Preview

School Shootings: an Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1941 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
School Shootings: an Analysis
On August 1st, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the observation deck at The University of Texas in Austin. He was armed, and during a rampage which lasted 96 minutes, he killed 16 people and left 31 wounded. (Kingsbury.) Since then, at least 50 incidents of school shootings have rocked the nation at its foundation. ("Timeline.") Not all were so destructive at their ends as that of Charles Whitman. Some were more so. All have one thing in common: they have forever changed the face of the nation as we thought we knew it. Who were these shooters? What caused them to massacre their respective schools? What had happened to them in their lives to cause them to be so distraught – to be perceived as mentally unstable? How is our consistently ignorant response as a nation only hindering attempts to fix what we perceive to be the problem? What can we do to change this frightening national trend towards violence? This essay will dissect these questions, subtly and yet expressly, using the example freshest in the collective mind of America as a basis to elucidate points and calculate solutions. The most recent of these tragedies occurred on April 16 of this year, 2007. At approximately 7:15 AM on that date, police received a 911 call regarding shots fired in West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory on the campus of Virginia Tech University, in Blacksburg, VA. Upon investigation, they discovered that two people had been shot and killed, one male and one female, in their dormitory room. ("Virginia Tech.") Over approximately the next two and a half hours, school police and other investigators would assess the situation and alert students of what was happening via e-mail and other methods of electronic communications. Students were urged to remain where they were and stay away from their windows, and were advised that a gunman was "loose on campus." Then, at approximately 9:45 AM, police received a second 911 call alerting them to a second shooting at Norris Hall, on


Cited: Aigner-Trewory, Adam. "The Background Check Debate." The Daily Nightly. April 23, 2007 "Cho Seung-Hui." Who2 Biography. www.answers.com . May 28, 2007. Kingsbury, Alex www.usnews.com . May 28, 2007. 2006. www.indystar.com . May 28, 2007. "Virginia Tech shootings timeline." Massacre at Virginia Tech www.cnn.com . May 28, 2007.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    School Shootings: The Luke Woodham Case
    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages

    School Shootings: The Luke Woodham Case

    In October 1997, I heard on the radio that Luke Woodham, a sixteenyear-old, had killed two classmates and wounded seven others in a school shooting in Pearl, Mississippi. In a note, Luke declared: “I am not insane. I am angry. I killed because people like me are mistreated every day.”1 He explained that he was tired of being called a “faggot”; he was additionally enraged that his girlfriend—whom he killed in the shooting—had broken up with him. At the start of the Woodham case, I began examining school shootings. Two months after the massacre in Mississippi came a shooting in Kentucky, then one in Arkansas that same month, and then another in Arkansas three months later in March 1998. There was a shooting in Pennsylvania that April, in Tennessee…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Virginia Tech Shooting Case Study
    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Virginia Tech Shooting Case Study

    During the spring of 2007 on the Virginia Polytech Institute campus, a student named Seung-Hui Cho had shot 2 students in a resident hall before entering classrooms and shooting 32 other students and professors (Glum). This event had created a call for necessities in protecting not only the Virginia Tech school but all large campuses in America. Director of Virginia’s 32 National Campus Safety Initiative S. Daniel Carter stated, “That one incident sort of crystallized campus safety in people’s minds as a very, very serious issue.” (Glum). The school itself had warning signs before the incident that also brought into questions how the situation could’ve been different and how potentional threats need be…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Eacher Talks to Armed Student Into Giving Up, Police Say
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Eacher Talks to Armed Student Into Giving Up, Police Say

