In 2002 as a result of the Columbine High School massacre, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education released the Safe Schools Initiative report that studied numerous school active shooter incidents from 1974- 2000.

This report did not establish a profile of a typical school shooter but identified that in 93% of active shooter incidents the attacker displayed observable behavioral precursors that were noticed before the attacks.

Profiling is the use of specific characteristics related to race, age or gender to make generalizations about a person. Not only is profiling illegal, it is ineffective for predicting criminal behavior. Instead, an effective approach in regard to criminals, terrorists and school attackers is examining behavior patterns and precursors commonly present prior to an attack.

The Safe Schools Initiative reported that 81% of school attackers tell someone else about the attack prior to it taking place. Because of this reality, an emphasis on developing anonymous reporting and investigation protocols of these threats is also covered. Not only will we examine the behavioral patterns, we also explore some of the causal factors that lead to violence so that we can prevent these attacks.