COLUMNS

A Blueprint for Preventing School Shootings

undefined and VP of Tactical Analysis
Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

Feb 22, 2018 | 08:00 GMT

Nikolas Cruz sits in court during a hearing. He is charged with killing 17 people in a school shooting on Feb. 14.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Feb. 19, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cruz is facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

(MIKE STOCKER-Pool/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • A comprehensive study of school attacks completed in 2004 determined that many are preventable.
  • The Feb. 14 shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school represented another possibly preventable case, with multiple warnings before the attack.
  • Despite widespread agreement that it's important to stop school attacks, nobody currently owns the problem.

Nikolas Cruz was determined to burn Valentine’s Day 2018 into memory. After a ride-sharing service deposited him on the campus of the Parkland, Florida, high school from which he had been expelled, authorities said, the 19-year-old entered a stairwell, uncased his semi-automatic rifle and proceeded to unleash hell upon the students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cruz, who apparently left the scene after blending into the crowd of panicked former classmates to get past responding police. was later arrested and charged with the attack that killed 17 teenagers and adults and injured at least 15 more....

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