School massacre

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The Columbine High shooters caught on a security camera during their rampage

A school massacre is an incident of attempted mass murder, involving at least one actual death, that occurs at a school. Unlike other forms of school violence, there is usually no single target; the perpetrator's objective is to kill as many people as possible. Sometimes these events are perpetrated by students; in other cases, expelled students, alumni, or even total outsiders commit them. In the worst school massacre in United States history, the Bath School disaster, the perpetrator was a member of the school board.

In the United States, everyday school violence, such as beatings and stabbings, especially of the gang-related sort, is more common in working-class, inner-city schools, but student-perpetrated school massacres most often occur in middleclass suburbs where they receive the most media attention due to their severity in a brief period of time.

Like terrorist attacks, school massacres are very rare but traumatic. They receive extensive media coverage and often result in nationwide changes of school discipline and security policies.

The most widely publicized school massacre in the United States was the student-perpetrated Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

Staff and Students evacuate Columbine High School shortly after the Columbine High School massacre, which inspired many more school shootings and plots

Contents

\"Profiling\" school shooters

An anonymously-made quilt protesting against school shooters

A thorough study of all U.S. school shootings by the U.S. Secret Service warned against the belief that a certain "type" of student would be a perpetrator. Any "profile" would fit too many students to be useful, and may not fit the potential perpetrators. "The researchers found that killers do not 'snap'. They plan. They acquire weapons. They tell others what they are planning. These children take a long, considered, public path toward violence[link].

And there is no profile. Some lived with both parents in 'an ideal, All-American family.' Some were children of divorce, or lived in foster homes. A few were loners, but most had close friends. Instead of looking for traits, the Secret Service urges adults to ask about behavior: "What has this child said? Does he have grievances? What do his friends know? Does he have access to weapons? Is he depressed or despondent?"[Deadly Lessons: School Shooters Tell Why], description of Secret Service study. (October 15 2000) Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed April 8 2006.

Epidemics

Luke Woodham In Custody

A secondary danger of school shootings is that, like youth suicide, they have a tendency to inspire "copycat" incidents or even epidemics of the same behavior. After the Columbine massacre, for example, a number of American and Canadian high school students plotted "Columbine-like" attacks; the vast majority of these plots were half-baked and unlikely ever to be taken to execution; of those attempted, almost all were foiled. The Red Lake High School massacre in 2005 (Red Lake, Minnesota) was a notable exception, copying the element of a gunman in a black trench coat.

Although Columbine prompted a number of shooting plots, most deadly school shootings took place earlier, between 1996 and 1998. As of 2005, there are indications that China is experiencing its own epidemic of school violence. In China, most school killings involve knives; in the U.S., they involve firearms.

In contrast to Columbine, the 1927 Bath School disaster engendered no copycat attempts. Following the forty-five deaths in Bath, Michigan, there was much less media reporting on the event and no legislative response on any level other than local legislation to appropriate small amounts of money for the victims' families.

Significant dates

Every year threats are made on and around April 20, as some sort of a tribute to the Columbine High School massacre, and other historical events such as the birth of Hitler. Dozens of teenagers have been arrested since 2000 for plotting an attack on their school on that day.

Additionally, threats were recently made on the date of June 6, 2006, which translates to 6/6/06, which read 666, (associated with the devil in Christianity). Despite these threats however, there were no incidents of school violence on the day.

