Questions About a Possible Teen School Shooter "Personality"

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dascmom

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If a student has not made a direct or indirect threat to someone at school-- in person or on social media--but displays disturbing behavior such as being an extreme loner, is constantly hostile to others at school, presents himself in extremely unconventional attire, is known to come from a troubled home, can this person be officially visited or interviewed by law enforcement as a possible danger to himself or others? What is the school's guidance department role in a situation like this, if any? Thanks much!
 

cornflake

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If a student has not made a direct or indirect threat to someone at school-- in person or on social media--but displays disturbing behavior such as being an extreme loner, is constantly hostile to others at school, presents himself in extremely unconventional attire, is known to come from a troubled home, can this person be officially visited or interviewed by law enforcement as a possible danger to himself or others? What is the school's guidance department role in a situation like this, if any? Thanks much!

Nothing you've described there would likely warrant law enforcement involvement save 'hostile' but that very much depends on what you mean by it.

'He's a loner who dresses unconventionally' is not a thing.

Guidance counselor's roles vary by school, but cops aren't likely getting called for that, nor would they respond. You need actual threats or a real, specific reason to believe someone is an imminent danger.
 

frimble3

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If being 'a loner who dresses unconventionally' or, 'coming from a troubled home', were a crime...
If there were legal penalties for any of this, singly or together, it would make the luckless teen an easy target for bullies, either teens or adults.
(Especially the sort of grinning, outgoing, cheerful-Charlie who thinks everyone should be like them.)
It's the sort of subjective, very-wide-net, that makes a victim of anyone who doesn't fit the currently-popular norm.
Sorry if I sound rude and not in accordance with RYFW, but at times in my teens I had all of those 'deeply disturbing' behaviours.
 

Cyia

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If a student has not made a direct or indirect threat to someone at school-- in person or on social media--but displays disturbing behavior such as being an extreme loner <--- Neither illegal, nor particularly disturbing, is constantly hostile to others at school <--- depends on the definition of "hostile." Are we talking a kid who shuts down another kid's attempt to make them participate, or disrespecting teachers? The latter might have some repercussions, if said kid is disturbing class., presents himself in extremely unconventional attire <--- Define "unconventional." Are they cosplaying a Steampunk space wizard from a popular anime, wearing out of date and worn hand-me-downs that no one with a choice would wear, wearing clothing traditionally favored for their opposite gender? Is what they're wearing within school dress code limits? If so, then it's not against the rules. is known to come from a troubled home, <--- Sad, but not illegal. If you're talking teens, then most districts won't have the resources for someone in this circumstance without visible or reported evidence of actual abuse can this person be officially visited or interviewed by law enforcement as a possible danger to himself or others? <--- some folks would call this "harassment," as no laws have been broken without those threats being made.What is the school's guidance department role in a situation like this, if any? Thanks much!

Nothing you've suggested is illegal, so there's not much for officials to do. A guidance counselor might take an interest, but if the kid doesn't open then, then there's nothing the counselor can do, either. In larger schools, one counselor may be responsible for two hundred kids, from freshman to senior years, and most schools don't require all students to see the counselors, even once, so a counselor may never know someone needs help.

You need to look into the behavior of actual kids with violent behavior issues - they do threaten, but the threats are often shrugged off. You'll see things like subconscious threats that manifest as doodles, scribbles, or graffiti, etc.
 

Rosanna Banana

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I would think this student would have to commit an actual crime (assaulting or threatening another student or teacher for example) to be investigated b law enforcement. I believe that seeing a counselor at school is optional and even if a student were exhibiting the aforementioned worrying behaviour there's no way to force them to go talk to the guidance counselor staff. More likely is that the principal would get involved if there was a concern and would contact the parents. However, I think for many schools this is where kids fall through the cracks: if the kid comes from a bad home situation (as you described) and the only option for disturbing behaviour is getting the parents involved... well there's not going to be much support, sadly.
 

mccardey

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If a student has not made a direct or indirect threat to someone at school-- in person or on social media--but displays disturbing behavior such as being an extreme loner, is constantly hostile to others at school, presents himself in extremely unconventional attire, is known to come from a troubled home, can this person be officially visited or interviewed by law enforcement as a possible danger to himself or others? What is the school's guidance department role in a situation like this, if any? Thanks much!
A lot depends on location. Although I'm guessing this is the USA...?
 

MaeZe

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I the US, police can investigate (and have investigated) students making threats, no crime need be committed.

They should not be investigating people for being 'weird' or 'loners'.

One problem seems to be what to do once an immediate threat hasn't been found. There's not a good system of monitoring these individuals as has been revealed when it turns out police previously investigated persons deemed a threat months to years before the shooter acts on those threats.
 
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Anna Iguana

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An increasing number of US schools have what are called "threat assessment" teams. They get misused as well as used appropriately. It would be harder to sustain the involvement of law enforcement without actual evidence, but it isn't difficult, post- Columbine/Virginia Tech, for a school to call in law enforcement to "interview" a student.
 

dascmom

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Thanks for all of the answers. I really appreciate it. I'm writing a character who other kids think of as a "school shooter type," not because he has directly threatened them, but because of anti-social behavior. He seems scary. What has been making me think a lot about it is what happened in Florida yesterday. It seems that the shooter made some suggestions on social media that he wanted to be a school shooter and was obsessed by guns, and still little was done to intervene by authorities. So I wondered if a group of parents reported a student for being antisocial-refusing to talk to other kids- and at-times behaving rude and sarcastic (hostile), and dressing in a way that people associate with bad behavior, would that be enough for law enforcement to make a visit to the student's home?
 

Cath

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I realize current events put this kind of story at the forefront of people’s minds, but I find this thread somewhat tone deaf in timing. I am going to put this in time out for a week and revisit.

In the meantime, look to the news.
 
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