School shootings in seven countries: Testingand developing the theory of five necessary conditions

Abstract

To test and further develop Newman and collaborators’ 2004 theory of the five necessary conditions for school shootings to occur, this chapter investigates 14 school shootings in seven countries. Using case-based comparison with pattern matching, the study draws primarily upon texts, pictures, films and other material created by the perpetrators themselves. The theory is found to be generally valid even in contexts where socio-cultural conditions and shooters’ modus operandi differ notably from those in its original focus. Many of its key elements nevertheless call for further elaboration, such as the role played by social marginalization and cultural scripts, and the relation between the use of cultural scripts and other types of rationalizations requires clarification.