Are there always warning signs before an active shooter incident?

I have studied hundreds of active shooter incidents over the years, and I have never found an active shooter who displayed absolutely no warning signs prior to their attack.  In fact, following an attack both law enforcement and the media are usually able to quickly delve into the background of the shooter and find a number of clear warning signs.  Some warning signs might be more obvious than others, but the fact remains there are usually opportunities for those who know the shooter to identify potential warning signs.  These warnings signs often take the form of concerning or inappropriate behavior, comments about violence, concerning social media posts, fascination with previous active shooters, threats, suicidal threats, and/or “minor” violent acts.  The following are examples of warning signs from three high-profile active shooter incidents in recent years:

 ·       Uvalde, TX school shooter warning signs: depression, suicidal comments, classmates calling him a “school shooter” even before the attack, threats of violence, fascination with extreme violence, fired from two jobs for threatening coworkers (his threats were never reported to law enforcement)

·       East High School in Denver shooter warning signs: previous arrests for possession of an illegal firearm, silencer, and extended magazine.  Classmates had also reported concerning information and photos posted by him on social media.

·       Sandy Hook Elementary school shooter warning signs: previous threats to kill his mother and students at the elementary school.  The shooter had also conducted extensive research of previous active shooters.

 Regrettably, many of these aforementioned warning signs were either not reported or were not adequately addressed after being reported.  Active shooter incidents are never spontaneous acts and in most cases the shooter also has some type of connection to the location of the attack.  These are actually positive things since it gives us the opportunity to identify concerning behavior and report it to someone who can intervene.  Unfortunately, many organizations have not supplied their personnel with the appropriate training and resources to identify and report concerns.  All businesses, schools, churches, and non-profit organizations should be conducting in-depth Active Shooter Preparedness and Response training with an emphasis on identifying and reporting warning signs.  Instead of waiting until something bad happens to take action, we should make sure everyone is equipped with the tools to identify a potential threat and report it to someone who can intervene.  Through proper training, every one of us can be empowered to be the hero that stops a tragedy before it even occurs!