For most people, school is a place to study, not a place to get into trouble. However, the shooting sounded at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999, made all Americans realize that some middle school students living in the quiet suburbs are beginning to vent their anger (Clinton Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: Remarks to the Community of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado).

Nichols has given a series of definitions of school shooting in the article How are School Shootings Defined, from which the most restrictive definition is introduced at the end of the passage. From the perspective of Time.com, a school shooting generally include a number of requirements like “At least one victim was injured or killed” “Either the shooter or at least one of the victims was a student or teacher” “The attack occurred on school property, including the parking lot, though not necessarily during school hours” “Injuries are counted only if they resulted from gunfire, not the ensuing chaos” (Nichols PolitiFact California: How are School Shootings Defined?).

Shooters took shots and hurled fire at more and more teachers and classmates. At least 130 kids, educators, staff and family members have been killed in assaults during school hours, and another 254 have been injured (Washington Post: How Many Children are Affected by School Gun Violence in America?). The main causes of school shooting are lack of strict gun control laws, psychological education, and the marginalized social status of shooters.

One of the main causes of these school shootings is the lack of strict gun control laws. Because the United States Constitution stipulates that citizens have the right to hold guns, it is very common for ordinary Americans to hold guns. It is believed that “Five of the six deadliest mass shootings of the past six years in the United States. In each of them, the gunman had an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle” (Oppel Jr The New York Times: In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun). The access to guns is also supported by the mainstream of American society.  Due to the proliferation of guns in the United States, the shooting incidents were frequent, and the United States government could not stop the guns from being threatened by the people’s personal safety. The United States is a country with a high proportion of guns, and the high school shooting incident in the United States indeed needs the strengthening of gun control legislation as it involves safety issues of more and more people. In conclusion, gun control became a main cause of school shootings.

Another cause of school shootings is mental illness, which can be viewed as a kind of serious psychological problem. In this situation, an individual is likely to suffer more severe trauma. This is closely to the immigration culture and effectiveness in America. As an immigration country, the United States has a large number of people with different cultural backgrounds, who will inevitably encounter mutual conflicts and huge life pressure. “Mass shootings are indeed partially a mental health problem, albeit one poorly addressed by our current laws and policies” (Philpott-Jones The Hasting Center: Mass Shootings, Mental Illness, and Gun Control). The main living environment of students is the campus. The tasks they face are learning and relationship with schoolmates. In addition, they are exposed to the rapid development of society and are full of revolution and competition. They experience more psychological problems related to learning, campus life and social changes. Most of the shootings on campus and in school were due to the imbalance of personal mentality of the criminal suspects, the pressure of life, or an anti-social behavior that appeared after receiving unfair treatment and bullying at schools. In immigration culture, it is inevitable that certain groups will not agree with or be excluded from another group. People with serious mental illnesses or those who experience series of setbacks will, under certain stimulations, transform the repression and contradictions of the heart into aggressive behavior. Some people choose to retaliate for others to get pleasure.

The lack of education in school and family to solve the mental problems has led to violent shootings. There has always been a misunderstanding of health. The government, the school, and society generally pay attention to physical health, while ignoring mental health. There are suggestions for dealing with school shooting which is described as “It’s important to provide emergency-related PD to every employee in the building—not just the principal—because there is no way of knowing who will have to respond in a crisis, says Klinger” (Bendici District Administration: Florida School Shooting Underscores Need for New PD). At the same time, there is not enough help to this social group and the children are not adequately guided. Although most of the murderers had been threatened, bullied, and even attacked by their peers before the assault, many of them had not received perfect psychological counseling, and they could not afford the difficulties in life. If they are not corrected and eliminated in time, some aspects of the individual psychology are often compromised, affecting individual mentality. The US school shooting reflects the needs of psychological education.

Therefore, as a result of tension arising from multicultural society and peer pressure, there is a problem of mental health of some students, which has been largely ignored by school and family. They fail to deal with the mental illness of some students. It is of importance to reconsider the consequences of mass shooting. Every time a campus massacre occurs, it will leave a huge wound on the common soul of mankind. It will take more time and efforts to make up for it and repair it. When violent activities frequently spread venomous hands to children, people should take meaningful and effective actions to keep terror and injuries out of school.

