Look for concerning, unusual, bizarre, threatening, or | On October 24, 2014, a 15-year-old male student opened violent communications the student made.
The student’s communications may reveal grievances held about certain issues or a possible intended target.
They may allude to violent intentions or warn others to stay away from school at a certain time.
They may reveal information relevant to the other investigative themes by making reference to feelings of hopelessness or suicide, a fascination with violence, interest in weapons, or other inappropriate interests.
These statements might be made in person to classmates, teammates, or friends; in writing on assignments or tests; and/or via social media, text messages, or photo or video-sharing sites.
fire on five of his closest friends as they were having lunch in the school cafeteria, killing four of them, and then fatally shot himself.
In the months prior to his attack, the student sent a number of text messages to his ex-girlfriend indicating he was considering suicide and posted videos on Snapchat that mentioned suicide.
Two people confronted the student about his concerning statements, but he told them he was just joking or having a bad moment.
The student also posted a number of Twitter messages indicating he was having trouble overcoming a setback, posting in one Tweet, “It breaks me… It actually does… I know it seems like I’m sweating it off… But I’m not..
Earlier NTAC research that examined attacks on schools found that not every student directly threatened their target prior to attack, but in a majority of incidents (81%), another person was aware of what the student was thinking or planning.
It is important for Teams to remember that a student who has not made threatening statements may still be at risk for engaging in violence.
Whether or not the student made a direct threat should not be the lone indicator of concern.
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