DeKALB | “Why?” is the question resonating throughout America and the world in the wake of the shocking school shootings that have occurred across the United States and Canada in the past three weeks.

Three shootings occurred on high school and college campuses in Montreal, Colorado and Wisconsin from Sept. 13 through Sept. 29, resulting in five deaths and numerous injuries.

When sorting through the shock, horror and sadness of such events, there still remains the simple question of why these events ever occurred.

Searching for an answer

“No one knows the answer,” said Richard Long, psychologist at the Counseling and Student Development Center. “It is a complex variation of factors. Certainly it seems that people feel estranged, not a part of society and unhappy in their personal life.”

Personal despair, it seems, has been the catalyst in every one of the recent shootings, as well as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre that awoke the world to the possibility of such horrific events occurring on school grounds.

On Sept. 14 in Green Bay, two 17-year-old students and an 18-year-old recent graduate were arrested when their plot to stage a Columbine-inspired shooting was uncovered. It was later revealed the plot was fueled by the accused students being frustrated by their respective failures with the opposite sex.

“Relationships are critical during this age period,” Long said. “It is an age where intellectually, people develop at different rates. Some haven’t reached the maturity and skill level where they can deal with rejection.”

Recognizing the warning signs

The most recent in the tragic chain of events occurred Friday in Cazenovia, Wis., a town north of Madison with barely 300 residents. A 15-year-old freshman student, recently suspended for misconduct, walked into the high school and shot the principal three times. The student was detained and the 49-year-old principal, who somehow managed to wrestle the gun away from the student after being shot, later died.

The perpetrator apparently had foreshadowed to friends that the principal would not make it through homecoming. However, the warnings were not taken seriously and the tragedy was not prevented.

One of the recurring themes in these types of incidents is that if students and others close to the perpetrators had given thought to the warning signs, the deaths of innocent people may have been prevented.

“The greatest predictor available in these cases is that very many shootings were known by students, friends and relatives, and when they had been told, they did not take it seriously,” said Lt. Matthew Kiederlen of the University Police. “Some people have outbursts with emotional issues. With that, the possibility exists. If anyone suspects that someone would be planning something like that, they should contact us immediately.”

Protecting NIU

It’s difficult to imagine such a terrible thing happening here. However, if such a situation broke out here, University Police is prepared.

“It’s very situation-dependent,” Kiederlen said. “We have officers trained in negotiation, rapid response, SWAT and hazardous materials, among other things.”

The department keeps such emergency procedures a closely-guarded secret.

“Precautions of any type pertaining to that kind of emergency are given only to those that absolutely need to know,” said Lt. Curtis Young of UP. “If information like that got out, then a person would know where our people will be positioned, who is in charge, and that way, perpetrators will be aware of what is going to happen and be able to work their way around it.”

From victim to perpetrator

With much of the United States and Canada still stunned from this bizarre sequence of events, it is important to put things into perspective.

“These people are usually suffering from intolerable emotional pain, are depressed, fearful and full of rage,” Long said. “It’s so unfortunate because they have been victimized badly in their lives. That makes it all the more tragic. It’s a short distance from victim to perpetrator.”

Care is vital in preventing further tragedies, Long said.

“We need to do a better job of taking care of each other so these things don’t happen anymore,” he said.

Justin Weaver is the University Police beat reporter for the Northern Star.