Creators: We Need to Squeeze Some Intelligence Into the Discussion About School Shootings

Matthew T. Mangino
Creators Syndicate
September 10, 2024

In the aftermath of another school shooting, this time in Georgia, parents will be clamoring to keep guns out of the hands of would-be mass killers, school boards will be looking for money to bring more armed security into school buildings, and politicians will be telling every interest group exactly what they want to hear.

Schools don't need more school resource officers, armed guards or, for that matter, armed teachers. Schools need to become adept at gathering information, sharing intelligence and, most importantly, making sense of what they learn.

The mother of the suspected Apalachee High School gunman told family members that she called the school on the morning of the shooting and warned a counselor about an "extreme emergency" involving her 14-year-old son, "according to text messages obtained by The Washington Post and an interview with a family member."

That account is supported by a call log from the family's shared phone plan, which shows a 10-minute call from the mother's phone to the school starting at 9:50 a.m. — about a half-hour before witnesses said the gunman opened fire.

In Uvalde, Texas, we learned far too well that good guys, many good guys, with guns can't always stop a bad guy with a gun. In Florida, Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison after killing 17 people at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. The school's resource officer was criminally charged for failing to enter the school and confront Cruz. He was ultimately tried and acquitted.

Nearly every school in America has prepared for a shooting, more than 96% of public schools hold active-shooter drills, reports The Washington Post. Active shooter training, although needed, is a reaction to a shooting — not an effort to prevent one. According to the Post, "A pricey, multilayered security plan can be undone by something as small as an open door and a school police force can fail to prevent a worst-case scenario."

Target hardening and emergency response strategies are important components to minimize, or even deter, an attack. Intelligence is essential to preventing one.

School attacks are often the result of meticulous planning. With planning comes the potential for leaving clues. Jeff Kaas, author of "Columbine: A True Crime Story," wrote in the Post that 81% of school shooters tell someone about their plans. In addition, most attackers engaged in some behavior before the attack that caused others concern or indicated a need for help.

Suspicious conduct, indirect threats, even alarming expressions in school assignments need to be documented. Information must be shared so that a coherent snapshot can be created of a potentially volatile situation.

School districts need to collect, document and share intelligence. To that end, schools should establish fusion coordinators, "intel officers," who can synthesize documented activity occurring in school, outside of school and on social media networks. Teachers, administrators and staff should have regular roundtable discussions about unusual behavior, threats, bullying and social isolation of students.

Would a school district be better off with another armed resource officer or intelligence officer armed with a laptop, cellphone, intelligence software and an email serving as a central point of contact trying to make sense of information from teachers, staff, students and outside public sources?

Intelligence has been cultivated and used effectively in this country's antiterrorism efforts. An intelligence model might not only help prevent a violent rampage but may assist school districts to more effectively reach out to students who need support, counseling or more specific interventions.

One thing is for certain: What America is doing to address mass school shootings is not working. The time is right to look at other options, and just maybe the next officer a school district should hire is an intelligence officer, not a police officer.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on X @MatthewTMangino.

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