According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 27, 223 private education institutions in America during the 1999-2000 school year.  There are approximately 30,400 private schools in America for the 2006-2007 school year.  The total number of private schools for the 1999-2000 school year can be further segmented. Catholic schools accounted for 8,102 of the 27, 223 total private schools.  Another 13,268 schools were classified as “other religious,” and nonsectarian schools represented yet another 5,853.  

In 1999-2000, there were 5,262,849 students enrolled in private schools with 404,066 teachers.  Contrast this with the 2006 projected private school enrollment figure of 6,419,000.  “Eighty-four percent of private school students attend religiously-affiliated schools, and eighty percent of those schools have fewer than three hundred students” (Council for American Private Education, 2006).  Forty-two percent of these schools are located in central cities.  Another forty percent of them are located in urban areas or
large cities.  

Some states contain higher concentrations of private schools than do others.  The states listed below are a ranking of private schools with the highest enrollment in descending order.

State                Number of Private School Students
1.  California                          619,067
2.  New York                          475,942
3.  Pennsylvania                    339,484
4.  Illinois                               299,871
5.  Florida                              290,872
6.  Ohio                                  254,494
7.  Texas                                227,645
8.  New Jersey                      198,631
9.  Michigan                           179,579
10.  Maryland                        144,131

The average private school had 193 students in 1999-2000.  Among private schools, eighty percent had enrollments of less than 300.  Private Catholic schools had an average enrollment of 315 students.  The average enrollment among religious schools was 141 and 144 for nonsectarian schools.  

In order to properly service Christian schools by delivering relevant statistical information about the area, a detailed synopsis of the existing state of their security, and a rate-and-rank from highest-impact, lowest-cost to highest-cost, lowest impact while covering operational expenses including back-office processing and assessor travel, the market price for conducting a site security assessment in private schools is $100 per enrolled student with a 100 student minimum.  (SAFE School provides these services for a fraction of the market cost.  Call or email us today for pricing!) 

Society demands that employees be protected through unions and regulations such as OSHA.  America’s educational institutions and the foundation and hope for tomorrow deserve the same courtesy – to learn in a secure environment.  The extended challenge to parents around the country is to rise up and demand that schools address the need. The first step to addressing the issue of school safety is to have a full understanding of the current state of security assessed by an independent, professional site security organization.

School shootings and violence have dominated the media and instilled fear in the hearts of the American public.  Parents and children alike are concerned for their safety when going to school.  Until recently, the threat was mostly realized towards public schools. The takeover of the Amish school opened the eyes of the private school community and their administrators around the country.  Private schools were no longer safe simply because of their religious affiliation or status.  SAFE believes that all schools, public and private, should receive a professional site security assessment every three years.  New methods of deterring security breaches and securing facilities are learned each year and systems and policies warrant periodic review and consideration.

It is a sad state of affairs when corporations ensure the physical safety of their employees through the implementation of proper security measures, but the employees children are exposed to harm and danger.  Popular opinion touts that children are the hope of tomorrow and that they represent the future.  However, this true statement is eroded when examining how far workplace security has come in comparison to school security.  The children of America are worth the effort.  They are worth the expense.  The return may or may not be found in monetary form, but the return on investment for providing a secure environment for children to learn basic life skills will return tremendous dividends for this nation in the future.  A price tag cannot be put on the life of one child that is saved through the smarter construction of buildings, enhanced security processes, or modern technology.

The majority of schools were constructed with very little thought given to the physical
securing of the premises.  After all, it is a learning facility, not a confined prison.  For the most part, schools were built to facilitate the learning process and allow for ease of student traffic flow before, during, and after classes.  The result is large hallways with unlocked doors.  School administrators are professionals at educating people.  They are not security experts.  Many individuals have a level of common sense and could identify areas of opportunity in which schools can improve.  The importance of having a professional facility or site security assessment (SSA) completed on a regular basis is necessary to ensure staff and student safety.  When conducting a SSA, the building is reviewed along with the surrounding areas.  For example, questions such as, “How close is the nearest interstate or main road?  How close is the nearest half-way house, jail, and prison?  How close is the nearest hospital?  What are the response times and capabilities for fire, police, and rescue workers?” must be asked and answered.  Surrounding crime statistics need to be documented, floor plans examined, evacuation plans practiced, crisis management plans outlined, and attendance-challenged and disciplined students identified.

