‘Insiders’ form greatest threat in school attacks

The biggest threat to students is other students, data from 20 years of school attacks shows.

Most school shooters in the last two decades have been “insiders” — male, teen-aged, former or current students, a Florida Department of Law Enman expert said Thursday. And 80 percent of the attackers told at least one person ahead of time.

Those trends, reported at Thursday’s Public Safety Commission meeting in Sunrise, could help guide efforts to avert deadly shootings and other targeted attacks in schools. Commission members said reforms should focus on preparing teachers and students, so they know what behaviors to look for, how to report it and how to confront an attacker. Having someone armed and prepared at the school also is vital, they said.

The FDLE’s look at 46 attacks — involving 48 attackers — since 1998 found no distinct personality profile for who might pull off a heinous act like Nikolas Cruz, a former student, did on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneforcement Douglas High School in Parkland. But some factors held true in many of the cases, Nevin Smith, a senior crime intelligence analyst for FDLE, told the commission. Some of the trends:

MOTIVE: The attacks are planned well in advance and serve a purpose for the criminals carrying them out. But that