Responding to School Shootings

1. Initial impact: shock and disbelief; the social order is disrupted, traumatic stress is widespread and even an incident at a distant school can create fear and insecurity.
2. Heroic period: altruistic acts of kindness and patience toward the victims, including community mobilisation of resources and generous outpouring of donations and praise.
3. Honeymoon period: past conflicts are forgotten and new relationships are formed; the community or school is open to change not possible prior to the crisis.
4. Disillusionment: survivors and others are left with the real impact of trauma and loss; problems that seemed resolved return.
5. Reconstruction: based on the newly identified safety needs, the school and community must focus on constructive actions that give hope to and empower the school in the aftermath of tragedy; the operation of the school cannot be viewed as ‘business as usual’.

• Specific fears triggered by traumatic reminders of the violent act;
• Telling and retelling details of the traumatic event; also traumatic play, re-enacting the incident;
• Fear of being overwhelmed by feelings or shame about their fear and vulnerability;
• Engaging in hostile, aggressive and/or bullying behaviour toward peers;
• Impaired sleep, eating disturbances, somatic complaints;
• Impaired concentration and poor coping skills in the classroom;

• Detachment, denial and/or guilt;
• New or increasing risk-taking, life threatening or pseudo-mature behaviour.
• Abrupt changes in friendship or abandonment of friendships.

• Verbal reassurance and adult behaviours that re-establish physical and emotional safety;
• Clear limits and reinforcement of expected behaviour;
• Quiet rest and comfort food;
• Calm routine at home and at school with consistent caretakers.

• Monitor television-watching and remove traumatic reminders of violence;
• Encourage discussion of the actual event/media coverage, correct distorted fears and give concrete examples of existing safety measures;
• Help children identify ‘fear, anger, sadness’ as normal emotions shared by many adults and children after acts of violence;
• Encourage children to talk about their thoughts and feelings and identify physical symptoms when afraid;
• Act against aggressive, hostile, risk-taking or bullying behaviour toward others;
• Encourage constructive alternatives that promote a renewed sense of control and justice and reduce the sense of helplessness;
• Spend additional time to help with homework, chores, projects and activities;
• Ask for the children’s opinions and ideas;
• Praise them for their efforts and reassure them how much they are cared for.

• Agitation, hyper-vigilance, startled responses (easily startled or surprised, jumpy);
• Hyper-arousal, heart palpitations, high blood pressure;
• Hot or cold flushes, sweating, tightness in the throat or chest;
• Recurrence of childhood allergies such as asthma or eczema;
• Sleep disturbances including insomnia, nightmares, fatigue;
• Appetite disturbances and gastrointestinal distress;

• Isolation and withdrawal, inability to experience pleasure in daily activities.

• Anxiety and generalised fear, increased self-doubt, guilt;
• Irritability, anger or rage;
• Sadness, grief or depression;
• Numbness or blunted affect, hopelessness, helplessness, despair and defeat;

• Decreased ability to cope with daily life, difficulty making decisions;
• Memory loss, frequent confusion, decreased ability to take in new information, decreased ability to do computations;
• Intrusive thoughts and images of the violence or its aftermath;
• Questioning of faith or loss of spiritual beliefs.

• Verbal reassurance and focus on coping behaviours that re-establish physical and emotional safety;
• Identification of constructive coping behaviours and restorative activities;
• Discouragement of coping through the use or abuse of substances;
• Reinforcement of positive health habits and regular exercise;
• Emphasising quiet rest, comfort food and the company of good friends;
• Maintaining a calm routine at home and at work.

• Serve as a role model. In times of crisis, children look to their parents and other important adults for guidance. Children will respond the way similar to that of the adults in their homes, schools and community. If adults conduct themselves with courage and dignity, children will follow their example.
• Limit young children’s exposure to television news; children can be at high risk of psychological trauma if they see continuous scenes of human suffering and violence. Television replays can be especially disturbing because some children cannot separate replays from live action.
• Focus on the facts. Emphasise that information is still being gathered and that everyone is working to find out what happened and to prevent it from happening again. Speculation is not helpful when all the facts have not been established.
• Reassure children that they belong in school every day and that their safety is, as always, the primary concern of their principal/headmaster, teachers and district staff.

Be assured that you will be informed of any changes in school schedules, procedures and/or operations."