Notable school massacres

Bombing aftermath of Bath School disaster

Bath School disaster - Bath, Michigan, United States; May 18, 1927 (45 Deaths, 58 Injuries)
Poe Elementary School Attack - Houston, Texas, United States, September 15, 1959 (6 Deaths)
Cologne School Massacre - Cologne, Germany, June 11, 1964 (11 Deaths)
University of Texas at Austin Tower Massacre; August 1, 1966 (15 Deaths, 31 Injured)
Ma'alot massacre, Israel by DFLP gunmen (see [link]); 1974 (26 Deaths, 60 Injuries)
California State University, Fullerton Library Massacre; July 12, 1976 (7 Deaths)
École Polytechnique Massacre - Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 1989 (14 Deaths, 13 Injuries)
Stockton Massacre - Stockton, California, United States, 1989 (6 Deaths, 30 Injuries)
Dunblane massacre - Dunblane, Scotland, United Kingdom; 1996 (18 Deaths)
Heath High School massacre - Kentucky, United States; 1997 (3 Deaths, 5 Injuries)
Sanaa massacre - Sanaa, Yemen; 1997 (8 Deaths)
Jonesboro massacre - Craighead County (near Jonesboro), Arkansas, United States; March, 1998 (5 Deaths, 10 Injuries)
Columbine High School massacre - Jefferson County (near Denver and Littleton), Colorado, United States; April 20, 1999 (15 Deaths, 24 Injuries)
Osaka school massacre - Ikeda, Osaka prefecture, Japan; 2001 (8 Deaths, 15 Injuries)
Erfurt massacre - Erfurt, Germany; 2002 (17 Deaths)
Beslan school hostage crisis - Beslan, Russia; 2004 (344 Deaths, Hundreds of Injuries)
Red Lake High School massacre - Red Lake, Minnesota, United States; 2005 (10 Deaths, 15 Injuries)

Notable school shooters

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold

Other primary and elementary school killings

January 29 1979	San Diego, California	Armed with a .22 rifle she had been given for Christmas, 17-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer opened fire at Cleveland Elementary School. She wounded eight children and one police officer and killed two adults. When the six-hour incident ended, she was asked of her motive for the killing, to which she shrugged and replied "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day." Soon after, the Dublin punk band Boomtown Rats wrote the song "I Don't Like Mondays" which was based on the incident.
May 20, 1988	Winnetka, Illinois	30-year-old Laurie Dann walked into a second grade classroom at Hubbard Woods Elementary School carrying three pistols and began shooting children, killing eight-year-old Nicholas Corwin and wounding five others before fleeing. She entered a nearby house where she shot and wounded a 20-year-old man before killing herself.
September 26, 1988	Greenwood, South Carolina	19 year old James Wilson opened fire at Greenwood Elementary School, killing two eight year old girls and wounding nine others, seven of whom were children. He had been taking several psychiatric drugs at the time, including Valium, Halcion, and Xanax.
February 29, 2000	Mount Morris Township, Michigan	Armed with a .32 pistol he had stolen from his uncle's house, 6 year old Dedrick Owens fatally shot Kayla Rolland in the neck. This story is featured in the 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine.
June 1, 2004	Sasebo, Japan	A 11-year-old girl fatally slashed classmate Satomi Mitarai at Okubo Elementary School. This led to the creation of the Nevada-tan Internet phenomenon.

