When a Nearby School Has a Shooting: What Your School Should Do Next
When a school shooting happens anywhere in your state, your school is affected too, even if no one on your campus was hurt. Students recognize the hallways on the news. Parents start texting. Staff wonder whether their own plan would hold up. And for about two weeks, the risk of a related incident or threat at other schools is measurably higher.
Researchers at Arizona State University found that school shootings in the US cluster in time: each incident raises the likelihood of another for an average of 13 days. That window is why the days after a nearby shooting call for deliberate action, not just sympathy. Here is what to do, in order.
The first 24 hours
1. Get the facts from official sources. Early reports are often wrong. Confirm details through law enforcement or the affected district before you share anything, and do not repeat social media rumors, even to correct them.
2. Call your local law enforcement partner. Ask whether there is any known connection to your school, such as a suspect with ties to your community or threats circulating online. If you have a school resource officer, plan together for a visible but calm presence at arrival and dismissal for the next several days. The goal is reassurance, not a fortress.
3. Meet with your leadership and threat assessment team. Review who is on call, confirm your tip line is monitored around the clock, and agree on how you will handle any threat that comes in this week. Decide now; do not improvise later.
4. Communicate with families the same day. Send a short message that acknowledges the event, says what your school is doing, and tells families how to talk with their children. Keep it factual. Avoid graphic details and the shooter's name. Remind families that if anything happens at your school, they should wait for official instructions rather than coming to campus, and point them to your reunification plan.
5. Brief staff before students arrive. Teachers need a few talking points, the signs of distress to watch for, and the name of the counselor to send students to. Staff are affected too; tell them where they can get support.
6. Remind students how to use their phones responsibly. Students will hear rumors and pass them to parents. Explain that sharing unconfirmed information or posting threats as a joke can cause real panic, pull police away from real emergencies, and lead to serious consequences.
The next two weeks
Expect copycat threats, and assess every one. After the Parkland shooting in 2018, the Educator's School Safety Network reported threats and violent incidents nationwide at roughly seven times the usual rate. Most of these threats come from students who are scared, angry, or making a bad joke, not students planning an attack. That is exactly what behavioral threat assessment is built for: the team sorts transient threats from substantive ones, keeps everyone safe, and connects the student to help instead of defaulting to expulsion. Pair consequences with restorative follow-up so a student who made a poor choice does not leave more isolated than before.
Watch for students who are struggling. Students with past trauma, a connection to the affected school, or existing mental health concerns may react strongly. Counselors should check in proactively, not wait for referrals. Remember that asking a student directly whether they are thinking about suicide does not plant the idea; a randomized trial of more than 2,000 high school students found it does not increase suicidal thoughts.
Keep routines steady. Predictable schedules help students feel safe. Hold class as usual, give students a chance to talk if they want to, and avoid forcing discussion.
Think carefully about drills. If a lockdown drill is on the calendar this week, consider postponing it or announcing it very clearly in advance. A surprise alarm days after a nearby shooting can cause real panic. When you do a drill, keep it calm and nonsensorial, and use the same Standard Response Protocol language students already know.
Limit the spotlight on the shooter. In announcements, lessons, and social media, focus on the victims, the helpers, and what your school is doing. Avoid naming or picturing the perpetrator.
After the first month
Review your plan with fresh eyes. Every incident brings lessons. When official reviews or after action reports come out, read them and ask: would our classroom doors lock from the inside? Do substitutes have keys? Does every staff member know how to call a lockdown? Is our reunification site still workable?
Resist the urge to buy your way to safety. Vendors move fast after a shooting. Before buying scanners, ballistic products, or monitoring software, ask for independent evidence and compare the cost against proven measures such as threat assessment, counselors, classroom locks, and staff training.
Offer help to the affected school. Counselors, crisis teams, and substitute teachers are often in short supply after a shooting. A call from a neighboring district offering staff or space is usually welcome.
Check in on your own staff. Educators carry these events home. A short staff meeting, access to an employee assistance program, and permission to say they are not okay all matter.
A shooting at a nearby school is a reminder, not a verdict on your school. The schools that respond best are the ones that already have relationships, a trained threat assessment team, and a plan their staff has practiced.
Sources
Towers et al., Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings, PLOS ONE (2015)
Associated Press, on the Educator's School Safety Network threat count after Parkland (2018). Note: this figure comes from a nonprofit tracking news reports, not a peer-reviewed study.
NASP, NASRO, and Safe and Sound Schools drill guidance (2026)
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