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Sandy Hook Promise Statement On The U.S. Secret Service Analysis Of Targeted School Violence

Newtown, CT — Yesterday, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center released a study reviewing 41 school shootings between 2008 and 2017. The findings underscore that most of the school attackers demonstrated warning signs that were largely unreported prior to the shooting. The report also found that many of the shooters were severely bullied or isolated from their peers.

Sandy Hook Promise, the leading school violence prevention organization, issued the following statement in response:

“We applaud the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center for publishing this in-depth report underscoring the fact that most school shooters give warning signs prior to their attack. This knowledge underpins the curriculum of our Know the Signs programs.  In partnership with threat assessment, mental health, and law enforcement experts, we created th​ese life-saving programs to train youth and adults how to identify the ​warning signs of someone at risk and safely intervene before violence occurs. We have seen first-hand that these types of prevention methods work. Our programs have helped avert many mass shooting plots, firearm threats, suicides, bullying, cyberbullying, self-harm, and other acts of violence in schools. The more our students and the adults around them learn to recognize warning signs and take action, the more we can reduce the incidents of gun violence in our schools and communities,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. 

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About Sandy Hook Promise: Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.  SHP’s mission is to prevent gun violence (and other forms of violence and victimization) BEFORE it can happen by educating and mobilizing youth and adults to identify, intervene, and get help for at-risk individuals. SHP is a moderate, above-the-politics organization that supports sensible program and policy solutions that address the “human side” of gun violence by preventing individuals from ever getting to the point of picking up a firearm to hurt themselves or others. Our words, actions, and impact nationwide are intended to honor all victims of gun violence by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation.

For more information, visit www.sandyhookpromise.org or call 203-304-9780.