S6E4 School Shootings Start Long Before the Gun — Here’s How to Stop Them

About this episode

This episode discusses how preventing school shootings involves addressing issues long before they escalate into violence.

What if preventing school shootings has far less to do with reacting… and everything to do with what happens long before? In this powerful episode of Stop the Killing, Katherine Schweit is joined by leading researchers from the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and the National Center for School Safety to unpack what the data actually tells us about stopping violence before it starts. This isn’t about headlines.This is about evidence, prevention, and what really works. Dr. Brianna Scott — Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan Dr. Elyse Thulin — Research Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Dr. Sarah M. Stilwell — Researcher in Educational Psychology, University of Michigan Why school shootings are the end of a long chain of missed warning signs The role of anonymous reporting systems in preventing harm How school culture, belonging, and connection reduce violence risk The three critical environments: physical, social, and attentive Why most youth access to firearms comes from familiar homes And how early intervention can stop escalation before it becomes tragedy School shootings don’t begin with a weapon.They begin with missed…

People in this episode

Host: Katherine Schweit

Guests: Dr. Brianna Scott, Dr. Elyse Thulin, Dr. Sarah M. Stilwell

Topics covered

• school shootings
• violence prevention
• early intervention
• data analysis
• school culture
• youth access to firearms

Keywords

• school shootings
• prevention
• intervention
• firearm injury
• youth violence
• warning signs
• anonymous reporting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, National Center for School Safety, Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES), ERPO Toolkit

More episodes of Stop the Killing

• S6E13 SANDY HOOK TO BONDI: HOW MASS-SHOOTING TRAINING CHANGED POLICING — PART ONE · June 11, 2026 · 36 min
• S6B8 When a Six-Year-Old Shoots: The Richneck Case and the Question of Accountability · May 25, 2026 · 12 min
• S6E12 From Survival to Action: Whitney Austin on Recovery & Preventing Gun Violence — Part 2 · May 21, 2026 · 30 min
• S6E11 Surviving a Mass Shooting: Whitney Austin’s Story of Strength — Part 1 · May 14, 2026 · 31 min
• S6E10 Why ‘Being on the Radar’ Doesn’t Stop a Shooter (Part 2) | Katherine Schweit · May 7, 2026 · 33 min
• S6E9 He Was on the Radar’ — What That Actually Means (Part 1) | Katherine Schweit · April 30, 2026 · 35 min