As time goes by, it is widely agreed that school violence is rapidly increasing in our nation’s schools, making students fear for their lives every time they walk into a school building.

What was once an innocent place to learn is now evolving into an environment of shootings, physical altercations, and bullying.

In 2022 alone, there have been at least 34 lives lost during school shootings, which demonstrates how out of hand these crimes have become. With constant technology advancements over years, it only provides easier access for shootings all over the country.

Watching these disturbing acts unfold, I strongly believe it all comes down to the underlying mental health of the offender.

One thing primarily that can cause shootings to happen is bullying. The Cyberbullying Research Center shared their data after doing a poll, saying 17.4% of students said they were a target of cyberbullying in 2019, compared to 16.5% in 2016. All types of bullying seem to be inevitably getting worse, which only leads to worse conflicts, including physical altercations.

Physical altercations tend to begin through very small disagreements, but can end in very lethal manners.

As scary as it is, many students in present time find violence as a natural instinct for any problem, which not only raises concern about safety, but also the concern of human morality.

These motives range from getting bullied at school, mental health issues, neglect at home, upbringing, etc., but the trend of mental health instability unfortunately seems to be a huge recurring subject.

Many individuals who have committed these acts seem to struggle with depression or suicidal thoughts prior to the offense taking place, most likely because of bullying.

For example, one of the main perpetrators of the Columbine school shooting, Dylan Klebold, was said to deal with depression. After executing his crime, he committed suicide.

Along with this, many people who engage in fighting or bullying seem to have built up anger, which leads to their pain being released onto others. Although people who suffer with mental health are not prone to carry out these horrific acts, these struggles seem to be a leading factor of perpetrators’ mindsets when committing these crimes.

Overall, it’s clear that most offenders of violent acts in school are led by underlying mental health issues that go uncared for.

Some traits of mental illness could include sadness, low energy, loss of motivation, suicidal thoughts, lack of emotion, and more. If you happen to notice any of these factors, make sure to provide love and care for that person, or seek out help for them.

As mental health continues to be pushed off, our safety sinks deeper into jeopardy.

So, continue to spread love to the students around you, especially the ones who need it the most. Your simple acts of kindness could potentially save lives.