After a school shooting, districts often add more metal detectors, clear backpacks, and active shooter drills. Researcher Jillian Peterson calls those security measures “theatrical.” “It makes you feel better, maybe. But if a student is the perpetrator, it doesn't do anything,” says Peterson. She instead recommends that schools invest in school-based mental health, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention. “The best thing we can do to prevent violence is not to push kids out; it's to actually pull them in,” Peterson says. Her research found that more than 90% of school shooters broadcast their plans — online or in person — before carrying out an attack. And every person she spoke with, including gunmen and people who knew them, said the shooter could have been stopped. #schoolsafety #schoolshooting #violenceprevention #mentalhealth