SAFE has found that schools are better equipped to handle potential security breaches by understanding their points of vulnerability.  Corporations in the United States spend billions of dollars annually ensuring the safety of employees in the workplace.  We believe that our children, tomorrow’s future, deserve the same level of physical security.  We are responsible for creating a safe and secure environment that enhances the learning experience.

February 14, 2008 - A former Northern Illinois University graduate student walked into a
classroom around 4pm dressed in a trench coat and black beanie and opened fire on the students.  
Once he unloaded the first cartridge/magazine, he calmly loaded another round.  Six people are
dead and 15 more seriously wounded.
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February 11, 2008 - A 17 year old high school sophomore shot and killed a 19 year old senior
during gym class at Mitchell High School in Memphis, TN and then handed the gun to the gym
teacher and said, "It's over now."  
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February 8, 2008 - A 23 year old woman shot and killed 2 women with a .357 revolver prior to
killing herself at Louisiana Technical College.  The shooting occurred in a classroom.
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February 7, 2008 - A 5th grade elementary school teacher was shot and stabbed in Portsmouth,
OH by her estranged husband in front of her class at Notre Dame Elementary.  Her husband later
killed himself.
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February 4, 2008 - A 16 year old student was shot in the leg by another student in Memphis, TN
over a dispute about music.
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October 10, 2007 - A 14 year old gunman, Asa Coon, shot 5 people before killing himself including
a 57 year old teacher and a 42 year old man along with at least 3 students.  The gunman was a
student at SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, OH where he was suspended 2 days prior for
fighting.
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September 21, 2007 - Two students, a 17 year old male and 17 year old female, were seriously
wounded at Delaware State University as they were leaving the on-campus cafe.  Investigators
believe the victims knew their attacker(s).  
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April 16, 2007 - One student gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, shot and killed 33 students on the campus
of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.  An additional 15 students were transported to the hospital
with critical injuries.  
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Jan. 9, 2007 - Two students were wounded in a high school parking lot at a Las Vegas, NV high
school.  Shooting was a result of an off-campus altercation at a convenience store.
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Jan. 3, 2007 - Student gunman, Douglas Chanthabouly, walked into Ross High School in Tacoma,
WA and shot three rounds into Samnong Kok, a 17 year old young man, at point-blank range
splattering blood all over the lockers.
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Oct. 2, 2006 - Charles Carl Roberts, 32, took 10 girls hostage in an Amish school in Nickel Mines,
PA, killing five of them before killing himself.
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Sept. 29, 2006 - Eric Hainstock, 15, took two guns into his Cazenovia, WI, school and fatally shot
the principal before being captured and arrested.
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Sept. 27, 2006 - Duane Morrison, 53, took six girls hostage at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey,
CO, molesting them and holding them for hours before fatally shooting one girl and then himself.
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Nov. 8, 2006 - Assistant principal Ken Bruce was killed and two other administrators seriously
wounded when Kenny Bartley, a 15-year-old student, opened fire in a Jacksboro, Tennessee high
school.
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Aug. 24, 2006 - Christopher Williams, 27, went to Essex Elementary School in Vermont and, when
he could not find his ex-girlfriend - a teacher, he shot and killed one teacher and wounded another.
Earlier, he had killed the ex-girlfriend's mother. He attempted suicide but survived and was arrested.
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Mar 21, 2005 - Jeff Weise, 16, shot to death his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend and
then went to his high school in Red Lake, Minnesota, where he killed a security guard, a teacher,
and five students, and wounded seven others, before killing himself.
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Nov. 24, 2004 - James Lewerke, a 15-year-old student at Valparaiso High School in northern
Indiana, pulled two large knives out of his pants and stabbed seven of his classmates. None of the
injuries was life-threatening.
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May 7, 2004 - Four teenagers leaving a charity basketball game at their Randallstown, Maryland,
high school were wounded, one critically, in a drive-by shooting. Among the suspects was a 17-
year-old student at the school who had been involved in an earlier incident over a girl.
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Apr. 3, 2004 - A shot was fired from a passing car through the glass front door of the Accelerated
