Opinion: Mass shootings: We can prevent them, reduce harm

Cheryl Lero Jonson, Brooke Miller Gialopsos and Melissa M. Moon

Opinion contributors

Flags wave at the rear entrance of Oxford High School on Dec. 2, 2021, after an active shooter situation at Oxford High School that left four students dead and seven others with injuries.

Mass school shootings are still a haunting reality for this country. Just 12 days ago, on Nov. 30, a student at Oxford High School took the lives of four of his fellow classmates, injuring six other students and a teacher. Although we know schools are a safe place, with the likelihood of a student being killed by a gun at school being less than 1 in 600,000,000, the devastation of these events is far-reaching, extending well beyond the communities in which they occur. Thus, school officials, law enforcement and the public have a solemn obligation to address this issue facing the generations of students who have always lived in a time where mass school shootings were a threat.

We contend that by employing a public health approach, we, as a nation, can do more to prevent and mitigate the harm of these tragedies. Using a public health lens, we argue there are three layers of protection to any issue: prevention, mitigation and post-event survivorship.

Take for example the issue of cancer. Much time and research are devoted to the prevention of cancer. Warnings are placed on carcinogens and doctors recommend people eat a healthy diet, wear sunscreen and have regular screenings. However, we know that even following all these prevention guidelines, some individuals will be diagnosed with cancer. This is where the next layer comes into play: mitigation.

A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at the school, killing several students and wounding multiple other people, including a teacher. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Once a person has been diagnosed with cancer, steps are taken to mitigate the harm of the diagnosis and increase one’s survivability. These steps may include chemotherapy, radiation, medication and surgery. If one beats cancer, the last step involves living after the diagnosis. Using our cancer example, if mitigating techniques are successful, individuals are taught how to navigate life after surviving cancer, by focusing on both their physical and mental health.

So, how does this analogy relate to mass school shootings? We contend mass school shootings can be approached using these same three layers, each serving a critical role and having the ability to save lives. Just like the cancer example, the first piece is prevention. This work attempts to prevent mass violence from occurring in schools in the first place. These measures focus on mental health, improving the climate of the school, threat assessment teams, limiting access to firearms, tip lines and assisting people in recognizing and reporting potential warning signs.

Oxford High School graduate Alexis Lewis of Oxford sheds tears while hugging Mama Ross outside of Oxford High School on December 1, 2021, after helping ross put up wreaths at the rear entrance near a memorial being left by the community following an active shooter situation at Oxford High School.

In a perfect world, we could prevent all violence, but similar to the cancer example, we know prevention can fail, as it did 12 days ago, which leads to the second layer of protection: mitigation. In this layer, law enforcement response and active shooter training becomes crucial. Police officers have changed their response since Columbine to allow for more rapid engagement with the shooter, which has saved lives in these incidents.

Active shooter training is also critical as it helps individuals respond in a high-stress, life-threatening situation. In the shooting at Oxford High School, both the law enforcement response and the school’s ALICE training, which provides three options/layers of protection (i.e., fleeing the scene, barricading, and actively resisting) have been credited with saving lives.

A message board is filled with messages as a memorial continues to grow at an entrance to Oxford High School on December 7, 2021, after an active shooter situation at Oxford High School that left four students dead and multiple others with injuries.

Finally, the third piece of this puzzle is living after the tragedy. Mass school shootings devastate the communities and the people impacted. Thus, this third layer focuses on how we can help individuals and communities begin to heal, cope with trauma and prevent subsequent suicides by survivors, family/friends and first responders. Included in this third layer is understanding how the event occurred and implementing measures to prevent future incidents.

Mass school shootings are a public health issue. Using this interconnected approach allows for a holistic and cooperative framework to address this issue and hopefully save lives. By focusing on prevention, mitigation and post-event survivorship, we provide multiple layers to reduce the harm caused by these tragedies, creating a safer school environment for this and future generations of students and educators.

Cheryl Lero Jonson, Ph.D. is an associate professor of criminal justice at Xavier University. Brooke Miller Gialopsos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics at Seattle University. Melissa M. Moon, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice & Organizational Leadership at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights.