The shooting at Columbine High School riveted national attention
on violence in the nation s schools. This dramatic example
signaled an implicit and growing fear that these events would
continue to occur and even escalate in scale and severity. How
do we make sense of the tragedy of a school shooting or even
draw objective conclusions from these incidents? Deadly Lessons
is the outcome of the National Research Council s unique effort
to glean lessons from six case studies of lethal student
violence. These are powerful stories of parents and teachers and
troubled youths, presenting the tragic complexity of the young
shooter s social and personal circumstances in rich detail. The
cases point to possible causes of violence and suggest where
interventions may be most effective. Readers will come away with
a better understanding of the potential threat, how violence
might be prevented, and how healing might be promoted in
affected communities. For each case study, Deadly Lessons
relates events leading up to the vi