CAPE CORAL, Fla -- The Secret Service is traveling to schools throughout our nation to work with teachers, counselors and law enforcement on how to identify and prevent potential school attackers.
The agency’s latest stop was in South Florida on Wednesday.
The visits follow information released in a detailed Secret Service report, which was released a few months ago.
Often times when we talk about school safety, we talk about physical security measures like cameras and school resource officers. But according to this report, which studied 41 targeted attacks at U.S. schools, prevention is key.
Most incidents studied could have been prevented. The idea behind this new training is to help educators, counselors and officers identify those who may be threats and intervene before it's too late.
The research had several key findings. Including that there's no profile of a student attacker. It found that for most attackers there was more than one motive. The most common motive involves an issue with classmates, followed by issues with school staff, a relationship or other personal issues.
The report also showed that half of attackers had interest in violent topics, that most were victims of bullying, and most had communicated their plans to attack. However, that it was never reported.
The report also digs deeper into statistics behind these motives.
They studied several factors to get to these numbers. Including statements made before an attack, suicide notes or manifestos, and things said during post-attack interviews with law enforcement.
In 25 of the 41 attacks studied, or 61%, the primary motive was some sort of grievance. Bullying was the primary motive for 37%. Other motives included a desire to kill, fame and suicidal thoughts.
Nearly all attackers had a clear primary motive and most also had a secondary motive.
