Risk Factors Related to School Shootings
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Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2020 Risk Factors Related to School Shootings Best Anaele [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Criminology Commons Recommended Citation Anaele, Best, "Risk Factors Related to School Shootings" (2020). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2287. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2287 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Running head: RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS by Best Iriah Anaele Master of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2020 Thesis Submitted to the Department of Criminology Faculty of Human and Social Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts in Criminology Wilfrid Laurier University © Best Iriah Anaele, 2020 RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS Abstract School shootings have become a major issue in the United States for over the past 20 years, contributing to the resurgence of the debates surrounding gun control policies. However, further research is needed to better understand the risk factors of school shootings. The FBI constructed the Four-Pronged Threat Assessment Model, a risk assessment specifically applied to school shooters (O’Toole, n.d). Within the current study, the Four-Pronged Threat Assessment Model will be applied to five school shooters: Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold (both Columbine school shooters), Seung Heung Cho (the Virginia Tech School Shooter), Adam Lanza (the Sandy Hook School Shooter), and Nikolas Cruz (the Stoneman Douglas School Shooter). Five separate case studies will be conducted for each school shooter, aiming to answer the following three questions: (1) What are some of the possible risk factors of becoming a school shooter across the cases? (2) Can the Four-Pronged Threat Assessment Model be effectively applied to the five school shooters? (3) What are the possible policy implications that could be considered? The results of the research should provide a greater understanding of the common predictors of school shootings and policy suggestions that may help in addressing such a major concern. i RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS Acknowledgment I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Thomas Fleming and my second reader Dr. Daniel Antonowicz for their guidance in completing this thesis. I also want to thank Dr. Kenneth Dowler, the chair of our committee, as well as Dr. Ron Stansfield, the external examiner from Guelph University, who both provided insightful comments and feedback to improve my thesis. Additionally, I want to thank everyone from the Criminology department, which includes the faculty, staff, and my fellow graduate peers for their support throughout completing my thesis. Additionally, I would like to thank Jenna Olender and Karley Doucette from the Learning Skills and Development Centre here at Wilfrid Laurier Brantford for all their support, advice, and guidance while developing my research paper throughout the writing process. I have gained extensive knowledge of effective academic writing because of their expertise. I would also like to thank Nathan Innocente and Randal Contreras, both professors from the University of Toronto Mississauga, who helped me to receive funding for this research as my references for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) scholarship, as well as for their mentorship over the years that helped me have a stronger background knowledge to complete this research project. Finally, I would like to thank all my family members for their love and support while completing this project. Thank you to my mother, my brother, my sister, and all my other family members and friends for all of their motivation and for encouraging me to remain disciplined and motivated to put in the work and effort in completing this thesis. ii RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................................ 5 Gun Control Policies .................................................................................................................................. 5 What Makes a School Shooter? ................................................................................................................ 9 Case Study Research ............................................................................................................................... 13 Risk Assessment. ..................................................................................................................................... 15 The Four-Pronged Assessment Model .................................................................................................... 16 1. Personality ...................................................................................................................................... 17 2. Family Dynamics ............................................................................................................................. 17 3. School Dynamics ............................................................................................................................. 17 4. Social Dynamics ............................................................................................................................... 18 Compared to Other Assessment Models ................................................................................................ 18 Chapter 3: Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 20 Case Study ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Research Questions: ............................................................................................................................... 21 Research Design ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Case Selection ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................................ 23 Sources of Case Information ................................................................................................................... 23 Data Collection Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 24 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 4: Findings & Analysis .................................................................................................................... 26 The Columbine School Shooting ............................................................................................................. 26 Eric Harris ............................................................................................................................................ 26 Dylan Klebold ...................................................................................................................................... 35 Virginia Tech Shooting ............................................................................................................................ 42 Seung-Hui Cho ..................................................................................................................................... 42 Sandy Hook Shooting .............................................................................................................................. 53 Adam Lanza ......................................................................................................................................... 53 Stoneman Douglas Shooting ................................................................................................................... 58 Nikolas Cruz ......................................................................................................................................... 58 iii RISK FACTORS RELATED TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS Chapter 5: Common Patterns ..................................................................................................................... 66 Need for Notoriety .................................................................................................................................. 66 Quick Temper .......................................................................................................................................... 67 Intentions ...............................................................................................................................................