Other secondary school killings

December 30, 1974	Olean, New York	18-year-old honor student Anthony Barbaro blockaded himself into a third story classroom at his high school and opened fire on those below, killing three people and wounding eleven. He later hung himself while awaiting trial. A drama was written about the incident entitled Sniper.
January 21, 1985	Kansas	Armed with a M-1A Semi-Automatic Rifle and a .357 Pistol, 14 year old James Kearbey fatally shot his principal and wounded 3 other teachers and a student at Goddard Junior High School.
May 1, 1992	Olivehurst, California	Armed with a pistol, 20-year-old Eric Houston took hostages at his former high school, killing four people and wounding 10. His motive was his inability to find a good job due to the fact that he had failed a grade at school. He was given the death penalty for the shooting. The 1994 Hostage High is directly based on the shooting.
January 18, 1993	Grayson, Kentucky	17-year-old Scott Pennington fatally shot his English teacher and a school janitor with a pistol.
September 21, 1995	Rochester, New York	13-year-old Stephne Givens was fatally stabbed at Jefferson Middle School by a fellow student.
November 15, 1995	Giles County, Tennessee	Armed with a .22 Remington Viper, 17-year-old Jamie Rouse walked into the Richland School and shot two teachers in the head, killing one. He then fired at the football coach, but hit a 14-year-old freshman in the neck, wounding her.
February 2, 1996	Moses Lake, Washington	Armed with a high-powered hunting rifle and two handguns, 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis killed his algebra teacher and two students before taking hostages. He also shot a girl in the arm, who he released during the hostage situation. The incident ended when a teacher burst into the room and tackled him. Loukaitis is now serving life in prison.
February 2, 1996	Atlanta, Georgia	12-year-old David Dubose killed a teacher in the hallway of his school with a pistol.
January 27, 1997	West Palm Beach, Florida	13-year-old Tronneal Magnum shot and killed another student in front of his school.
February 19, 1997	Bethel, Alaska	Armed with a pump-action 12 gauge shotgun, Evan Ramsey killed a student and the principal of Bethel High School, and wounded two others. He is now serving a 198 year sentence.
October 1, 1997	Pearl, Mississippi	16 year old Luke Woodham stabbed and beat his mother to death, then took a lever-action rifle to Pearl High School where he shot into a crowd of students, killing his ex-girlfriend Christina Menefee and her friend Lydia Kay Dew and wounded seven other students. Woodham later claimed that he did not remember killing his mother.
December 1, 1997	West Paducah, Kentucky	14-year-old Michael Carneal carried five fully-loaded guns to Heath High School, shot at a prayer group, killing three students (Jessica James, Nichole Hadley and Kayce Steger) and wounding another five. Five of the victims were shot in the head, and three were hit in the upper torso. One of the wounded girls was paralyzed for life.
April 24, 1998	Edinboro, Pennsylvania	14-year-old Andrew J. Wurst went to the school graduation dance where he shot and killed a popular science teacher. He subsequently opened fire on more students, wounding another teacher and two classmates before he ran out of ammunition.
May 19, 1998	Fayetteville, Tennessee	Three days before graduation, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis fatally shot 18-year-old Nick Creson with a bolt action rifle. He then discarded the rifle and calmly watched Creson die.
May 21, 1998	Springfield, Oregon	Kip Kinkel opened fire with a .22 rifle at Thurston Senior High School, killing 2 students and wounding 25 before being tackled by a wounded student. His parents were later found at home, murdered by Kinkel. He is now seving 111 years in prison without parole.
April 28, 1999	Taber, Alberta, Canada	In both the first school shooting since Columbine and the first Candian school shooting in over 10 years, Todd Cameron Smith brought a sawn-off .22 rifle to W.R Meyers High School and shot two students, killing one.
October 20, 1999	Houston, Texas	During a fight between 14-year-old Estanislao Balderas and 13-year-old Samuel Avila at Deady Middle School, Baldera produced a screwdriver and fatally stabbed Avila with it.
November 20, 1999	Deming, New Mexico	A boy shot 13-year-old Aralecy Tena in the back of the head with a handgun at Deming Middle School. Tena died after being taken off of life support.
March 2000	Brannenburg, Bavaria, Germany	A 16 year old student fatally shot a teacher and then turned the handgun on himself but survived, and has been in a coma ever since.
May 26, 2000	West Palm Beach, Florida	13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill shot his English teacher, 35-year-old Barry Grunow, in the face on the last day of school.
March 5, 2001	Santee, California	Armed with .22 revolver, 15-year-old Charles Andrew Williams opened fire in a boy's bathroom at Santana High School, killing two students. He then exited the bathroom and shot at nearby students, wounding 13. Shortly afterwards he retreated back into the toilets where he surrendered to police.
April 24, 2003	Red Lion, Pennsylvania	14-year-old James Sheets fatally shot his school principal in the cafeteria of his middle school before committing suicide.
September 24, 2003	Cold Spring, Minnesota	15-year-old Jason McLaughlin shot Aaron Rollins and Seth Bartell at Rocori High School with a .22 pistol. Rollins died the same day; Bartell died October 10 of injuries sustained in the attack.
January 13, 2004	Den Haag, Netherlands	Murat D. killed Hans van Wieren, a 49-year-old teacher at Terra College.
February 2, 2004	Washington, D.C.	19 year old Thomas J. Boykin fatally shot 17 year old James Richardson at Ballou Senior High School. Boykin was later acquitted on the charge of murder[link].
February 3, 2004	Palmetto Bay, Florida	14-year old Michael Hernandez stabbed and slit the throat of 14-year-old classmate, Jaime Rodrigo Gough, while in a restroom at Southwood Middle School. Hernandez was tried as an adult, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. A search of his home revealed he had concocted plans to murder several classmates and even his younger sister. His journal revealed he was obsessed with perfection, and admired Hitler and the Nazis.
March 30, 2004	Gary, Indiana	Neal Boyd IV was fatally shot in the parking lot of Wallace High School by a fellow student.
August 4, 2004	Beijing, China	Xu Heping, a 51-year-old doorman with a history of mental illness, stabbed several students and teachers in Beijing University's Number One Hospital, killing a child and wounding 17 others, 14 of whom were children.
September 28, 2004	Carmen de Patagones, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina	Armed with his father's 9mm pistol, a 15-year-old boy opened fire on his classmates during a flag-hoisting, killing 3 students and wounding 5 others.
November 26, 2004	Ruzhou, China	With no apparent motive, an intruder stabbed eight students to death and injured four others at Ruzhou's Number Two High School in the sixth such incident in China in the past four months[link].
November 8, 2005	Jacksboro, Tennessee	After reports that a freshman had a handgun, the principal and two assistant principals confronted student Kenneth Bartley Jr., who opened fire on them, killing one of the assistant principals and wounding the two others.

