In 2020, an inquiry was launched into the case of a 13-year-old boy, Colt Gray, by the sheriff’s office in Jackson County, Georgia. The inquiry arose from an alleged online threat by the boy to execute a middle school shooting. Despite denying the allegations, the case drastically escalated about a year and four months later. Now 14 years old, Colt has been held responsible for the tragic occurrence last Wednesday. The event, which occurred at Apalachee High School, located in Winder, Georgia, involved the heartbreaking loss of four lives and nine injured individuals. This horrific act is considered the most devastating school shooting in the history of the state.
Following such a tragedy, the question arises whether enough steps were taken by the law enforcement authorities to avert it. It’s a familiar inquiry that often haunts the police department after similar shooting incidents. Specialists indicate that multiple imminent mass shooters often exhibit alarming indications prior to launching an attack. Officials are frequently privy to tips or concerning behavioral reports, sometimes long before a violent act.
However, the ability of law enforcement agents to act based on traditional police training is often curtailed. Usually, unless there is evidence of crime, or if a subject does not meet the criteria for mandatory mental health examination, the investigation often concludes. Adam Winkler, a professor of law and an expert on firearms policies at UCLA, mentions that it’s effortless to criticize in retrospect, adding to the difficulty of pinpointing every potential threat.
Winkler asks the compelling question, ‘How many times do the police follow up on tips about online threats that do not result in this kind of violence?’ The United States has experienced a significant number of shootings, prompting a rethink of customary police strategy concerning mass violence threats. It’s a grand endeavor, requiring officer training to operate in diverse teams to identify early problematic behavior, supervise it over an extended period, and intervene when required.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida, a figurehead of a state commission investigating school violence for the past six years, asserts that a shift in mindset is necessary for law enforcement. Gualtieri argues that officers need to weigh more than just the immediate actionable information presented to them. Instead, law enforcement should identify if an individual is straying from their usual conduct and ascertain if that behavior could potentially lead to violence.
In the months leading to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, there were missteps in handling tips by the F.B.I. These included a warning from a relative fearing the attacker ‘was going to slip into a school and start shooting the place up.’ Due to these failings, the Justice Department agreed to recompense the families of the victims with a $130 million settlement.
Prior to the Parkland shooting, local police had been summoned to the shooter’s residence several times due to his threatening behavior and disturbing actions. It was suggested by two school guidance counselors and a deputy that the offender should be involuntarily admitted for psychiatric help. Nonetheless, the advice went unheeded, and the necessary steps to prevent the tragedy did not occur.
The subtle shift in a person’s behavior towards revealing violent intentions, often referred to as ‘leakage’, signifies a person’s grievances and potential lack of coping mechanisms. Sheriff Gualtieri referred to this as ‘not necessarily prohibited behavior’, emphasizing the need for people to be trained to recognize these signs whether formally or informally.
An efficient response would consist of a team made up of different professionals, ranging from police officers and mental health counselors to social service workers. The aim of such a group is to ensure the presence of a support system that can help in protecting individuals from harm, either self-inflicted or towards others. Gualtieri praised this approach, acknowledging how difficult it can be to measure prevented violence, but also noting its evident benefits when directly involved.
After the Parkland shooting, Florida, along with eight other states, made it mandatory for schools to incorporate in-school threat assessment teams. These teams consist of law enforcement officers, other pros, and aim to pinpoint students who may pose a risk of perpetrating violence. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading gun control organization, these teams are currently an integral part of the legislative landscape.
Dewey G. Cornell, a forensic psychologist, and a professor at the University of Virginia, works on training schools in conducting behavioral threat assessments. His research on student violence threats in a Florida school year revealed less than 1 percent resulted in serious injury or arrest. He attributes this to the fact that most student threats are not severe, and therefore, behavioral threat assessments are directed to not just single out serious threats, but also prevent overreaction to negligible threats.
Forensic psychologist and consultant, J. Reid Meloy, advocates shifting towards a strategy that doesn’t evaluate a subject based on a single moment. Evaluation over time is crucial to track escalating behaviors and issues. Using the metaphor of ‘a snapshot versus a video’, Meloy suggests studying the individual’s behavior and family dynamics over time rather than clutching onto one single part of the narrative.
He further explains how assessments should change dynamically when signs of violence emerge, such as when there’s an increase in weapons in the house, or when more training is being taken to use these weapons. Marc Zimmerman, co-director of the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and the National Center for School Safety, underscored that building and training threat assessment teams is a lengthy process.
Zimmerman also places emphasis on creating a supportive and perceptive environment in schools to curb violence. This proactive approach is not just highly effective but is also less expensive than physically fortifying school premises with gates, locks, and metal detectors. He opines that an incident of violent outburst doesn’t come out of the blue. Subtle grievances often build up to the surface, and the challenge lies in early detection of such potential risks.
He concludes by emphasizing a necessary shift in the mindset of the police. Their role should lean towards more proactive prevention instead of reactive law enforcement. After all, if their role revolves around dealing with a shooting, it’s already far too late.