|
About Foundations Community Partnership Foundations Community Partnership Workshop Features Expert on School Shooters The common characteristics of school shooters include little or no empathy, extreme reactivity and high level of internal rage and anguish. To assess threats, Dr. Langman suggests schools not rely on physical security for shooters (i.e. metal detectors, photo IDs, security guards) because they are useless to keep out a student bent on killing, and at worst a means of making a desperate person more dangerous. Schools should focus on identifying students who pose a threat, becoming aware of attack related behaviors and creating a positive school culture - education about bullying, student & parent communication about safety concerns and promoting comfort with threat-reporting. School shootings can be prevented when someone steps forward to report that they'd heard someone was planning an attack. Educating students about reporting such behavior is one of the best ways of stopping an attack. Attacks are generally not impulsive — they are planned well in advance, and knowing the signs can help prevent a tragedy. Langman also discussed 10 attackers he researched in depth for his upcoming book, “Inside the Minds of School Shooters.” There are different types of rampage school shooters, including those who were traumatized through unstable family life, abuse, multiple relocation, parental criminal behavior including substance abuse; those who were psychotic with hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts and impaired social functioning, peer encouragement, and substance abuse; and shooters who were psychopathic, exhibiting extreme sadism, narcissism and need for peer support, and/or suffering from antisocial personality and conduct disorder. “This workshop helped highlight the important issue of at-risk students and educating schools on how to identify students who pose a threat,” said Ron Bernstein, executive director, Foundations Community Partnership. “Recognizing behaviors, reporting students planning an attack, and talking about school shootings is a crucial step toward making sure the community is well-prepared.” On Friday, May 2, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Foundations Community Partnership will sponsor a half-day conference, “Boys to Men: Enhancing Emotional Awareness and Nurturing Skills in Strength Based Treatment” at the Trevose Radisson Hotel in Trevose, PA. The conference features Harvard psychologist Dr. Dan Kindlon, author of the best-selling book, “Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys”. For more information or to register, call Nancy DiNatale, Foundations Community Partnership at 267-247-5584. Foundations Community Partnership (www.fcpartnership.org) develops community-focused, youth-based service learning opportunities, provides grants and scholarships, and supports community education, research and training. ### Contact: Beth Brody, 609-397-3737, beth@brodypr.com Photo caption: Dr. Peter Langman spoke about school shooters at a recent Foundations Community Partnership workshop in Warrington, PA. |
||||||||||||||||||
