary schools to colleges, these school shootings are responsible for a total of 82 deaths and 39 wounded.
Active shooter situations on school grounds is not a new concept. There have been shootings at schools as far back as I could find. However, the difference is, shootings on school grounds use to be one of two things, either targeted, meaning they came on campus with the intention of injuring/killing a specific person. Or, accidental, meaning someone brought a gun onto school grounds (for whatever reason) and the gun accidently went off. The idea of mass shootings and deaths at a school did not truly become a reality until the events that unfolded on April 20th, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado.
On that date, two students walked into Columbine High School with the intent to kill as many as they could and in the end, killing themselves. They were responsible for the death of 15 people and injuring 21 before taking their own lives. This event rocked
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Tech shooting, is the sharing of information between departments, administration, faculty, etc. in regards to students’ mental health issues. Prior to Va. Tech, counselors, faculty etc. did not share information regarding students’ mental health concerns due to fear of violating privacy protection laws. This is a big reason WHY the Va. Tech shooter was able to carry out his shooting. Many were aware that he had underlying mental issues but because no one shared these concerns with one another, they were not addressed, he was not removed from the school, and eventually was able to kill 33