Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters

Ten years after the school massacre#xA0;at#xA0;Columbine High School in#xA0;Colorado,#xA0;school shootings are a new and alarming epidemic. While sociologists have attributed the#xA0;trigger of violence to peer#xA0;pressure, such as bullying and social isolation, prominent psychologist Peter Langman,#xA0;argues here that psychological causes are responsible. Drawing on 20 years of clinical experience, Langman#xA0;offers surprising reasons for why some teens become violent. Langman divides shooters into three#xA0;categories, and he discusses#xA0;the#xA0;role of personality, trauma, and psychosis among school shooters.#xA0; From examining the material evidence of notorious school shooters at Columbine and Virginia Tech to addressing the mental states of the violent youths he treats, Langman#xA0;shows how to identify early signs of homicide-prone youth#xA0;and what#xA0;preventive measures educators, parents and communities can take to protect themselves from the tragedy.