Warning Signs: Identifying School Shooters Before They Strike

by Peter Langman

How do we prevent the next school shooting? By knowing the warning signs.




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.

Genres: Nonfiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2021

Reviews

[Lisa Zeigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for anyone interested in learning how to identify potential threats and prevent school shootings. This book is well organized, easy to follow, and full of very important information. Highly recommend!!!

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for anyone who works in schools, especially those serving on threat assessment teams. This would also be valuable for families and community members to learn as well. “We’re all on duty” after all.

[Megan Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Work reading✨

Very informative and corrects a lot of misconceptions on who school shooters are, what to look for, and why it’s important to assess any and all potential threats.

[Conor Cusack · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We’re all on duty”….As ominous and foreboding as that may sound, it is most appropriate for our current day and age. Dr.Peter Langman provides numerous examples of traumatized, psychotic and psychopathic killers. Dr. Langman also takes us through the critical path of being vigilant and on high alert when considering when to sound the alarm over a potential mass-casualty incident.
Threats come in various forms, and according to Dr.Langham, are made to intended victims. Explicit threats are what the perpetrator will do, whereas implicit threats are ambiguous. Dr. Langman provides examples of both. Reading this book convinced me how important it is when it comes to types of Leakage pursuant to what the title states…the whole intent of being “on duty”-identifying school shooters before they strike. I wholeheartedly endorse Peter’s research and encourage anyone with an interest in or connection to school safety and / or violence prevention to pick up a copy and read it forthwith!

[Stuart Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative and would have been 5 star but for the narrator.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to get through, because of the disturbing nature of the topic, but it is well-written and very informative.

[Judah Lebofsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took a public policy course in graduate school where the students each submitted a topic of political interest to the professor and he selected a book that he and the student would read and then discuss. Due to my thesis topic, I was interested in the correlates of school shootings and he selected this book for us. Peter Langman does a good job at framing an academic topic in a digestible form for an audience that is most likely to implement his suggestions. I enjoyed the connections that the author made to real-life scenarios. For example, when discussing "leaking" he then backs up the topic with examples of leaking that occurred and how individuals' actions or inactions resulted in the school shooter's outcome. To be critical, the examples became repetitive at a point. The author points out that school shootings are rare events, so there are only a finite number of examples he can draw upon. But while the topic-example connections seemed very intentional in the earlier chapters, they felt more forced towards the end as if they were obligatory due to their earlier use. A valuable resource for providing an overview of recognizing potential school shooters, academically and practically.

[The Nikky Edit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning Signs by Peter Langman is an invaluable resource for educators, offering practical advice on identifying potential warning signs of a school shooter. As a teacher, I found the book particularly insightful in its detailed analysis of the factors that influence students to make such devastating decisions. Langman does an excellent job of breaking down the key events and behaviors that can serve as red flags, providing a guide that is both informative and easy to apply in a school setting.

The book was overall a good read, striking a balance between being informative and engaging. However, I’m giving it four stars because, while it offers critical insights, it could have been more comprehensive in addressing the broader context of school violence. Despite this, Warning Signs is a must-read for anyone in education or concerned with school safety or those who are simply interested in learning why and how school shootings can happen.

[shelfcontrol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Langman’s work never fails to impress, and this is no exception. As with his previous research, this book is both deeply insightful and critically important. Langman dives into the complex psychological warning signs behind school shootings and targeted violence with clarity, compassion, and unmatched expertise.

What sets this apart is how readable and practical it is without ever oversimplifying the subject. His analysis of behavioral patterns, pre-attack indicators, and case studies makes this essential reading for anyone working in education, mental health, or public safety.

Langman has a unique ability to take incredibly difficult, often disturbing content and present it in a way that informs, enlightens, and equips