Stop School Shootings: Domestic Violence and Dangerous Red Flags

How are dangerous Domestic Violence Perpetrators and Mass Murderers related? Both Domestic Violence perpetrators and Mass Killers hold three dynamics in common:  The Obsessive Need for Power and Control, Suppressed Rage, and The Precipitative Trigger. In many cases, people close to the Domestic Violence Homicide perpetrators and Mass Murderers, foresaw the danger and even attempted to warn authorities, or force Mental Health Intervention, only to be told "There is nothing we can do". Victims have been left to suffer needless Tragedy, because there was no Predictive Tools and Prevention Legislation in place. So, can something be done?

Are there ways to foresee or predict the potential behavior of a killer based upon past behavior?  Patterns of Behavior, and Pychological Assessments can isolate individuals in Need of further evaluation. Lethality Assessment Tools are effective predictors of dangerous behavior in domestic violence situations. There are as yet, no Assessment Tools prepared specifically for Potential Mass Murders such as School Shooters. In the cases of recent school shootings, there were red flags and warning signs so strong as to precipitate calls to the FBI; yet there was no protocol in place in which to adequately use the data.

It is urgent that we learn to understand the behavior of potential killers and to be able to professionally and legally take preventative action

First: What make a rage-filled killer act?

There is always a fuse, and there is always a trigger. In order to understand mass shooters, we need to understand examine the behavior of the most dangerous domestic violence perpetrators.In the United States, over two thousand men and women are killed per year as a result of domestic homicide; in some cases, family annihilators kill entire families. Is this not mass murder? Much can be learned from a brief consideration of domestic violence behavior, risk, and assessment.In a single domestic violence situation, many who are capable of extreme violence are also capable of murder. The most dangerous time in a domestic violence relationship is when the relationship ends for good (leaving the first time invokes a hope of return), when the abuser feels strong rejection which trigger deep-seated power-and-control issues. Abusive people, regardless of the type and level of abuse, need an inordinate supply of power and control, usually stemming from a childhood in which they felt powerless and were unable to trust others. The deeper rooted these issues are and the more connected to the abusers sense of identity, the more likely there will be hurt, and hurt on steroids-rage.

Rejection triggers helplessness and powerlessness issues, which may trigger rage and an all-or-nothing response. In the average domestic violence relationship, murder is not part of the rage reaction; however in cases in which an abuser is so invested in a relationship that it reflects his/her own sense of self, rejection is a threat to 'the self'. The fight or flight response in such a person coupled with a need to 'avenge' themselves leads to dire consequences.

Not all abusers, in fact, most abusers are not wired to kill; but for those who are, they tend to punish the person they hold responsible for the unforgivable wound that rejection and abandonment inflicts upon their ego.    This type of abuser will usually kill the victim, and to avoid consequences, they often commit murder-suicide.

There is another type of abuser that is more dangerous to their victims and to the public in general; narcissistic sociopaths, that accept no responsibility for their own actions, and who are filled with suppressed rage like a ticking time bomb. These egocentric, possessive, and abusive individuals tend to hold the world responsible for their own sense of failure and inadequacy, and are at the greatest risk of becoming mass killers. The lack of conscience, lack of moral responsibility, and lack of empathy for others, earmarks such individuals. Killing animals and cruelty to others often causes alarms to go off, but little can be done, even when these individuals are reported to law enforcement. It is obvious that enabling gun ownership for individuals, who are at high risk of becoming mass killers, is a bad idea. Why are we allowing it?

The Current trend is to limit access to weapons for those convicted of domestic violence; however, there is a need for Lethal Risk Assessment Tools that will identify those who have not been convicted of domestic violence but are potentially dangerous time bombs. Many school shooters and mass murderers have not been convicted of a violent crime; but have set off red flag alarms in others.

 In most school shootings, there were red flags that were reported by others; the lack of subsequent preventative action is closely connected to lack of options. Once a report is made to law enforcement that a person is a 'ticking time bomb' but has not committed a crime, nothing can be done.  The options for mental health professionals are similarly without teeth: not a danger to self or others within the previous 72 hours, then nothing can be done, in most cases.

There needs to be an evaluative assessment tool that school guidance counselors can use to assess and refer. The next step would be an official assessment by mental health professionals using Lethal Risk Assessment Tools designed for that purpose. There are currently several Lethality Assessment tools related to domestic violence (Hart and Campbell are two), and Psychopath Inventories (PCL and PPI); however, there is not an assessment tool specific to the need at hand.

The Creation of a Specific School Shooter Risk Assessment Tool along with legislation that enables expert use of the tools could save thousands of lives.

Sara Niles