Non-fatal school shootings and attacks

July 8, 1996	Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, England	Horrett Campbell, a 33-year-old man with paranoid schizophrenia, invaded a teddy bears' picnic being held at St Luke's Primary School and slashed three young children and four adults with a machete. Lisa Potts, a 20-year-old nursery nurse, was awarded the George Medal for saving children's lives despite suffering severe injuries.
October 1996	Queensland, Australia	Paul Streeton set six year old Tjandamurra O'Shane on fire in the playground of her school, burning over 70% of her body. The motive was apparently racism due to the girl's aboriginal background.
May 21, 1998	Houston, Texas	A 17 year-old’s gun accidentally discharged in his backpack, wounding a nearby girl.
June 15, 1998	Richmond, Virginia	14-year old Quinshawn Booker fired a pistol in a crowded hallway of Armstrong High School, injuring two adults, as other students were taking final exams.
May 20, 1999	Conyers, Georgia	15-year-old Thomas J. Solomon used a .22 rifle and .357 handgun to wound six classmates at Heritage High School before surrendering to a teacher.
December 6, 1999	Fort Gibson, Oklahoma	Armed with a 9mm pistol and carrying over 100 rounds of ammunition, 13 year old Seth Trickey opened fire on a crowd of students, wounding four.
March 7, 2001	Williamsport, Pennsylvania	An eighth grade girl injured another eighth grade girl at Bishop Neumann Junior-Senior High School. This was the first time a shooting occurred in a catholic school and one of only four known incidents in which the main perpetrator was female.
2002	China	A kindergarten doctor confessed to putting rat poison in salt at a rival nursery. 70 children and two teachers became seriously ill.
May 7, 2004	Randallstown, Maryland	18-year-old Matthew McCullough and 24-year-old Tyrone Devon Brown shot four students of Randallstown High School following a brawl with football players in a parking lot. One of the victims was left partially paralysed.
September 2004	Suzhou, China	A man armed with a knife and homemade explosives attacked 28 children at a kindergarten.
October 21, 2005	Saginaw, Michigan	16-year-old Clarence Russell III shot Daniel Foster in the halls of Saginaw High School. Russell[link] [link].
February 26, 2006	Roseburg, Oregon	15 year old Vincent Leodoro stole a 10 mm handgun from his stepfather's home and brought it to school where he shot 16 year old Joseph Monti in the back. When Monti fell to the ground, Leodoro shot Monti a further 3 times.
March 14 2006	Reno, Nevada	14 year old James Newman brought his father's revolver to Pine Middle School and wounded two students. He was sentenced to house arrest and community service, which outraged several members of the public when he was not sentenced to prison.

