Understanding School Shooter Threat Assessment: FBIs Pivotal 2000 Report

Abstract

Pivotal Document: Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Report on Threat Assessment of School Shooters (2000) The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Report on Threat Assessment of School Shooters is a great document that was published in the year 2000. Its main focus was on understanding the behaviors and characteristics of persons who posed threats of violence in school settings. It is open that school shootings have left many children, teens and young adults psychologically disturbed making many fear being at school environment for fear of death or injuries in case of gun attacks. In this regard, this document proves relevant because its main purpose was to provide insights into the psychological and behavioral patterns of school shooters. Such insights would in return assist law enforcement agencies, educators as well as communities to identify potential threats early enough and prevent school violence. Such an approach would prevent gun shooting incidents that have and continue leaving many school attendees in psychological trauma as expressed by Eva Rose Olsen story published on Washington Post. On the post “12 seconds of gunfire: True story of gun shooting”, Olsen seems troubled and confirms that she does not feel safe at school. The seven year old girl confirms that she is scared and that she hates guns because while at Townville elementary, she witnessed a gun shooting attack which left her best friend Jacob dead which made her sad. She writes to the president urging him to keep kids safe from guns (04:00-05:25), (06:00-59). Other than having a defined purpose, the document also synthesizes information gathered from the FBI’s analysis of past school shooting incidents making its ability to provide concrete report on such incidences well defined (O'Toole, 2009). Basically, the document identifies commonalities among perpetrators, such as histories of social rejection, grievances, and fixation on violent themes...