    This took place at Taft Union High School near Bakersfield, California. This school shooting started because the student was a victim of bullying and he wanted revenge. The student came to school and shot one student and missed another. He called the student who was bullying him, and the came out of hiding and apologized, but the teacher, Ryan Heber, interrupted and he came face to face with the 16- year-old student, who was armed. Heber wasn’t sure with this if the student was either, going to put the weapon down or continue shooting. While the student was distracted, Supervisor Kim Fields took the rest of the students so they could escape. Finally, the shooter surrendered and the police took the student into custody. Friday, the next day, school was cancelled due to the situation, but counseling sessions were held that morning for teachers or students who wished to attend. Before Heber spoke to the shooter, the student who was shot in the process was in a critical, yet a stable condition. Kern County Sheriff, Donny Youngblood said “The name of the student wasn’t released, and is debating whether he will be charged as an adult or not.” KDET reported “Heber is a well-known and liked science teacher and was a graduate at Taft and with the situation the Heber family will be there for him with emotional support.” The Taft shooting was the latest school shooting in the U.S., and it launched a big debate whether teachers should carry weapons to protect themselves and others in case of another shooting. Immediately after the shooting, parents went to the school to pick up their children and express concern about the school security. A parent reported “We’re going to protect our students a lot more, and it goes to show that there is one bad apple out there.”…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Bowling for Columbine Is Bias
    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Bowling for Columbine Is Bias

    The lives of many were to change on the day of April 20th, 1999, at Columbine High School. With the death of twelve students and one teacher, it was to be the deadliest mass murder committed on an American high school campus. The massacre, committed by senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, sparked debate over gun control laws; whether the availability of guns across the United States, especially to young people such as these, was socially acceptable. This event is what sparked Moore to create his documentary, ‘Bowling for Columbine’.…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Virginia Tech Shooting Research Paper
    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page

    Virginia Tech Shooting Research Paper

    In April 2007, a mass shooting at Virginia Tech occurred. At the time, it was considered the deadliest school shooting in American history. The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, opened fire into classrooms that morning, killing 32 before taking his own life (Virginia Tech Review Panel, 2007). Sadly, this tragedy is just one incident in a string of many mass shootings in the United States. That is why taking steps to prevent these kinds of shootings is of utmost importance.…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Short Story: Death At Columbine High School
    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Short Story: Death At Columbine High School

    The gunman, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, were reportedly giggling while gruesomely murdering everyone in their sight. They were known to draw swastikas on their clothes and school books, and considered themselves part of the misfit clique, struck on Adolf Hitler's birthday, singling out minorities and "jocks" for death. Student William Beck said the gunmen "were out to get revenge on the school for being mistreated." Many of the murdered students bodies were found by the bomb-ringed bodies of the two 18 year old suspects who took their own lives. Other bodies were found in the cafeteria, the hallways and outside the school. At least 17 bombs, some connected to timers, some in duffel bags, others connected to 4-foot-tall propane tanks were found as well. Their arsenal included bombs wrapped in nails and BB pellets, with some near the bodies of victims. They remained where they lay last night, even as a prayer service was held for the dead, as police continued to comb the bloody hallways…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    School Shooting Research Paper
    • 2032 Words
    • 9 Pages

    School Shooting Research Paper

    When a school shooting is vaguely talked about through much of media, it is thought the reason for the shooting is because of violent video games, TV, and even music. However, an abundance…

    • 2032 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    School Shooting Research Paper
    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages

    School Shooting Research Paper

    In the eyes of news media, whenever a travesty such as a school shooting occurs all other forms of news cease to exist. News stations spend days reporting on the same exact story regardless of any updates. Every time a school shooting occurs the media attempts to establish that the shooter is psychologically ill. Media outlets bend the truth, exaggerate quantitative data, and appeal to unqualified “experts” for information. The utilization of these tools is meant to convince the viewer that the shooter is an outcast of society. The media typically portrays school shooters and other terrorists as socially incompetent, autistic individuals that are psychologically incapable of emotions. This is meant to differentiate a school shooter from what society deems to be normal person; this differentiation is to reassure the public that any normal member of society would not even…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Miss The Point Of School Shootings Analysis
    • 1384 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Miss The Point Of School Shootings Analysis

