Columbine, Virginia Tech Anniversaries: Reverence, Vigilance, Prevention
The events demand reverence for those who lost their lives and prayer for their families.
Vigilance, especially during these tragic anniversary times, is also in order. An abundance of caution must be the foundation of mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery principles of crisis management.
Columbine: A Snapshot
The tragedy continues to be analyzed due to its issues including the following:
• Diversionary tactics
• Propane tanks converted to bombs
• Nearly 100 explosive devices and bombs
• Firearms including a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun, a Hi-Point 995 Carbine 9mm, and a 9mm Intratec TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun.
Columbine, and other incidents, led to a U.S. Secret Service report that shared the following findings relative to pre-attack behavior:
• Incidents of targeted violence at school were rarely sudden, impulsive acts.
• Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.
• Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the attack.
• There is no accurate or useful profile of students who engaged in targeted school violence.
• Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused others concern, or indicated a need for help.
• Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures. Moreover, many had considered or attempted suicide.
• Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack.
• Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack.
• In many cases, other students were involved in some capacity.
• Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention.
Virginia Tech: A Snapshot
This violence was particularly heart wrenching because it was preventable. But lessons were not learned from the Columbine tragedy and numerous government documents including the following:
• “Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools,” August 1998
• “The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States” by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education, May 2002
• “Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities,” May 2003
Despite a student killing two students on the fourth floor of the West Ambler Johnston residence hall, there were no precautions taken by school administration for the possibility that other shootings may occur. It was more than two hours later when an email alert was sent to the entire campus, but no emergency actions, such as lockdown, were implemented. Reprehensibly, the email did not emphasize that two students were killed or that the shooter was still at large.
Virginia Tech was eerily reminiscent of the Columbine tragedy—whose eighth anniversary was to be commemorated in just four days. It would be later discovered that the killer was obsessed with the Columbine killings.
How is it conceivable that two people are killed on a college campus during the anniversary week of Columbine, with a killer at large and no lockdown implemented? The failure of leadership is inexcusable as nothing was done to prevent the additional killings and injuries over two hours later.
Also, despite the pleadings of a vigilant professor calling for help for this student who manifested severe, troubling warning signs, school officials failed to provide the proper intervention to protect the campus. Not only were there warning signs, but the university had been put on notice at least a year and a half before the incident.
America wake up: character education, warning signs, threat assessment, and crisis planning principles must be the order of the day.
Note Well:
Linkedin: Vincent J. Bove Consulting, Speaker Services, Publishing
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Vincent is author of 175 articles including his weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” for the Epoch Times; 35 countries, 21 languages, and growing. This blog was published in the Epoch Times, April 17,2015 edition.
Photos
1. Mourners during Virginia Tech's Day of Remembrance honoring the 32 people killed in a mass shooting one year earlier, in Blacksburg, Va., on April 16, 2008. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
2. The cover of the study “Campus Attacks” released in April 2010. (Courtesy of FBI, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Secret Service)
3. Victims of violent crime by age. (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Education)
Labels: Campus Security, Epoch Times, Listen To Their Cries, School Violence, Union City Board of Education, United States Military Academy, Virginia Tech
posted by Vincent J. Bove, CPP at 6:19 PM
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The program was a collaborative effort made possible through the leadership of Frank Acinapura, Educational Director of Facilities and School Safety for the Union City Board of Education, and Ed Petersen of Buckley Petersen Global.
On November 21, 2006 this mission statement was clearly evident the moment one entered the school and viewed large, autumn colored Thanksgiving food boxes filling the entire main corridor. Faithful to the "productive members of society" mission, these were gifts donated by the school community which would be delivered to families in need throughout Union City.
Ed Petersen of Buckley Petersen Global, spoke of his experiences as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and as Director of Security for Major League Baseball after retiring from the bureau. As a graduate of Emerson High School, who grew up in the Union City neighborhood, Ed was able to connect with the students as he stressed the need for student leadership in order to make the right choices.