Learning and Transition Academy in Houston. About 200 students were in the school at the time
but no one was injured.
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Feb. 11, 2004 - Ten year old Faheem Thomas-Childs was shot in the face outside T.M. Peirce
Elementary School in Philadelphia. He died six days after the shooting. He was caught in a shootout
between two rival gangs. The gun battle unleashed nearly 100 shots in the area as children were
arriving at the school. A school crossing guard was also injured. Two men were arrested for the
shooting.
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Feb. 2, 2004 - Seventeen year old James Richardson was shot to death in Ballou Senior High
School in Washington D.C. during second period. The shooting resulted from a confrontation with
another student who was arrested.
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Jan. 13, 2004 - Following an argument, a 19-year-old entered Northern High School in Detroit and
shot Aaron Wilson, 18, six times in the leg. Neither teen was a student at the school.
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Nov. 14, 2003 - A 15-year-old student accidentally fired a handgun outside the East Mecklenburg
High School (North Carolina) cafeteria injuring two students.
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Oct. 30, 2003 - 16-year-old Devin Fowlkes was shot to death in front of Anacostia Senior High
School in Washington D.C. as he left a homecoming dance along with a crowd of students.
Another student was slightly injured. A 15-year-old, who said he was aiming at someone else, was
arrested and charged with murder.
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Sept. 26, 2003 - A 13-year-old boy fired a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun into the ceiling of a
Cleveland County, North Carolina, middle school. He also fired one shot into the closed door of a
classroom filled with students. No one was injured.
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Sept. 24, 2003 - Aaron Rollins, 17, was killed and Seth Bartell, 14, was critically wounded when
15-year-old John Jason McLaughlin walked out of a locker room at Rocori High School in Cold
Spring, MN., and shot them with a .22-caliber gun he had in his gym bag. Bartell died Oct. 10.
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Apr. 24, 2003 - In Red Lion, PA, 14-year old James Sheets shot and killed his middle school
principal Eugene Segro in a crowded school cafeteria and then killed himself.
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Apr. 14, 2003 - Gunmen armed with an AK-47 rifle and a handgun opened fire in the packed
gymnasium of John McDonogh Senior High School in New Orleans. Jonathan Williams, 15, was
killed and three girls were wounded in a spray of bullets. It was thought to be a revenge killing for
an earlier murder. A loaded handgun was found on the victim. Four suspects were arrested.
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April 29, 2002 - 17-year-old Dragoslav Petkovic opened fire with a handgun shortly after noon at
his high school in Vlasenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, killing one teacher and wounding another before
taking his own life.
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Apr. 26, 2002 - 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser, who had been expelled from Johann Gutenberg
high school in Erfurt, Germany, returned to the school and shot to death 13 teachers, two students
and a police officer before killing himself.
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Feb. 19, 2002 - A 22-year-old gunman in Munich, Germany, killed his former boss and a foreman
at the company that fired him, then went to a high school in a Munich suburb, where he shot the
school's headmaster when he was unable to find the teacher he was after. He then shot another
teacher in the face and set off homemade bombs before killing himself.
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Jan. 15, 2002 - Two students at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Manhattan, were seriously
wounded when a teenager opened fire at the school.
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Nov. 13, 2001 - Chris Buschbacher, 17, went to the Caro (Mich.) Learning Center armed with a .
22-caliber rifle and a 20-gauge shotgun, taking a student and a teacher hostage. During a three-
hour standoff, he fired two shots. The hostages were eventually released but Buschbacher, who
was reportedly despondent over a breakup with his girlfriend, shot himself as police prepared to
enter the building.
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June 8, 2001 - Mamoru Takuma forced his way into Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka, Japan,
stabbed to death eight students and injured 13 others. Takuma, who had a long history of mental
illness, pleaded guilty to the crimes.
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Mar. 30, 2001 - Neal Boyd IV, 16, was shot to death outside Lew Wallace High School in Gary,
IN, where he was a student. 17-year-old Donald R. Burt Jr. was arrested, convicted and sentenced
to 57 years in prison.
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Mar. 22, 2001 - Four students and two teachers were wounded at Granite Hills High School in El
Cajon, Ca. None of the injuries were life-threatening. One of the wounded students, 18-year-old
Jason Hoffman, was the alleged assailant. The shooting took place in a San Diego suburb just