    Mark Manson wrote an article, “How we all Miss the Point of School Shootings”, explaining that the shooter is to blame because of all there origination and devotion they put into their massacres. In “How we all Miss the Point of School shootings” the author states, “[School shooters] write down their plans and make a checklist so that others may follow in their footsteps”( Manson). This is a perfect example of why the individual is to be blamed, these teenagers want to document these tragedies because they want to be known for what they're capable of. School violence usually involves teenagers and these students are aware of their consequences and they know exactly what they are doing and they still continue to commit these crimes. He also states, “ These shooters are aware of what they are doing. They’re not crazy. They don’t just snap”(Manson). Mansons article explains that the shooter is to be blamed, these individuals know what's morally right and wrong but choose to make the wrong…

    • 1384 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gun Nation Research Paper
    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gun Nation Research Paper

    In 2012, there was 9 school shootings in the US. And in 2013, there have already been 8 so far. And while the teenagers or psychopaths responsible for these were (and are), indeed, unpredictable, the attitude towards these shootings in the US is: “Guns don’t kill people. Crazy people kill people.”…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    High School Shooting Essay
    • 144 Words
    • 1 Page

    High School Shooting Essay

    In the “CNN News,” a Texas high school shooting occurred and it was a terrifying situation. The news was about a female student shooting two students and after that incident she killed herself. It basically happened couple days later when school has started and it must have been terrible for the students experiencing that problem. The police officers had little information about the two students who were injured and they did not have any other information if they were in good condition. They could not find the reason behind this and why the female student decides to shoot the two students. They found out that the female student was an excellent student and it is a mystery why she had done it. Therefore, the high school does not have a metal…

    • 144 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Mass Shooting
    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Mass Shooting

    Our society has created a way for people communicate and stay in touch with current events with the click of a button. There is constant innovation and progression in technology and style, which society celebrates others accomplishments in the news, but there are also serious matters that bring dark times to our community. It seems that mass shootings are constantly popping up on our newsfeed. When looking at mass shootings in the United States, there is evidence history does in fact repeat itself.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Causes Of Mass Shootings
    • 1867 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Causes Of Mass Shootings

    On December 2, 2015 Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple killed fourteen people and injured twenty one people in San Bernardino, at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Unfortunately, it has been the second deadliest shooting in California, while the San Ysidro McDonald’s massacre is the first in 1984. Mass shootings has been at a rise the past a few years, and every year mass shootings is becoming into a common thing especially with the media getting every drop of juice from these horrible events. It’s important to look at the factors behind mass shootings, who are behind it, and the consequences in the community, friends, and family.…

    • 1867 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    School Shootings: Offenders Mind
    • 2630 Words
    • 11 Pages

    School Shootings: Offenders Mind

    A number of cases have been examined with hopes of uncovering features that school shooters have in common in regards to family life, personalities, histories, and behaviors. Not only are they examined for that reason, but to also shed light on how they are different. Statistically speaking school shootings have been a very rare occurrence, but they are societal issues nonetheless. However, the reasons in which a person chooses to commit these horrific crimes is still very bleak, and mysterious in many ways. Video games, music, and movies are often chosen as scapegoats in regards to contributing factors, but many times what is forgotten is the family structure, role models, and peer influences of these individuals that leads to them being traumatized, psychotic, or psychopathic, three categories that many of these shooters fall into. Within this paper I will be discussing my findings on the factors that lead to the shaping, and molding of these offenders minds, and what is being done in order to decrease the number of occurrences in our society. Although there are traits that all shooters share, we have to be cautious when it comes to associating students to those of a school shooter. Authors Brandi Booth, Vincent Van Hasselt and Gregory Vecchi stated , “It is important to caution against the use of a profile because many apparent warning signs may be irrelevant and restrictive and even could unfairly categorize a student who may not pose danger.” (Booth, Hasselt, and Vecchi, 2011).…

    • 2630 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Why Guns Are Bad
    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Why Guns Are Bad

    Throughout time the United States has had a long history of gun violence. School shootings have become more of a regular occurrence, with shootings like Little Rock, Sandy Hook, and Columbine. Ex- President Bill Clinton said it all when he stated that, “The Columbine shooting has shaken the nation…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics