Why am I passionate about this?

I never wanted to study mass murder or violence of any kind. I was doing my internship for my Ph.D. in counseling psychology at a psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents when the attack at Columbine High School occurred. Within ten days of that attack, a 16-year-old boy was admitted to the hospital because he was viewed as a Columbine-type risk. I was assigned to conduct a psychological evaluation of him. Then another potential school shooter was admitted. And another. Seeking insight into this population and learning how to recognize the warning signs and prevent impending attacks has become my life’s work.


I wrote

Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike

By Peter Langman,

Book cover of Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike

What is my book about?

Dr. Langman’s timely book presents practical, research-based guidance on anticipating and preventing mass attacks. Warning Signs is for all members…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines: Intervention and Support to Prevent Violence

Peter Langman Why did I love this book?

Dr. Dewey Cornell is the foremost research of threat assessment in K-12 schools.

This book provides step-by-step guidelines on creating and running threat assessment teams. Dr. Cornell provides multiple sample documents and allows them to be copied, making this a very user-friendly text.

He also explains his research demonstrating the effectiveness and benefits of utilizing threat assessment teams. 

By Dewey Cornell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Presenting the only K-12 school threat assessment model supported by controlled studies, this new manual is a sequel to the author's original manual, Guidelines for Responding to Student Threats of Violence. The new manual retains the Virginia Student Threat Assessment Guidelines (VSTAG), but adds new research, improved forms, and more comprehensive coverage of student and non-student threats. Used nationwide. Training available from the author at www.schoolta.com.


Book cover of Assessing Student Threats: Implementing the Salem-Keizer System

Peter Langman Why did I love this book?

John Van Dreal is a school psychologist with decades of experience developing the Salem-Keizer model of violence prevention in schools.

In addition to providing comprehensive threat assessment guidelines, the book also discusses other safety issues including dating violence, workplace violence, domestic violence, and stalking. Whereas some works related to school safety focus solely on students as potential perpetrators, this book also discusses dangers posed by adults. 

By John Van Dreal (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Assessing Student Threats as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Assessing Student Threats: Implementing the Salem-Keizer System, 2nd Edition is a manual for the application of a threat assessment system that follows the recommendations of the Safe Schools Initiative and the prescriptive outline provided by the FBI. Written from an educator's perspective with contributing authors from Law Enforcement, Public Mental Health, and the District Attorney's office, it contains an introduction to the basic concepts of threat assessment, a review of the research, and an outlined process for the application of a comprehensive, yet expeditious multi-disciplinary system. The book also includes the forms and protocols needed to assess threats, document concerns…


Book cover of 15-Minute Focus: Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management for K-12 Schools

Peter Langman Why did I love this book?

This is another excellent guide to establishing and running threat assessment teams in K-12 schools.

A particular strength, however, is the focus on not only detecting threats, but managing them. The discussion of safety plans and how to work with students who are at risk for violence, as well as the case histories illustrating this process, add significantly to the value of this book.

By Melissa A Louvar Reeves,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 15-Minute Focus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 15-Minute Focus: Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management for K-12 Schools, Dr. Melissa A. Louvar Reeves explains the interrelated factors that play a role in a person’s decision to plan and carry out an act of violence.

Every year, stories about violence in schools make headlines around the world. And every year, questions surface: How could this have been prevented? What were the warning signs? What changes do we need to make in our schools and communities to prevent this from happening yet again?

This book will help answer those questions, as you learn about the factors that affect decision-making,…


Book cover of Harm to Others: The Assessment and Treatment of Dangerousness

Peter Langman Why did I love this book?

This book is an excellent guide to threat assessment and violence prevention in higher education.

It includes material on threats posed by students as well as employees. What I particularly appreciate about this work is that it includes numerous case examples of therapeutic work with people who presented a risk of violence.

This clinical focus is rare in works on this topic and makes this book especially important. 

By Brian Van Brunt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Harm to Others as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Harm to Others offers students and clinicians an effective way to increase their knowledge of and training in violence risk and threat assessment, while providing a comprehensive examination of current treatment approaches. In an easy-to-understand, jargon-free manner, Dr. Van Brunt shares his observations, extensive clinical expertise, and the latest research on what clinicians should be aware of when performing risk and threat assessments.

Features
Numerous examples from recent mass shootings and rampage violence to help explain the motivations and risk factors of those who make threats
Two unique, detailed case transcripts to demonstrate how to conduct a threat assessment
Treatment…


Book cover of Saving Sycamore: The School Shooting That Never Happened

Peter Langman Why did I love this book?

This book is the remarkable story of a remarkable woman whose compassion for her students preventing a school massacre.

Unlike the other texts I’m recommending, this book will not tell you how to conduct threat assessments. It is an inspirational story that demonstrates the power of love and interpersonal connections to make our schools safer.

The bottom line is that the more that our schools are places where children feel that at least one adult cares about them, the safer they will be. This book portrays the kind of compassion that can save lives. 

By Molly Bradley Hudgens,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Saving Sycamore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Power of Faith, Hope, and Relationships

On September 28, 2016, school counselor Molly Hudgens was in her office at Sycamore Middle School when a fourteen-year-old armed with a semiautomatic handgun and an additional magazine of ammunition came to her in the counseling department. His plan was to kill people on campus. He told Hudgens she was the only person who could talk him out of it. After ninety minutes of talking with the young man, and ultimately praying on her knees with him, he relinquished the gun with no shots fired and no lives lost.

In this memoir, Hudgens…


Explore my book 😀

Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike

By Peter Langman,

Book cover of Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike

What is my book about?

Dr. Langman’s timely book presents practical, research-based guidance on anticipating and preventing mass attacks. Warning Signs is for all members of a school community, including school personnel, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, parents, and students. Drawing on lessons learned from dozens of thwarted plots and deadly attacks, Warning Signs provides the insight necessary to keep schools safe.

Book cover of Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines: Intervention and Support to Prevent Violence
Book cover of Assessing Student Threats: Implementing the Salem-Keizer System
Book cover of 15-Minute Focus: Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management for K-12 Schools

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Author History nut Ancient Rome nut Scientist Guitarist

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