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School Shootings

Why Terrible Things Happen in ‘Perfect’ Places

Katherine NewmanJohns Hopkins University

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Definitional dilemmas

What is a rampage shooting? Refining the problem

Multiple victims On school property Committed by a member or former member of the

institution Random selection of targets or radiating circle

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Figure 1: Number of School Shootings by School Year

0

2

4

6

8

10

121973-7

4

1974-7

5

1975-7

6

1976-7

7

1977-7

8

1978-7

9

1979-8

0

1980-8

1

1981-8

2

1982-8

3

1983-8

4

1984-8

5

1985-8

6

1986-8

7

1987-8

8

1988-8

9

1989-9

0

1990-9

1

1991-9

2

1992-9

3

1993-9

4

1994-9

5

1995-9

6

1996-9

7

1997-9

8

1998-9

9

1999-0

0

2000-0

1

2001-0

2

School Year

Attacks

Attacks plus PostColumbine Plots

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*

**

*

*

Edinboro, PA

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*

*

*

*

*

* * El Cajon, CA

Santee, CA

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* Virginia Beach, VA

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* *

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* Olean, NY *

Moses Lake, WA

Springfield, OR

Notus, ID

Lewiston, MT

Littleton, CO

Fort Gibson, OK

Olivehurst, CA

Goddard, KS

Stamps, AR

Jonesboro, AR

Manchester, MO

Paducah, KY

Great Barrington, MA

Conyers, GA Blackville, SC

Lynnville, TN

Grayson, KY

Pearl, MS

Las Vegas, NV

*Bethel, AK

Figure 10.1: Location of Rampage School Shootings, 1974-2002

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*

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Two case studies: Westside, Arkansas and Heath, Kentucky

Three sociological questions:

What motivates the shooter?

Why was the school unable to see the catastrophe coming?

Why was the community in the dark?

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Jonesboro, Arkansas

Population: 55,000

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The Bible Belt

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Bono, Arkansas

Population: 1000+

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Cash, Arkansas

Population: 280

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Egypt, Arkansas

Population: 112

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The Shooting

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Westside Middle School

6th and 7th grades 250 students Middle Class, Christian and white No background violence Excellent reputation 1/3 of students qualify for free lunch

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March 24, 1998

Johnson steals family car Johnson and Golden steal guns Firing position on hillside Andrew pulls fire alarm Students and teachers file out Shooters kill 5 and wound 10 Police arrest Andrew and Mitchell

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The Shooters

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Mitchell Johnson

Father verbally abusive Sexually assaulted Tense divorce Frequent moves, but Jonesboro was positive Good student (As and Bs) Model child, swaggering bully

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Andrew Golden

11 years old, 6th grade “Solid Family” “Golden Child” Avid hunters and gun enthusiasts Average to good student (As and Bs) No real disciplinary history Unnoticed at school; menace in the ‘hood

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Heath, Kentucky

Rural and west of Paducah, KY Farming economy gives way to services Rural working class old timers New professionals and managers Small and “tightly knit” Economically diverse, racially homogenous Bible Belt

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The Shooting

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Heath High School

Center of small town life

60% college bound No major discipline

issues No violence prevention

in place

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The Shooting: Dec 1, 1997

Shooter: Michael Carneal Locale: prayer group in school lobby Eight shots, eight victims Shooter drops gun and surrenders to principal

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The Shooter

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Michael Carneal

Age 14, freshman Stable family Jokester; prankster High IQ Minor Discipline

Problems Schitzotypal

personality disorder

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Background eventsMitchellPast events-- Molestation

Proximate events-- Left stranded in Chicago-- Sex-talk phone calls-- Father threatens to take him from his

mother-- Kicked off basketball team-- Dumped by girlfriend

Andrew-- No evidence of precipitating

events-- Threatens suicide or to harm

others

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Mystery #1: What motivates the shooters?

Failing at manhood Frictional marginality Magnification of slights Problem solving

Reputational reversal Escalating commitments

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Mystery #2: Why Schools are in the Dark

Structural secrecy

The Clean Slate The Perils of Confidentiality

Mixed Signals The Jekyll-and-Hyde problem Information Fragmentation

The liabilities of loosely coupled systems Squeaky wheels

Why kids don’t tell

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Mystery #3: Why the community did not see this coming…

Residential stability Inter-generational closure High levels of social capital Gossip and reputation Below the radar

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The Underbelly of Social Capital:Why Terrible Things Happen in ‘Perfect’ Places

Consequences: Concealment games False confidence in surveillance systems Misinterpreting signals Conflict avoidance & information restriction

Blame the messenger

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Conclusions

-- Why the sociological perspective matters

-- Adolescent problem solving

-- Organizational deviance

-- Liabilities of social capital

-- Necessary, but not sufficient conditions

-- Prediction impossible

-- Tipping the odds via interdiction

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Michael Carneal, Age 19Kentucky State Reformatory

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The Westside Victims

5 dead

10 injured