Military leaders are often accused of preparing the army to fight and win the
last war instead of preparing for the next one. It sounds like an obvious
mistake, but it is hard to ignore what you know and what you experienced and
instead try to analyze or anticipate the unseen challenges ahead.
Security is no different. Following the latest crime
trend or horrific shooting, law enforcement and security professionals figure
out what went wrong that time and immediately react by building training and
response plans on that event. It is very easy to allow that tunnel vision to keep
our focus on the last crime instead of being prepared for different variations.
(Read more on crime trends and fads)
The recent school shooting in Marysville, Washington is a reminder.
Many recent school shootings have involved a crazed student or outsider,
targeting students for no particular reason. School shooter training has often
focused on the response once the first shots have been fired and how to
lockdown and secure students in the classroom.
It is important to remember that these types of active
shooters are still relatively rare. Workplace violence, including school
shootings, comes in many different forms and often involves disgruntled
employees as well as unhappy customers. In fact, while researching my latest
book, Workplace Security Essentials, I was somewhat surprised to find that
violence at work is almost equally caused by co-workers and customers.
Another common motive is revenge for domestic situations.
The spurned lover seeking revenge. That seems to be the motive behind the
shooting in Marysville. A 15-year old student was ‘heartbroken’ after a
break-up with his girlfriend. He posted various comments on social media about
how devastated he was and that he didn’t know how he could go on without her.
For reasons still unclear, he lured his victims, but not the former girlfriend,
to meet him in the school cafeteria where he shot them without warning, killing
one on the spot and another who died later in the hospital. He then shot
himself as a school faculty member rushed him.
So what are the lessons? This shooting caught everyone
who knew Jaylen off guard and was not expected at all. Some of the traditional
threat assessment models taught to schools would not have necessarily alerted
anyone to the threat. Most of us probably shake our heads and wonder why a
15-year old could get so upset over a relationship at that age. And yet, we
accept, at least on some level, that domestic violence and revenge does happen
between adults. Thinking more about it, it only seems odd that we would not ask
ourselves why we would expect teenagers to handle highly emotional
relationships better than some adults do.
Clearly, if school faculty becomes aware of a student
upset or troubled about a relationship gone wrong, it is a good idea to pay
attention to the situation. Domestic relationships might not be our first
thought when thinking about motives of school shootings, but shouldn’t be
overlooked either.
Remember that violence is caused by different things for
different people. What may not bother one person, could greatly trouble another
and even incite them to rage. Schools and businesses need to keep that in mind
and take any situation with elevated emotions seriously.
It is impossible to say how every potentially violent
individual may or may not tip their hand in advance. Continue to focus on both
the recognition of warning signs as well as the actual response when shots are
fired. There is no simple, easy answer for every possibility, but avoid tunnel
vision and avoid focusing on what happened in the last shooting.
Combining his law enforcement
and corporate security experiences plus a love of martial arts, Eric Smith
created Business Karate, LLC. His new book, Workplace Security Essentials, outlines how any business, school, hospital or
organization can master the art of self-defense, reduce losses, avoid liability
and build a safer workplace. Visit www.businesskarate.com for more. Follow on Twitter @businesskarate
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