Part XI: STUDENT KILLS PRINCIPAL IN CAZENOVIA — A Series on Curbing Youth Violence
Posted: October 1st, 2006 by Michele Borba
I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines that came from the AP wires: “Charged Student Bragged About Trouble: Principal Was Killed Friday.” The location this time was a tiny farm town in Cazenovia, Wisconsin. The incident involved a fifteen-year-old boy who pried open his family’s gun cabinet, took out a shot gun and a .22-caliber revolver and then entered the school before classes began. The school principal who confronted the boy was shot and killed. (Oct. 1, 2006, AP)
My heart goes out of those involved. Once again, though, the alarms are going off — the cycle of youth violence continues and once again we are hitting the snooze control button. Once again there are lessons. Here are a few:
1. YOUTH VIOLENCE INCREASING IN RURAL AREAS: Over the last decade there has been a rise in youth violence. The area where it is escating the quickest is in rural America - a 38% increase in ten years. Cazenovia, Wisconsin is a tiny farm town.
2. EASY ACCESSIBILITY TO WEAPONS. Again, a commonality in every school shooting has been that these shooters (usually boys) have easy accessibility to weapons. Forget the lock and key technique - kids are too savvy.
3. THE COPY-CAT EFFECT. This shooting took place TWO DAYS after a gunman took six students hostage in a Colorado Hgh School and killed one before shooting himself. It is also a week and a half after the Montreal School Shooting. And it’s been just a few days after my blog that warned about the deadly copy-cat effect and gave recommendations.
4. BULLYING. Though the headlines screamed that this shooter bragged about always being in trouble and was upset with a reprimand his principal had given him, there is another line in the news. Read it carefully. It is the only other commonality in EVERY student shooting: “The teen was also upset because he felt teachers didn’t intervene to stop students who harassed him.”
Repeated bullying and victimization is the single commonality to every student shooting. Criminologists tell us that violence is learned. Criminologistst also tell us that often in cases where there is repeated bullying - and no adult steps in to intervene - the bullied child becomes the bully.
We can learn. The signs are there.
It’s time for a Reality Check again: Let’s stop hitting the snooze control.
