Poll: Students on School Violence

N E W   Y O R K, March 13 -- A third of high school students can think of a classmate who may be troubled enough to stage a violent attack in their school — yet fewer than half have ever had a special class or discussion group that told them how to report a threat of school violence

More than a third also say they've heard a classmate threaten to kill someone — but most of them didn't take it seriously or report it to an adult, according to a new ABCNEWS/Good Morning America poll.

One in eight say they personally know a student who's brought a gun to school, and one in 10 say they've heard of a plan by one or more students at their school to shoot or kill classmates.

At the same time, just a little more than half, 54 percent, say they've had a class, special program or group discussion on the subject of school violence. And just 46 percent have been taught in such a class what to do if they hear a threat or think another student is armed.

On the positive side, the poll found that most students feel safe, and that their concerns are no worse — and in some cases better — than they were after the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. At that time, for instance, 40 percent saw some likelihood of a violent attack at their own school; now it's 29 percent.

The Bullying Factor

Charles Andrew Williams, who is accused of killing two students and wounding 13 last week in Santee, Calif., reportedly had been a target of bullying at his school. And this poll finds that when students think of a potentially violent classmate, it's generally a boy who comes to mind, and one who's been bullied by others, rather than a bully himself.

Thirty-three percent say they can think of a fellow student "who may be troubled enough to try something like this." That's down a bit from 40 percent in 1999.

Seven in 10 say the potential attacker they can think of is a boy, and 29 percent think of both boys and girls; just 2 percent have only a girl in mind. Three-quarters say it's more likely to be a person who gets picked on than one who picks on others.