Four killed in shooting at Oregon elementary school, fresh discussion over preventing bullying

Three children and a teacher have been killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in the city of Bend in the US state of Oregon. After this incident of 15 October, alongside grief across the area, fresh discussion has begun on tackling bullying to prevent violence in schools.

The incident took place in Bend in central Oregon. The report mentioned that the deceased teacher had devoted his life to the education and care of children. The pain that the children who were supposed to return to their families will no longer enter through the door of home now surrounds the relatives.

Among the seriously injured is seven-year-old Sailor. She had earlier been honoured in Bend as a 'Sparrow' through a program that supports children facing serious medical challenges. Shot in the face, she is now fighting for her life.

The attacker is a 16-year-old teenager. His motive is still unknown. The report made it clear that it is also not known whether he had been bullied at Silver Rail or any other school.

According to anti-bullying expert Paul T. Coughlin, this tragedy raises questions about a destructive pattern, tackling which is the responsibility not only of teachers and schools, but of the whole community. He described bullying not as a 'school problem', but as a cultural problem.

The Secret Service's 'Protecting America's Schools' report examined 41 targeted school attacks. Of the attackers whose backgrounds could be analyzed — all of them male — 80 percent had gone through experiences of bullying. In 57 percent of cases, that bullying was persistent.

However, the report also emphasized that so far there is no evidence that bullying played any role in the Silver Rail attack. Research on past attacks indicates why bullying should be seen as one of the behaviours that communities should take seriously.

A warning was also given about another misconception — that the attacker must surely have been suffering from a serious mental illness. In reality, most people suffering from serious mental illness are not violent. Conflating a diagnosis with dangerousness stigmatizes those who need care and diverts attention from the specific behaviours that should be causes for concern.

Coughlin, who has worked with countless bullied children for more than 25 years, said persistent torment can heat children up emotionally. Some take that pain inwards, some express it through anger, aggression and sometimes violence. Many children have to endure a level of persistent torment that no adult would tolerate.

He is of the opinion that telling a child to ignore cruelty is not an intervention. Making someone apologize without verifying whether the torment has stopped is not accountability either. Moving the victim child to another classroom or school while leaving the attacker unchecked — which happens very often — deepens injustice and resentment further.

Students need trusted adults and clear opportunities to lodge complaints, which will include anonymous reporting. Protection against retaliation is also essential; if lodging a complaint makes life worse, children learn to stay silent precisely when adults most need the information.

The role of bystanders has been described as the biggest force. Bullies often look for an audience; that audience can reward cruelty with laughter, encouragement or silence, and can also help stop it with a courageous step. When witnesses intervene safely, the balance of power can change in favour of the victim child.

Three steps have been proposed for families — comforting the victim child afterwards, reporting what was seen or heard not as 'tattling' but as a report, and, if safe, intervening directly in firm but non-violent language. Even if it is not possible to stop every school shooting, it is possible to stop complacency — this message is now at the centre of discussion amid Bend's grief.