After predicting on March 18th (see in this blog below) that we should expect a school shooting in the March 20-April 20 period, and seeing it come to pass, my hope is people are becoming more alert to what is unfolding here. I also was correct in noting in my book the warning signs we should be aware of in the shooter (neo-Nazi, male, use of guns, twilight language, suicidal). Perhaps we should even reexamine the overlooked focus on math classes in these shootings, from Moses Lake (1996) to Red Lake (2005). We must watch out for the full impact of the copycat effect from the Minnesota incident.
Already, more "hit list" stories are in the media today at a high school in Noble, Maine, at a high school in Biloxi, Mississippi, and at an elementary school in Shelby County, Kentucky.
American and international school shootings could follow in the near future, if the pre-9/11 pattern returns. Furthermore, I am warning be on the lookout around the high violence dates of April 19 (Waco and Oklahoma City bombing anniversaries) and April 20 (Hitler's birthday and Columbine). Law enforcement authorities have been aware of this "twilight calendar" for some years, and it is time for educators to wake up to it now. The copycat effect is real.
We are entering a dangerous temporal zone of death, and the best prevention, to do more active listening to teens who hear about hit lists and threats, combined with aggressive suicide interventions with the most vulnerable youth, are the keys to a safer time.
Remember, the underlying theme of all of these school shooters is that they have given up on any hope of a painless life, and wish to take some people with them in their final suicidal outbursts.
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