Due to increased media attention and associated fear, school shootings have become a major concern for the public. Attempts to predict and prevent shootings have been developed by a variety of government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A psychological profile, however, has yet to be established. This study uses demographic and behavioral characteristics of perpetrators and school characteristics to predict the likelihood of a perpetrator’s usage of firearms. A total of 345 perpetrators of mass school violence incidents are examined, including 266 who used firearms. White perpetrators and those with fewer co-perpetrators were more likely to use firearms. Results also showed that perpetrators were more likely to use firearms in rural communities compared with urban communities, and in middle and high schools in comparison with elementary schools. Implications include the need for future research on policies that examine school violence prevention and response programs. Active shooter training is important, but responses to other types of weapons should also be examined. The findings show differences in locales for mass school violence events, so gun control legislation should also be tailored to on location. Future prevention programs should take these findings into account, and future research should further examine additional characteristics of schools that experience mass violence.
","abstract_html":"<p>Due to increased media attention and associated fear, school shootings have become a major concern for the public. Attempts to predict and prevent shootings have been developed by a variety of government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A psychological profile, however, has yet to be established. This study uses demographic and behavioral characteristics of perpetrators and school characteristics to predict the likelihood of a perpetrator’s usage of firearms. A total of 345 perpetrators of mass school violence incidents are examined, including 266 who used firearms. White perpetrators and those with fewer co-perpetrators were more likely to use firearms. Results also showed that perpetrators were more likely to use firearms in rural communities compared with urban communities, and in middle and high schools in comparison with elementary schools. Implications include the need for future research on policies that examine school violence prevention and response programs. Active shooter training is important, but responses to other types of weapons should also be examined. The findings show differences in locales for mass school violence events, so gun control legislation should also be tailored to on location. Future prevention programs should take these findings into account, and future research should further examine additional characteristics of schools that experience mass violence.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hart, Melanie A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Social Sciences (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Sociology and Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christina Policastro","Bryan Miller"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:15Z","subjects":["ETD","firearms","school violence","school shootings","school characteristics","Criminal Procedure","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1190","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christina Policastro","Bryan Miller"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hart, Melanie A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Sociology and Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Social Sciences (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","firearms","school violence","school shootings","school characteristics","Criminal Procedure","Criminology and Criminal Justice"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1190"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Due to increased media attention and associated fear, school shootings have become a major concern for the public. Attempts to predict and prevent shootings have been developed by a variety of government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A psychological profile, however, has yet to be established. This study uses demographic and behavioral characteristics of perpetrators and school characteristics to predict the likelihood of a perpetrator’s usage of firearms. A total of 345 perpetrators of mass school violence incidents are examined, including 266 who used firearms. White perpetrators and those with fewer co-perpetrators were more likely to use firearms. Results also showed that perpetrators were more likely to use firearms in rural communities compared with urban communities, and in middle and high schools in comparison with elementary schools. Implications include the need for future research on policies that examine school violence prevention and response programs. Active shooter training is important, but responses to other types of weapons should also be examined. The findings show differences in locales for mass school violence events, so gun control legislation should also be tailored to on location. Future prevention programs should take these findings into account, and future research should further examine additional characteristics of schools that experience mass violence.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mass School Shootings: Predicting the Usage of Firearms in Acts of School Violence"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christina Policastro","Bryan Miller"],"dc:creator":["Hart, Melanie A"],"dc:date.available":["2015-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Due to increased media attention and associated fear, school shootings have become a major concern for the public. Attempts to predict and prevent shootings have been developed by a variety of government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A psychological profile, however, has yet to be established. This study uses demographic and behavioral characteristics of perpetrators and school characteristics to predict the likelihood of a perpetrator’s usage of firearms. A total of 345 perpetrators of mass school violence incidents are examined, including 266 who used firearms. White perpetrators and those with fewer co-perpetrators were more likely to use firearms. Results also showed that perpetrators were more likely to use firearms in rural communities compared with urban communities, and in middle and high schools in comparison with elementary schools. Implications include the need for future research on policies that examine school violence prevention and response programs. Active shooter training is important, but responses to other types of weapons should also be examined. The findings show differences in locales for mass school violence events, so gun control legislation should also be tailored to on location. Future prevention programs should take these findings into account, and future research should further examine additional characteristics of schools that experience mass violence.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1190"],"dc:subject":["ETD","firearms","school violence","school shootings","school characteristics","Criminal Procedure","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"dc:title":["Mass School Shootings: Predicting the Usage of Firearms in Acts of School Violence"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Sociology and Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Social Sciences (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:15Z"}