Dive Brief:

• Educational institutions were the third most likely site of a targeted mass attack between 2016 and 2020, according to a five year study of 173 mass attacks published Wednesday by the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center.

• Of the 173 mass attacks in those years that led to 513 fatalities, 13 took place at schools and universities, with three at elementary schools, seven at high schools, and three at higher education institutions.

• Most of the attackers' behaviors elicited concern from classmates and others around them. While many had a history of physically aggressive or intimidating behaviors, half were motivated by grievances like bullying and most used firearms. Furthermore, over half of the attackers experienced mental health symptoms including depression, psychotic symptoms and suicidal thoughts prior to or at the time of their attacks, according to the report.

Dive Insight:

The Secret Service report suggests schools and workplaces should consider strategies for resolving interpersonal grievances, considering attackers in half of the incidents were motivated by personal issues like bullying, ongoing feuds with neighbors, or issues with family members.

Other strategies schools can adopt include:

• Encouraging and facilitating bystander reporting and preparing to respond to such reports.
• Focusing on early intervention through measures like mental health treatment and crisis intervention, which is the "key to prevention," rather than waiting for direct and specific threats before taking action.
• Keeping an eye out for students displaying an unusual interest in violent topics, especially past attackers.
• Understanding the impact of violent and hateful rhetoric, such as toward a protected class, while still defending the constitutional right to free speech.
• Paying attention to misogyny and domestic violence, which were displayed by nearly half of the attackers in all the mass attacks studied.
• Monitoring online platforms, which may be utilized to share violent rhetoric and ideas.
• Noticing individuals sharing final communications or acts, like calling people to say goodbye, writing suicide notes, and posting manifestos online.
• Identifying and offering resources for students managing stressful life circumstances, experiencing mental health issues, or facing a personal crisis.

According to previous Secret Service reports, half of K-12 school attackers between 2008 and 2017 displayed an unusual or concerning interest in violent topics, including the Columbine High School shooting and Nazism.

The newest report comes on the heels of the most violent calendar year for school shootings, with a total of 302 shooting incidents on school grounds injuring and killing a total of 332 people on school property in 2022.

At least one of those was an act of mass violence that resulted in 21 deaths and 17 injuries on May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In the wake of that massacre, and other acts of mass violence on school grounds such as the 2021 Oxford High School shooting in Michigan, school safety experts have been critical of the lack of school safety and violence prevention measures leading up to these incidents.

More recently, an incident in which a 6-year-old student shot and injured his elementary school teacher in Newport News, Virginia, has drawn scrutiny. In that case, teacher Abigail Zwerner's lawyer alleged earlier this week that Richneck Elementary School administrators received multiple warnings of a gun in the student's possession but failed to take appropriate action.