Why Kids Kill Inside the Minds of School Shooters [Paperback]

In the horrific aftermath of school shootings, distraught communities struggle to make sense of these seemingly senseless acts. Despite massive media coverage, we know little about what drives young perpetrators or how they rationalize their acts. In this breakthrough analysis, Dr. Peter Langman presents the psychological causes of school shootings and offers unprecedented insight into why certain teens exhibit the potential to kill. He shows how to identify early signs of possible violence and offers preventative measures that parents and educators can take to protect their communities.

A very strong resource for school counselors and parents. The author meets his task of truly getting into the minds of school shooters. BNET

Langman offers a paradigm of three specific categories of youth offenders--psychopathic, psychotic, or traumatized. . . Langman fully discusses long-term exposure to violence, genetic predisposition to violence, recurrent alienation from mainstream society, depression, narcissism, and lack of empathy, as well as improperly challenged and constrained rage in the context of these three categories . . . He also looks at cases of youth who are not as notorious and whose intent to kill others was thwarted, and ends with lessons that can be learned from these and other cases. In addition, Langman presents research that informs current practice with disconnected, enraged youth. Langman believes that school shootings can be prevented, and his analysis offers reflections on how prevention can occur. A vital, phenomenal, extremely valuable work. Summing up: Essential. all levels / libraries. D.E. Kelly, Adelphi University, CHOICE (Sept. 2009)

Peter Langman's bookWhy Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shootersis a highly readable, engaging text that analyzes 10 school shooters, outlines a typology that classifies school shooters into three distinct categories, uses the author's personal experience in asslã