ABSTRACT Throughout history we have seen juvenile school shootings across America. In the most recent years following the infamous Columbine High School shooting, there has been an increase in fear throughout the nation, with many policy changes and stronger gun control laws throughout states, to prevent guns getting into the wrong hands. Juvenile school shootings has created a nationwide panic and has been the highlight of media coverage, instilling fear amongst parents, children, school staff, and the public. These mass shootings have brought on implementation of new policies, and changes to how most schools in America operate due to precautionary measures to protect students and staff. Parents have grown fearful of sending their kids to school, a place that was once viewed as safe. What drives juveniles to open fire in their schools on classmates and their teachers? How can we intervene and prevent such tragedies from happening again?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………IV
2. HISTORY OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS……………………………………………...…V
3. COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL CASE………………………………………..………VII
4. THE JUVENILE SHOOTER………………………………………………………….VIII
5. THE CAUSES OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS…………………………………………….X
6. WARNING SIGNS…………………………………………………………………….XII
7. SCHOOL PROTOCOL WITH A LIVE SHOOTER…………………………….……XIII
8. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION AND PREVENTION……………………………….XIV
9. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………..XVI
10. REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………..XVII

INTRODUCTION Digging into the past and present of juvenile school shootings can give us insight and a better understanding as to why these types of violent acts occur. It can also lead to finding the proper course of action in order to prevent future shootings or minimize the amount of deaths in the event that it does occur. Although school shootings has been a part of our history and is not a new phenomenon, the recent years of mass media attention has brought on growing concerns to this problem from the public. Parents are now fearful of sending their kids to school, a place that was considered safe in the past. School officials and administration have taken safety precautions to protect their students and staff. Politicians have used school shootings as a way to make policy changes and push their parties gun control agenda. The highly publicized shootings through the media inadvertently glorify these events to capture the attention of the viewers and readers. Glorification on these tragedies can lead to copycats; juveniles who attempt to mimic a shooter to gain attention that they so desperately seek. With all the attention also brings on many changes in school security across the nation. There are new protocols in place that have never existed, on how to lock down a school with an active shooter. These protocols have also become practiced in many schools where students and staff now have mandatory drills on lock down procedure, similar to practice fire drills. School shootings pose a problem whether it occurs often or seldom because of the way in which they are executed are changing drastically. The amount of school shootings may not have changed historically but this act of violence has instilled fear, which poses to be a problem in our country. The senseless killings of innocent children and adults need to stop because schools need to become a place once again that is considered safe to the public. We need to be vigilant in making sure we can identify the behavioral patterns, family dynamics, and psychological makeup that makes these young children act out such heinous crimes to their peers. The goal of this research is to isolate the problem, spread awareness, and prevent these tragedies from hitting our schools.

HISTORY OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS Juvenile school shootings dates back to November 2, 1853. This incident in Louisville, Kentucky involved a student Mathew Ward, who shot and killed his