seven miles from the March 5th high school shooting.
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Mar. 7, 2001 - An 8th-grade girl shot a 13-year-old classmate during lunch at Bishop Neumann
Junior-Senior High School in Williamsport, PA. The suspect was arrested and the injuries were not
considered life-threatening.
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Mar 26, 2001 - An arson fire at the Kyanguli Secondary school in Kenya killed 67 students. Two
students were charged with murder.
Unidentified students console each other after a shooting at Santana High School in Santee, CA.
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Mar. 5, 2001 - 15-year-old Charles Andrew Williams was arrested for killing two classmates, and
wounding 13 other people, at Santana High School in Santee, CA. In August 2002, he received a
50-year to life sentence.
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Feb. 2, 2001 - Two students and a teachers were reportedly grazed by gunfire at Osborn High
School in Detroit. The victims were not seriously hurt, and no suspect was caught.
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Jan. 17, 2001 - Juan Matthews, 17, died after being shot three times while standing in front of
Lake Clifton Eastern High School in Baltimore, MD.
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Oct. 24, 2000 -An armed teen-ager briefly held a classroom full of children and a teacher hostage
at Pioneer Elementary School in Glendale, AZ, before surrendering to authorities. There were no
injuries.
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Sept. 26, 2000 - A 13 year old and a 15 year old were critically wounded when they shot each
other with the same gun. The shootings occurred during a fight at Woodson Middle School in New
Orleans, LA. The gun had been slipped through a fence to one of the students by a 13 year old
who had been expelled from the school.
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July 17, 2000 - In Renton, WA, near Seattle, a 13-year-old boy was charged with shooting a
handgun into the ceiling of the school cafeteria. More than 100 students were in the cafeteria at the
time, but no one was injured. The boy, later identified as Josh Warnock, fled and was taken into
custody at the home of his grandparents the following day.
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May 26, 2000 - In Lake Worth, FL, 13 year old honor student Nathaniel Brazil shot a teacher in the
face, killing him. Police said the seventh-grader had been sent home for throwing water balloons
and returned to the school with a handgun he found in his grandfather's dresser.
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Mar. 10, 2000 - 19 year old Stacy Smalls and 16-year-old Ramone Kimble died from gunshot
wounds they suffered as they were leaving a dance honoring the Savannah, Ga. Beach High School
girls basketball state championship team. Darrell Ingram, 19, was arrested and charged with
murder and aggravated assault.
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Feb. 29, 2000 - A first-grade boy at Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, MI,
fatally shot classmate Kayla Rolland, 6, after the two children had a verbal spat. He took the .32-
caliber handgun from his uncle's home, where he was living.
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Dec. 6, 1999 - Seth Trickey, 13, fired at least 15-rounds at Fort Gibson Middle School in Fort
Gibson, OK, wounding four classmates. He was convicted on seven assault charges.
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Nov. 19, 1999 - A 13 year old girl was shot in the head in school at Deming, New Mexico. She
died the next day. Twelve year old Victor Cordova Jr. pleaded guilty to the shooting.
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May 20, 1999 - T.J. Solomon, 15, opened fire at Heritage High School in Conyers, GA, wounding
six students. Solomon pleaded guilty but mentally ill and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
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Apr. 28, 1999 - A 14-year-old who had been bullied by his classmates, opened fire at W.R., Myers
high school in Taber, Alberta, Canada, killing a 17-year-old student and wounding another student.
The boy, who was obsessed with the Columbine shootings, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted
murder and, in November 2000, was sentenced to three-years in jail.
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Apr. 20, 1999 - Columbine High School students Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, went on a
shooting rampage, killing 12 of their classmates and one teacher, a Hoosier native, in Littleton, CO.
Klebold and Harris then kill themselves. The massacre was the bloodiest school shooting in U.S.
history.
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June 15, 1998 - A male teacher and a female guidance counselor were shot in a hallway at a
Richmond, VA, high school. Neither was seriously injured.
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May 21, 1998 - Two students were killed and more than 20 other people wounded when Kip
Kinkel, 15, opened fire at Thurston High School's cafeteria in Springfield, OR. Earlier that day, he
killed his parents. He had been expelled the day before for bringing a gun to school.
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May 21, 1998 - Miles Fox,15, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Onalaska,
