National Threat Assessment Center
Secret Service Safe School Initiative
In 2002, the U.S. Secret Service completed the Safe School Initiative, a study
of school shootings and other school-based attacks that was conducted in
collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. The study examined school
shootings in the United States as far back as 1974, through the end of the
school year in 2000, analyzing a total of 37 incidents involving 41 student
attackers. The study involved extensive review of police records, school
records, court documents, and other source materials, and included interviews
with 10 school shooters. The focus of the study was on developing information
about the school shooters's pre-attack behaviors and communications. The goal
was to identify information about a school shooting that may be identifiable or
noticeable before the shooting occurs, to help inform efforts to prevent
school-based attacks.
The study found that school shootings are rarely impulsive acts. Rather, they
are typically thought out and planned out in advance. In addition, prior to
most shootings other kids knew the shooting was to occur - but did not alert an
adult. Very few of the attackers, however, ever directed threats to their
targets before the attack. The study findings also revealed that there is no
"profile" of a school shooter; instead, the students who carried out the
attacks differed from one another in numerous ways. However, almost every
attacker had engaged in behavior before the shooting that seriously concerned
at least one adult - and for many had concerned three or more different adults.
The findings from the study suggest that some school attacks may be
preventable, and that students can play an important role in prevention
efforts. Using the study findings, the Secret Service and Department of
Education have modified the Secret Service threat assessment approach for use
in schools - to give school and law enforcement professionals tools for
investigating threats in school, managing situations of concern, and creating
safe school climates.
At the completion of the Safe School Initiative, the Secret Service and
Department of Education published two reports that detail the study findings
and lay out a process for threat assessment in schools:
Publications
NOTE: If you have trouble downloading or printing the reports, please make sure you have
the latest copy of Adobe
Acrobat. If you continue having problems, email ntac@secretservice.gov with your name
and mailing address and we will send you a hard copy of the report.
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