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Perry High school shooting: Interview on Iowa Public Radio
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Perry High school shooting: Interview on Iowa Public Radio

Discussed how this attack follows the same pattern as hundreds of other school shootings since the 1960s and public policy solutions for preventing the next one.

I was interviewed on Iowa Public Radio to analyze the Perry High school shooting on January 4, 2024. One student was killed, four students were wounded, three staff members including the principal were wounded, and the teenage shooter commit suicide in a school hallway.

During the interview we discussed:

  • School shootings are deliberately planned for weeks, months, or even years

  • Plots often involve bombs but are different from terrorism

  • Most school shooters are not mentally ill

  • Need for crisis intervention programs in every school

  • Must enable students and community members to report potential violence

  • Ineffectiveness of fortifying school buildings

  • Common misconceptions about school shootings

Here is the full episode of the River to River podcast produced by Iowa Public Radio.


David Riedman is the creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database and a national expert on school shootings. Listen to my recent interviews on Freakonomics Radio and the New England Journal of Medicine.

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