Editor, Gazette-Journal:
News of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, shocked the world. I’m sure there will be many calls for various bans and laws on guns. In the meantime, we should all do our part.
It is often said, “It begins in the home.” I’ve studied the profiles of school shootings and shooters for 23 years; there are lessons to be learned. Ninety-five percent of school shooters are current students (intruder shooters are rarer). Around 85-95 percent of guns used in school shootings came from the home. Many deaths that could have been prevented.
Single-victim shootings are usually due to revenge against another (staff or student) or a fight that gets out of control. Rampage shootings are rarer. Rampage shooters have years of anger that has built up. The potential shooter gives many clues in those years that something is not right, but those clues are often ignored. Often they will talk or hint of their plans; this is called “leakage” and should be reported.
Securing weapons should be...