A solution to the problem of school shootings is attention and psychological guidance from the administers especially in schools. “Mass shootings are indeed partially a mental health problem, albeit one poorly addressed by our current laws and policies” (Philpott-Jones The Hasting Center: Mass Shootings, Mental Illness, and Gun Control). The fact is that it is easy for American citizens including the school students to obtain rifles in a legal method. However, how will these students take use of these rifles fail to be regulated by administers in schools. The schools are responsible for the issue given the weak security protection measures in schools. In addition, the administers from schools should give psychological guidance by studying the issue of mental illness and gun violence in order to better avoid shooting incidents on campus. One point is to pay attention to those students who are experiencing difficulties in their studies and life, to provide them with timely care and appropriate psychological counseling. This will not only help them tide over difficulties but also detect potential risks of violence in a timely manner. In fact, psychological problems can be prevented by the early warning and education. From the lesson of the shootings in the United States, the schools and society should pay attention to families with defects, conduct screening for personality disorders, and carry out planned, purposeful management, guidance, care and assistance from families, schools, and society. The government provides the states with funding for training, technology, and other aids to help schools identify and prevent violence.

School shooting can be reduced by regulating the sales of arms. In the United States, gun control is a very controversial topic. There are many people who support freedom of guns and the National Rifle Association is one of the most influential lobby groups. For some of the Americans, they think that it is only safe to defend themselves by guns. On the other hand, it can easily lead to crimes. Frequent school shooting incidents once again underscore the necessity of strengthening gun management in the United States. The wide school shooting incidents are closely influenced by the gun use in American society. According to Oppel Jr, “Florida has a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases”, who also argues that “Under federal law, you also must be 21 to buy a handgun from a firearms dealer. But 18-year-olds can buy semiautomatic rifles” (Oppel Jr The New York Times: In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun). The accepted use of guns in American society has provided much convenience and many possibilities for young students to buy and use guns legally, which may cause great harm to the stability of the school and the settlement of some common contradictions in school environment. The U.S. government needs to implement strict gun control commitments especially for students. Although some federal states strengthened their gun laws after a series of shooting incidents, many proposals failed to become national-level legislation. Since then, a large number of U.S. citizens have expressed their opinions on strengthening gun control through demonstrations and other means. The data of the victims killed in the shootings caused the United States to question its choice in controlling guns. The free flow of firearms will not only create a stronghold against terrorist attacks, but will also facilitate the implementation of such attacks.

School shooting also needs a change of the security measures of school. In the face of violence, minors are particularly vulnerable as vulnerable groups. Minors can easily fall victim to a minority who vent their emotions, retaliate against society, or express extreme political positions. At the same time, the tragedy that occurred in the traditional welfare society also tells people that the large-scale damages against minors may not be related to specific systems and national conditions. However, such potential violence is often unnoticed by people. The fact is indicated by David French that “large numbers of mass shooters broadcast warning signals of their intent to do harm, and it’s also a fact that family members and other relevant people close to the shooter have few tools at their disposal to prevent violence” (French National Review: The Best Explanation for Our Spate of Mass Shootings Is the Least Comforting). Schools can strengthen security measures, including detailed school safety plans, installation of metal detectors and surveillance cameras, reinforcement of fences, and requiring employees to use identification cards, dress codes, and so on. The school also normalizes fire drills, responds to potential violent exercises, and employs well-trained law enforcement personnel and social workers. A healthy campus culture can effectively prevent similar incidents. When suspicious persons are found nearby, the police officers are immediately sent to each school in the area to inspect. Parents must flock to pick up the children and return home. Schools can even take emergency closure measures to guide all students to a safe haven until the alarm is lifted.

The tragedy of the school shootings is not unstoppable and there are three strong solutions to school shootings in the U.S. including the combined efforts of parents, school, and community in the United States as it is rather serious now as a result of lack of strict gun control laws. School administers should give attention and psychological guidance for possible school shootings. It can be reduced by regulating the sales of arms. A change of the security measures of school should also be involved in avoiding school shootings. The marginalized role of shooters in the society and family intensified the problem of violence. Also, lack of psychological education in school makes it hard to prevent school shootings from happening. It involves a matter of strengthening gun control legislation, which needs the intervention in terms of strengthening of campus safety measures.