Warnings are emitted in over 90% of school attacks, per Stoneman Douglas safety commission member
On October 13, 2022, a jury determined that the assailant responsible for the February 14, 2018 assault on Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School involving the shooting deaths of 14 students and three staff members was to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After the jury returned its verdict, Ryan Petty whose 14 year old daughter Alaina was murdered that dark day and who served as a member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Committee, had the following to say about prevention:
"We've learned, I've learned, subsequent to this that (in) over 90% of these school attacks there are warning signs exhibited prior to the attack, and if we'll take them seriously which was not done in this case, they were not followed up on, we can prevent these tragedies from happening."
Mr. Petty's comments appear at about the 9:00 minute mark in the video below.
At trial, it was disclosed the Parkland killer studied Columbine while plotting his own attack.
A link to the report of the Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission, which references Columbine, is published below.
Warnings of pending disaster at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The Parkland assailant did what many perpetrators of violence do pre-event: He leaked violent intent before carrying out his deadly plot. He advised others what he was planning to do.
He informed the world on social media months before his attack that he was going to be the next school shooter. In keeping with the "See Something/Say Something" protocol, a concerned citizen reported this disturbing leakage. Even after the future killer's intent was projected, the February 14, 2018 massacre still happened.
The Parkland killer's published words appeared on the cover of the WVPI's July 2018 two-day summit called "From Columbine to Noblesville."
Noblesville referenced the May 25, 2018 assault at Indiana's Noblesville Middle School, also perpetrated by a student, which resulted in the wounding of a 13 year old student and the assailant's science teacher, Jason Seaman. As has happened in the past, it was a staff member, Mr. Seaman, who disarmed the teen shooter.
Columbine's On-Going Deadly Legacy and Prevention of Further Attacks.
Columbine continues to influence violent attacks on schools in America and across the world. As previously reported on this blog, the perpetrator responsible for the September 2022 mass murder at a school in Russia etched the word "Columbine" and the names of the two Columbine killers onto a key chain found on his body after he, like the Columbine killers, died on scene.
Like the Parkland killer, the Columbine killers also gave off pre-event warning signs. Also similar to Parkland, reports were made to authorities about leakage of violent intent by the Columbine killers as we reported on this blog in our July 2020 interview with Randy Brown of Littleton, Colorado.
If we understand what went wrong not only at Parkland but at Columbine, we stand a better chance to mitigate the risk of future attacks of violence from occurring.
Prevention is the only solution to the ongoing preventable tragedy that is the modern day active assailant of violence.
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