# data[].attributes.headline
Not everyone's looks match their mentality- one of the "jocks" at your school could be mentally unstable and could target other students.

# data[].attributes.subject
Not everyone's looks match their mentality- one of the "jocks" at your school could be mentally unstable and could target other students.

# data[].attributes.headline
It is quite often seen, even in my own school, that the "popular kids" would label the more isolated students as school shooters, only for their appearance.

# data[].attributes.subject
It is quite often seen, even in my own school, that the "popular kids" would label the more isolated students as school shooters, only for their appearance.

# data[].attributes.headline
People tend to make assumptions on what a school shooter would look like. Although there does seem to be a trend of common physical traits, there have been some surprising occurances.

# data[].attributes.subject
People tend to make assumptions on what a school shooter would look like. Although there does seem to be a trend of common physical traits, there have been some surprising occurances.

# data[].attributes.headline
Characteristics school shooters tend to have in common.

# data[].attributes.subject
Characteristics school shooters tend to have in common.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Researcher suggests schools should address adolescent masculinity issues to help prevent rampage shootings

Heidelberg | New York, 19 October 2017

Boys involved in school shootings often struggle to live up to what they perceive as their school's ideals surrounding masculinity. When socially shunned at school, they develop deep-set grudges against their classmates and teachers. The shooters become increasingly angry, depressed, and more violent in their gendered practice. A shooting rampage is their ultimate performance, says Kathryn Farr of Portland State University in the US. In a study published in Springer's journal Gender Issues, she investigated the characteristics shared by 31 school boys involved in 29 mass shootings at American schools between 1995 and 2015.

Farr's analysis suggests that boys' social status in middle and high school is determined in great part by peers' acceptance of them as "appropriately masculine." Their guidelines for gender appropriateness are found in a set of Adolescent Insider Masculinity norms that describe masculinity as the ideal that men are cool, heterosexual and tough, shy away from "sissy stuff" and embrace activities, behavior and mannerisms that are typical of "guys". Falling short of this ideal sets some boys up for school-situated problems and reactions that are typical of adolescents.

Ten of the 31 shooters had a history of serious psychiatric problems, while another ten grew up in extremely abusive households. The remaining eleven boys tended to react explosively and inappropriately to incidents that they perceived as unjustly discrediting them. Twenty-five boys were white and all but one identified as heterosexual.

"Many of the adolescent shooters had personal troubles that affected their ability to manage their social performances at school," explains Farr. "Moreover, the potential rampage of a boy with severe mental illness and rampage-related risk factors could be especially injurious."

Most were repeatedly and publicly tagged with homosexual and feminized epithets such as being a "homo", a "cry baby" or a "fag". All 31 shooters were made aware of their failings through their classmates' emasculating bullying, rejection by girlfriends, and marginalization in general. Some reported being physically and sexually victimized by their male peers.

According to Farr, the shooters' gender performances at school were typically 'off', either not meeting or exaggerating the Adolescent Insider Masculinity imperatives. They saw the responses they received as undeserved injustices that denied them their masculine entitlements. Most used dramatic displays of masculine bravado to try and show that they were indeed tough and powerful. They, for instance, brought guns to school, or emphasized violent themes in their writings, drawings, and class presentations. Almost all had bragged about their rampage plans. Such behavior violates the moral boundaries of masculinity, and further damaged the boys' already low social status.

Farr believes that schools should teach their students about such shooting incidences, and the possible warning signs that need to be reported. In-school and referral services should be provided. School curriculums should also address adolescent masculinity issues and discussion-based forums about issues of gender should be instigated.

"How often are adolescent boys given the opportunity to talk with one another about masculinity norms and their challenges, including norms embracing violence or the effects of emasculating bullying? Such classroom-based discussions could also help schools identify, provide and give value to activities that appeal to boys whose interests and skills lie outside the norms of insider masculinity," Farr says.

She warned against unnecessary stigmatizing of troubled adolescents: "Although many boys display at-risk behaviors and attitudes, very few will actually become school shooters."

Reference: Farr, K. (2017). Adolescent Rampage School Shootings: Responses to Failing Masculinities by Already-troubled Boys, Gender Issues DOI 10.1007/s12147-017-9203-z

Further Information

Services for Journalists

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.

Contact

Stella Müller | Springer Nature | Communications

tel +49 6221 487 8414 | stella.mueller@springer.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What characteristics do school shooters share?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Researcher suggests schools should address adolescent masculinity issues to help prevent rampage shootings Heidelberg | New York, 19 October 2017 Boys involved in school shootings often struggle to live up to what they perceive as their school's ideals surrounding masculinity. When socially shunned at school, they develop deep-set grudges against their classmates and teachers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The U.S. Secret Service conducted one of the most thorough studies of school shooters over the past decades to try and create a "profile." That study uncovered certain commonalities of shooters. Though these characteristics do not predict a shooter, student school shooters are more likely to be:

Male

Caucasian

Withdrawn (pulls back from school activities)

Isolated or rejected from peers

Living in a rural community

Have easy access to weapons

Bullied repeatedly from a young age (there is a point when the bullied child flips roles and becomes the bully)

From a troubled home

Several school students were also mentally disturbed. In addition, there are warning signs of a child who may become violent (to himself or others). Michael G. Conner, Psy.D. and Medical Psychologist offers a few other signs to watch for:

Feelings and behavior are easily influenced by peers;

Victimized or treated badly by peers;

Alcohol or other drug use;

Dwells on experiences of rejection, on injustices or unrealistic fears;

Reacts to disappointments, criticisms or teasing with extreme and intense anger, blame or a desire for revenge;

Increasing anger, aggression, and destructive behavior;

Associates with children known to be involved with morbid, destructive or violent behavior or fantasy;

Preoccupation or interest in destructive or violent behavior;

Has been cruel or violent towards pets or other animals;

Fascinated interest or an obsession with weapons or potential weapons;

Depicts violent or destructive behaviors in artistic or other creative expressions.

