Here's the link where I obtained this info.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/

Myth No. 1. He didn't fit the profile.

In fact, there is no profile. There is no accurate or useful profile' of students who engaged in targeted school violence, the researchers found.

The stereotypes of teens in Goth makeup or other types of dress are not useful in preventing attacks. Just as in other areas of security -- workplace violence, airplane hijacking, even presidential assassination -- too many innocent students will fit any profile you can come up with, and too many attackers will not.

The demographic, personality, school history, and social characteristics of the attackers varied substantially, the report said. Attackers were of all races and family situations, with academic achievement ranging from failing to excellent.

Most, but not all, have been male, though that fact alone doesn't help an adult rule in or out someone as dangerous.

Myth No. 2. He just snapped.

Rarely were incidents of school violence sudden, impulsive acts. Attackers do not just snap, but progress from forming an idea, to planning an attack, to gathering weapons. This process can happen quickly, but sometimes the planning or gathering weapons are discoverable.

Although the researchers point out that there is no "type of student" who is likely to commit such violence, there are "types of behaviors" that are common to planning or carrying out the attacks. This pattern, they say, gives some hope of intervening before an attack.

Myth No. 3. No one knew.

Before most of the attacks, someone else knew about the idea or the plan. "In most cases, those who knew were other kids: friends, schoolmates, siblings and others. However, this information rarely made its way to an adult." Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused concern or indicated a need for help.

Myth No. 4. He hadn't threatened anyone.

Too much emphasis is placed on threats. Most attackers did not threaten anyone explicitly ("I'm going to kill the principal"), and most threateners don't ever attack anyone.

But less explicit words can reveal an intention, the researchers say. A child who talks of bringing a gun to school, or being angry at teachers or classmates, can pose a threat, whether or not an explicit threat is made.

Myth No. 5. He was a loner.

In many cases, students were considered in the mainstream of the student population and were active in sports, school clubs or other activities.

Only one-quarter of the students hung out with a group of students considered to be part of a fringe group.

Myth No. 6. He was crazy.

Only one-third of the attackers had ever been seen by a mental health professional, and only one-fifth had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Substance abuse problems were also not prevalent. However, most attackers showed some history of suicidal attempts or thoughts, or a history of feeling extreme depression or desperation. Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures.

Myth No. 7. If only we'd had a SWAT team or metal detectors.

Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were over well before a SWAT team could have arrived. Metal detectors have not deterred students who were committed to killing themselves and others.

Myth No. 8. He'd never touched a gun.

Most attackers had access to weapons, and had used them prior to the attack. Most of the attackers acquired their guns from home.

Myth No. 9. We did everything we could to help him.

"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others prior to the attack," and said they had tried without success to get someone to intervene. Administrators and teachers were targeted in more than half the incidents.

Myth No. 10. School violence is rampant.

It may seem so, with media attention focused on a spate of school shootings. In fact, school shootings are extremely rare. Even including the more common violence that is gang-related or dispute-related, only 12 to 20 homicides a year occur in the 100,000 schools in the U.S. In general, school assaults and other violence have dropped by nearly half in the past decade.

Where are the other 6 myths?

Where are the other 6 myths?

:)I just posted them plus the link where I obtained the info.

I had to do it in two seperate copy and pastes. The article was two pages long.

Where are the other 6 myths?

??

People ask for help in all kinds of ways, reading awareness literature like this, can hopefully allow our eyes to be more open, .....and understanding.

Many of these attacks could have been prevented if someone had taken the time to listen or NOT taken the time to bully.

I'm not placing or re-directing blame but as a society, I feel that we have let these disturbed kids down and in turn, put our own kids in harms way.

Like I said in the thread about the mall shooting, this country has not addressed mental health as a serious problem. There needs to be more resources for people to get the help they need.

Like I said in the thread about the mall shooting, this country has not addressed mental health as a serious problem. There needs to be more resources for people to get the help they need.

x2, and it doesn't help when the cost of the medication is through the roof. And if your insurance won't cover you, well, you either pay out of your eyeballs, or go insane.

IMO, society is not to blame at all.  It's the fault of the parents and the kids, and in some cases, just plain bad luck with regard to the chain of events that led up to the tragedies.  

Millions of kids everyday are bullied or picked on, but there is literally no excuse at all for someone to react to the continual bullying by killing people, especially innocent people, and there are millions of kids who handle bullies in other, less murderous ways.

The world can be a cruel place, but freakin' suck it up and don't be an idiot and go on a shooting rampage.  Obviously these senseless tragedies really really P me off.  These shooters are all total losers.

The only time someone other than the parents or the shooter can be blamed is if someone saw it coming, or disregarded a threat, and did nothing about it.  Even so, the fault lies almost entirely with the shooter and his parents.

The media isn't helping matters with its extensive coverage of the shootings, but that will never stop because school shootings are always big news, and you can't blame news companies for covering shootings.  Therefore, shooting up your classroom will always be a way to go out with a bang, so to speak.

And to place any kind of blame on the high price of medication, IMO, is a huge stretch.

Sorry I'm getting all worked up, but everyone must be held accountable for his own actions, regardless of how tough life is.  Ridiculous.

i totally agree with what LBH says  

Like I said in the thread about the mall shooting, this country has not addressed mental health as a serious problem. There needs to be more resources for people to get the help they need.

This is a dead on assesment of the general populations attitude towards mental health. I recently received additional training on dealing with people with mental illness in crisis situations, and after 7 days of training, and site visits, and sit-downs with actual patients with a history of violence..............the only emergency mental health facility goes on  "diversion" in KC.

This means that there is literally nowhere for a first responder to take a mental health patient in crisis other than jail and sometimes the hospital, but that only applies if they state that they want to hurt themselves, not if they intend to hurt others. It's surprisingly not against the law to say that you just want to hurt people in general. If they have'nt done anything against the law then that person has to be left on the street. In this case, people just don't want to pay more taxes and the hospitals have no other way to fund themselves.

Not excusing the actions of the parents or kids. Slomoes post just struck a chord.

Everyone does have to be accountable for their own actions and that includes the people who might have known, should have known or could have known.  Things like this don't just happen all of a sudden - there are always clues that surface after the fact.  What we as a society need to do is find a way to recognize these clues before the fact.  Some times that comes from just listening.

whenever people get talking about the various school shootings and whos to blame one quote always comes to mind "I wouldn't say a single word to them; I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did" - Marylin Manson. personally thats the way i feel about these things

Like I said in the thread about the mall shooting, this country has not addressed mental health as a serious problem. There needs to be more resources for people to get the help they need.

x2, and it doesn't help when the cost of the medication is through the roof. And if your insurance won't cover you, well, you either pay out of your eyeballs, or go insane.

Insurance will pay.  Copays of $10 Generic; $15 Name Brand; $30 High End are normal in a group health insurance program.

Also, you can visit a shrink or a psychologists for the same copay as if you visited your family physician or a specialist.

So don't blame it on the group health insurance industry.

We can't post political posts on this site so I will not cross that line and leave my post as it is.

Give them a pill that will solve the problem.   :