Foiled or exposed plots

May 25, 1999	Bridgman, Michigan	Bridgman, Michigan school shooting plot
March 2006	Sydney, NSW, Australia	After hearing of students planning to assault their suburban high school, the police searched a suspects house and found plans to bomb the school, along with books such as The Anarchist Cookbook, which the student was using to learn how to make a bomb.
March 2 2006	Muscatine, Iowa	Joseph Dewayne Titus a 17-year-old, attempted to bomb Muscatine High School. He was arrested at 6:45 am in his own home. Police later found homemade explosives, some of which had already detonated.
March 3 2006	Greenwood, Indiana	Three 15-year-old boys and one 16-year-old boy were arrested for attempting to hold Center Grove High School hostage using guns. Their claim was that they were tired of athletes making fun of them. [link]
April 20 2006	Riverton, Kansas	Five students, aged 16-18, planned to kill a dozen potential victims, including a staff member at Riverton High School. The students revealed on April 19th on MySpace.com that they were going to commit the school shooting. The five teenangers planned to be dressed in black trench coats and shoot out the school security cameras. Authorities arrested four of the students at their homes and the other on campus on April 20th when a woman alerted them to the postings on MySpace.com about the plot. When the students' homes were searched, guns, ammunition, and knives were found. Prosecutors will be charging the five students with conspiracy to commit murder. The school shooting was chosen to coincide with the anniversary date of the Columbine High School shooting and Adolf Hitler's birthday[link] [link].
April 22 2006	North Pole, Alaska	Six middle school students were arrested after it was revealed that they planned to kill students and faculty members. The students intended to use knives and guns, while also disabling the power and telephone systems at the school. Unlike most other school shootings, the students planned to kill selected students and faculty and then escape the school. The plot was exposed when a student told one of his parents about rumors of the upcoming school shooting, and the parent contacted the authorities. According to the authorities, the six students could be facing first-degree conspiracy to commit murder charges. [link]
April 23, 2006	Pearl, Mississippi	Two students from Pearl Junior High School were arrested and charged with making threatening statements to fellow classmates. They broadcast their intentions on the website Xanga, warning students not to go to class on May 1, 2006. On the website the students used the alias of Luke Woodham, the student who killed his mother and two students at Pearl High School in 1997. [link]
April 24, 2006	Puyallup, Washington	Brian Michael Evans, a sixteen year old student, was arrested after plotting to shoot people at his school. He was caught when he sent an instant message to another student, who reported him. The student had planned to attack the school and then commit suicide afterwards. In the message, he claimed that he wanted "to finally go out in a blaze of hatred and fury". When his house was searched, a homemade bomb, and a CD detailing how to make bombs, were found. [link]
June 2, 2006	Utica, New York	Two gangs at Proctor High School in Utica, New York were rumored to shoot at each other during school after one of the gang's members, Keith Moore was killed the night before. Most of the students either left the school or signed out, but nothing happened.