Continue Learning about Children's Emotional Health

Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What characteristics are common among school shooters? | Children's Emotional Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The U.S. Secret Service conducted one of the most thorough studies of school shooters over the past decades to try and create a "profile." That study uncovered certain commonalities of shooters.

# data[].attributes.headline
There are many cases of school shooters defying the popular stereotypes that people assume school shooters look.

# data[].attributes.subject
There are many cases of school shooters defying the popular stereotypes that people assume school shooters look.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
No stereotype for school shooters

After freshman Jaylen Fryberg walked into the cafeteria at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Washington state late last week and shot five students before turning the gun on himself, people were quick to note that he defied popular stereotypes of school shooters.

As part of a Native American family active in the tight-knit Tulalip Tribes community, and a football player who was recently selected for the homecoming court, Mr. Fryberg didn't fit the widely held belief that school shooters typically are socially isolated white males who spend a lot of time playing violent video games. And that divergence, said experts on school violence, underscores a too-often-overlooked fact when educators and communities rush to find answers to such tragic acts: There is no "typical" school shooter.

"There is actually no stereotype," said Dewey Cornell, the director of the Youth Violence Project at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. "There is a human tendency to look for predictive factors, but if we apply those to the general population, we will find many false positives."

On the day of the Oct. 24 shootings, Mr. Fryberg had sent the victims, his friends and cousins, text messages, asking them to meet him for lunch in the 2,500-student high school's cafeteria. They were sitting together when he shot them with a .40-caliber Beretta handgun that belonged to a family member, Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said in an Oct. 27 press conference.

Zoe Galasso, 14, died on the scene, and Gia Soriano, 14, died at the hospital two days later.

Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, remains hospitalized along with Andrew Fryberg, 15, and Nate Hatch, 14, who are the shooters' cousins.

Secret Service Analysis

A 2002 report by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, prepared after the agency analyzed 37 school attacks that occurred between 1974 and 2000, concluded that "there is no accurate or useful 'profile' of students who engaged in targeted school violence."

Acts of school violence have been carried out by attackers of all races, ages, disciplinary histories, and family backgrounds. And, though perpetrators are typically male, women have also played roles in mass attacks, experts on such incidents say.

In the events analyzed, attackers fell all along the social spectrum, from popular students to "loners," the Secret Service report said.

While the agency didn't find common demographic threads, it did note some psychological trends among attackers: Many "felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack," many had a history of suicide attempts or feelings of depression or desperation, and most had no history of criminal behavior.

And, in 31 of the 37 events studied by the Secret Service, shooters told at least one person about their plans beforehand, the report said. Threat-assessment experts say that such "leakage" is common, and that attackers often leave more subtle clues that they are distressed, even if they don't explicitly detail their plans in conversations.

Advice for Educators

That's why school personnel should seek to build engagement and trusting relationships with all students, even those who don't seem on the surface to be at risk of harming themselves or others, Mr. Cornell said.

He promotes a risk-assessment method through which teams of educators, law-enforcement officials, and community representatives respond when students express plans to harm themselves or others.

Such work-along with efforts to help students feel connected to their peers and supported by adults-help all students, not only the rare ones with a genuine intent to attack others, said Stephen Brock, a professor of school psychology at California State University, Sacramento.

In school safety efforts, "we shouldn't rely completely on physical safety measures," he said.

Following many high-profile school attacks, including the 2012 shootings by an adult intruder in a Newtown, Conn. elementary school, districts ramped up such measures, installing features like shatter-proof glass coating and sophisticated alert systems in their buildings.

"This is a complicated problem without easy solutions," Mr. Brock said. "I think our tendency to look for a profile and our tendency to almost reflexively look to physical safety measures is an attempt to solve the problem quickly and almost to reassure ourselves."

Motives Unclear

Police officials have released little information that points to a possible motive for Mr. Fryberg's attack.

Fellow students told media outlets that Mr. Fryberg and his girlfriend had recently broken up and that he had been disciplined for a fight with another student, but police officials have not confirmed that the incidents are related to the shootings.

Mr. Trenary, the sheriff, told reporters the investigation into a possible motive could take months as officials scour text messages and social media for clues.

The school plans to resume classes Monday but it plans to keep the cafeteria closed. The district has also assembled grief counselors to talk to students.

While officials initially refused to name the shooter, saying they didn't want to draw any more attention to him, Mr. Fryberg's identity and background have remained a focus for the media and students as they process the events.

Some have expressed grief for Mr. Fryberg himself by placing memorials to him alongside those for his victims on a fence outside Marysville-Pilchuck High.

"As I have stated, conducting an investigation of this scope takes time," Mr. Trenary said. "We may never have many of the answers that most of you are seeking."

Published in Print: November 5, 2014, as In Wash. School Tragedy, Gunman Defies 'Typical' Profile

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Back to Top

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
In Wash. School Tragedy, Shooter Defies 'Typical' Stereotype

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After freshman Jaylen Fryberg walked into the cafeteria at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Washington state late last week and shot five students before turning the gun on himself, people were quick to note that he defied popular stereotypes of school shooters.