School counselors already stretched thin by pandemic-related crises say the Buffalo shooting, carried out by a gunman once flagged for making a threat at school, highlights their concerns about missing signs of potential violence.
When the accused shooter in Buffalo, Payton Gendron, was asked in spring 2021 by a teacher at his Binghamton, New York, high school about his plans after graduation, he responded that he wanted to commit a murder-suicide, according to law enforcement. The comment resulted in state police being called and a mental health evaluation at a hospital, where he claimed he was joking and was cleared to attend his graduation.
“The tagline I would go with is the kids are not all right,” said Erich Merkle, a psychologist for Akron Public Schools in Ohio, a district of about 21,000 students that he said is dealing with an increase in student depression, anxiety, suicidality and substance use, as well as aggression and violence, among other behavioral problems. “I can tell you that therapists are struggling.”Many parents had hoped that as classrooms reopened, the troubles of distance learning would fade away.
They brought back as many activities, clubs and assemblies as they could to help kids connect. And Lopez said she is constantly reminding her district that more support is needed, a plea echoed by her peers nationwide. “I think a lot can get lost,” she said. “If we don’t intervene in time, the issues that come with grief are going to be compounded in a big way to create additional challenges.”
According to that tally, there were 249 shootings in K-12 schools in 2021, more than twice the number in any year since 2018, when Riedman began the database. So far this year, there have been 122 shootings.There is also a notable difference from previous years, he said: Many of the incidents were not planned attacks, but typical disputes that ended in gunfire.
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