Other gun-related incidents in schools

May 4, 1970	Kent, Ohio	National Guard open fire on students at Kent State University during an anti-Vietnam protest, killing 4 and wounding 10. See Kent State University shootings for more information.
January 8, 1991	Richardson, Texas	Jeremy Wade Delle brought a .357 magnum to Richardson High School and committed suicide in front of his class of about 30 students. This incident inspired Pearl Jam's song Jeremy. [link] [link]
October 7, 2004	Newburyport, Massachusetts	A 15 year old boy committed suicide near his high school. He was reportedly despondent after breaking up with his girlfriend.
December 10, 2004	Nine Mile Falls, Washington	A 16 year old boy killed himself with a handgun in his high school and the gunshot sent the faculty into panic, causing them to lockdown the school. A canister containing fireworks, shotgun shells and rifle cartridges was later found in the boy's backpack.
January 13, 2006	Longwood, Florida	15 year old Chris Penley brought a handgun to Milwee Middle School, and held his class hostage for a short time before eventually being fatally shot in a bathroom by police. It was soon discovered that the gun was actually a pellet gun, causing controversy over whether his death was justified.

School shootings in popular culture

Films about school shootings

The Deadly Tower starring Kurt Russell
Elephant directed by Gus Van Sant
Bowling for Columbine directed by Michael Moore, documentary
Hostage High starring Rick Schroeder, Freddie Prinze, Jr., and Henry Winkler
Zero Day
Bang Bang You're Dead
Heathers
Duck! The Carbine High Massacre
Heart of America(Movie)

Films with school shootings

If..., directed by Lindsay Anderson, 1968
Massacre at Central High, directed by Rene Daalder, 1976
Toy Soldiers, directed by Daniel Petrie Jr., 1991
Home Room, directed by Paul F. Ryan, 2001
The Basketball Diaries, starring Leonardo Di Caprio

Documetaries

Plays

Columbinus

TV series featuring school shootings

Family Matters - Episode: "The Gun."
My So-Called Life - Episode: "The Gun"
7th Heaven - Episode: "Johnny Get Your Gun"
- Episode: "Time Stands Still, Part Two."
Chicago Hope
ER
Third Watch
Boston Public
Touched By An Angel - Episode: "Minute By Minute."
One Tree Hill - Episode: "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept."
The George Lopez Show - Episode: "George Finds Therapy Benny-Ficial." [link]
- Episode: "Grave Young Men."
The Shield
Joan of Arcadia - Season 1, Episode: 11. The Uncertainty Principle."
Static Shock - Season 2, Episode: 12. "Jimmy"

Songs about school shootings

Youth of the Nation was written in memory of the victims of school shootings

"The Ballad of Charles Whitman" by Kinky Friedman
"So Long" by Everlast
"Sniper" by Harry Chapin
"The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" by Julie Brown
"Rival" by Pearl Jam
"I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats (also covered by Bon Jovi and Tori Amos)
"Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D.
"Educated Hate" by Rorshack
"Stole" by Kelly Rowland
"The Anatomy Of a School Shooting" by Ill Bill
"Ticking" by Elton John
"To the Teeth" by Ani DiFranco
"Classtime Horror" by Madd Maxxx
"The Nobodies" by Marilyn Manson
"Ronnie" by Metallica
"Cassie" by Flyleaf
"April 20th" by Yellowcard
"Monday" by The Living End
"Rock the 40oz." by Leftover Crack

Additional Notes;

"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam is not about a school shooting, but actually about the true story of Jeremy Wade Dell, who committed suicide in front of classmates in 1991.
Several songs by Insane Clown Posse have been about attempting a school massacre.

Novels about school shootings

The Scarf (1947) by Robert Bloch (not a school shooting novel per se; contains elements of mass murder fantasies, especially one passage which is one of the earliest known sniper stories)
Rage (1977) by Stephen King
Hey Nostradamus! (2003) by Douglas Coupland
Project X (2004) by Jim Shepard
We Need to Talk about Kevin (2003) by Lionel Shriver
A Question of Blood (2003) by Ian Rankin
Give A Boy A Gun by Todd Strasser
Shooter by Todd Strasser
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre

References

[Teen Acquitted Of Murder in Ballou Shooting - The Washington Post (December 2004)]

External links

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