Focus on victims: Experts warn about the dangers of school shootings

Focus on victims: Experts warn about the dangers of school shootings

School shootings are a shocking phenomenon that society needs to pay close attention to. Emergency psychologist Barbara Juen is currently expressing her concerns about reporting on perpetrators. She warns against giving them a stage and calls for the focus to be on the community and the victims. Juen, who is an associate professor at the University of Innsbruck and technical director of the psychosocial services of the Austrian Red Cross, emphasizes that blaming the perpetrators' families or certain groups can only fuel anger and feelings of revenge. According to her, this could also produce imitators if gunmen are portrayed as “heroic”. The likelihood of bystanders developing mental disorders is low, and most people will recover from such trauma if given the necessary support.

Nevertheless, Juen criticizes the insufficient resources for psychological help in Austria and emphasizes that there have been improvements in the past, such as the “Healthy out of Crisis” initiative. She recommends paying attention to changes in children's behavior, such as when they refuse school or losing friends, and seeking support in a timely manner.

Background research on amok perpetrators

Research on amok perpetrators, such as that carried out by Professor Britta Bannenberg, shows that many of these perpetrators come from inconspicuous middle-class families and are not typical bullying victims. In her study, which is part of the TARGET joint project and analyzed 19 atrocities by 20 perpetrators between 1992 and 2013, she found that the perpetrators are often difficult to approach, withdrawn and computer-obsessive. They moved in a social environment in which they were unable to build trusting relationships. In addition, in most cases there were no violent or socially neglected conditions in their families.

Another striking feature was the pattern of mental disorders. The perpetrators often had narcissistic-paranoid personality traits; they showed self-centeredness and sensitivity to criticism. It becomes clear that they often develop thoughts of revenge in their already tense life situation and thereby project guilt into society for their suffering. The reports of the Columbine High School shooting served as models for some of these perpetrators.

Prevention in schools

School shootings are relatively rare in Germany, but there have been 15 such acts since 2000. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul emphasizes the police's preparations for such situations, but also explains that perpetrators can often cause considerable damage before the officers arrive. Schools themselves face the challenge of not becoming fortresses and must investigate the causes of such acts.

For teachers and school management in North Rhine-Westphalia there is the emergency folder “Look and Act”, which provides instructions for action in an emergency. Karoline Roshdi, a criminal psychologist, recommends that every school should have a crisis team. These teams, many of which only exist on paper, could help identify and mitigate potential threats early. A guide on how to deal with incidents of violence was recently sent to all schools.

Experience from past school shootings shows that warning signs were often already present. A functioning crisis team could help to take these indications seriously and, if necessary, initiate further analyzes in order to reduce the risk of rampages.