WA. Earlier in the day, he boarded a high school bus with a gun in hand, ordered his girlfriend off
the bus and took her to his home, where he shot himself.
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May 21, 1998 - A 15-year-old girl was shot and wounded at a suburban Houston, TX high school
when a gun in the backpack of a 17-year-old boy discharged.
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May 19, 1998 - Three days before graduation, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis allegedly
opened fire in a parking lot at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, TN, killing a classmate
who was dating his ex-girlfriend.
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Apr. 28, 1998 - Two teen-age boys were shot to death and a third was wounded as they played
basketball at a Pomona, CA, elementary school hours after classes had ended. An unidentified 14-
year-old boy was charged.
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Apr. 24, 1998 - A 48 year old science teacher was shot to death in front of students at a graduation
dance in Edinboro, PA. Andrew Wurst, a 14-year-old student at James W. Parker Middle School,
was charged. The killer was later described as depressed, alienated and a boy who never smiled.
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Mar. 24, 1998 -  Four girls and a teacher were shot to death and 10 others wounded during a false
fire alarm at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, AR. Two boys, Andrew Golden, 11, and
Mitchell Johnson, 13, were accused of setting off the alarm and then opening fire from a nearby
woods.
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Dec. 1, 1997 - Three students were killed and five others wounded as they took part in a prayer
circle in a hallway at Heath High School in West Paducah, KY. Michael Carneal, 14, described as
emotionally immature, plead guilty but mentally ill and was sentenced to life. One of the wounded
girls was paralyzed.
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Oct. 1, 1997 - 16 year old outcast Luke Woodham of Pearl, MS, was sentenced to life in prison
for killing his mother, then going to Pearl High School and shooting nine students. Two students
died, including the suspect's ex-girlfriend.
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March 30, 1997 - Mohammad Ahmad al-Naziri, 48, armed with an assault rifle, opened fire on
hundreds of students at two school in Sanaa, Yemen. Six children and two others died. He was
sentenced to death and executed by firing squad one week after the incident.
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Feb. 19, 1997 - 16 year old Evan Ramsey opened fire with a shotgun in a common area at a Bethel,
Alaska, high school, killing the principal and a student and wounding two others. Ramsey was
sentenced to two 99-year prison terms.
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Mar. 13, 1996 -  Thomas Hamilton, 43, dressed in black and wearing earmuffs to protect himself
from the noise, entered an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and sprayed 105 bullets into
the gym striking 29 people before killing himself. Sixteen five and 6-year-olds and a teacher died.
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Feb. 2, 1996 - 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis walked into algebra class with a hunting rifle in his
trench coat and opened fire, killing the teacher and two students. A third student was injured
during the shooting at a junior high school in Moses Lake, WA.
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Jan. 18, 1993 - Scott Pennington, 17, walked into Deanna McDavid's English class at East Carter
High School in Grayson, KY, and shot her in the head. He then shot janitor Marvin Hicks.
Pennington was sentenced to life without parole.
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May 1, 1992 - Eric Houston, 20, killed four people and wounded 10 in a siege at his former high
school in Olivehurst, CA. The attack was said to be in retaliation for a failing grade. Houston was
convicted and sentenced to death.
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Jan. 17, 1989 - Patrick Purdy, 26, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, opened fire on a playground
at a Stockton, CA, elementary school. Five children died and 29 children and one teacher were
wounded before Purdy killed himself.
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Sept. 26, 1988 - James Wilson, 19, opened fire in a Greenwood, SC. elementary school. He shot
seven students and two teachers. Two 8-year-old girls died.
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May 20, 1988 - Laurie Dann, 30, shot six students at a Winnetka, IL, elementary school, killing one
second-grader. She then shot a man in a nearby house before committing suicide.
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Jan. 21, 1985 - James Alan Kearbey, 14, armed with a M1-A semiautomatic rifle and a .357-caliber
handgun, killed the principal and wounded two teachers and a student at his Goddard (Kansas)
Junior high school. He pleaded no contest and served seven years in a state youth facility.
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Jan. 29, 1979 - Brenda Spencer, 16, opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle at an elementary school
across the street from her San Diego, CA, home. She killed two people and wounded seven
because she "didn't like Mondays". She is in prison.



Source:  News Reports and Library Fact Files