The Violence Project co-founder Jillian Peterson told Insider how threat assessment teams can help prevent school shootings, as well as prevent further tragedies like suicide, self-harm, and other forms of violence. "We really focus on things like safe, warm environments with strong relationships between students and adults so people feel more … [Read more...]
With schools returning to in-person learning, the threat of classroom shootings follows. Here’s how experts say we can prevent them from happening.
Changing School Violence Prevention Approaches
While the names of victims and perpetrators are spread by the media, survivors of school shootings tend to be overlooked. Yet, the people directly affected by school shootings do not simply disappear. Missy Dodds is using her experience as a survivor of the 2005 Red Lake school shooting to reorient violence prevention approaches. Since the shooting … [Read more...]
Minnesota creators of ‘Mass Shooter Database’ sharing work with politicians, educators, police
A training session Friday, January 17, 2020, in downtown St. Paul will discuss their preliminary findings and mass shooting prevention strategies. More than 200 people from across Minnesota and the country are scheduled to attend the sold-out session. The Violence Project will present findings to a Minnesota House committee in early … [Read more...]
How suicide prevention may help stop mass killers before they start shooting
A potential predictor of mass shootings is suicidality. Dr. Jillian Peterson shared that her latest analysis showed that 80 percent of the perpetrators were suicidal before the shooting, which she says it is key to understanding their actions. “In every case, this was intended to be their final act. They are murders, but they are murder-suicides. … [Read more...]
Daily Digest: School Safety and Guns
Good morning and happy Thursday. Here's the Digest. 1. Researchers say a fresh approach to school safety is needed. Lockdown drills top the list of security measures Jillian Peterson believes schools need to drop. Peterson, a Hamline University criminology professor, thinks training the adults in school on lockdown procedures, de-escalation and … [Read more...]