“Operation Columbine”

Jurors in Hillsborough, North Carolina will resume deliberations Friday morning in the murder and assault trial of Alvaro Castillo. Castillo, now 21, is charged with shooting his father, Rafael, 65, several times in the head then driving to his former high school and opening fire on students, injuring two.
On Thursday, the jury of six men and six women heard more than four hours of closing arguments from the attorneys. At the end of the day, jurors deliberated for half an hour before being sent home. The jury foreperson is a man who used to work in a state crime lab.
Closing arguments focused on Castillo’s state of mind on August 30, 2006, the day of the shootings. Castillo, then 18, was mentally ill and had been treated for depression since a suicide attempt four months earlier. He admits that he committed the acts he’s charged with but says he should not be held criminally responsible. At trial, critical evidence introduced by the prosecution included eight hours of videos he recorded between April and August 2006 and his diary from 2006, all of which gave mental health professionals unique insight into Castillo’s thought processes and mental disorders.

School Shooters Were Bullied

As we look back on the tenth anniversary of the Columbine High School tragedy, we need to remember that bullying was a major factor in over 40 school shootings that took place during the past decade. Bullying can also lead to suicide, severe depression and anxiety, truancy, and dropping-out of school. We need to find a way to stop bullying in schools and to refute assumptions that this behavior is normal.
We need to create communities in schools and raise awareness of all parties involved including victims, bullies, and bystanders so that school social hierarchies are dismantled and students treat each other with sincere appreciation and respect.
Evidence suggests strong school communities -- where kids feel like they can come forward with problems -- can prevent violent crime.
"The first and best line of defense is always a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body," said Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, an Ohio-based firm specializing in school security.
"The No. 1 way we find out about weapons in schools is not from a piece of equipment [such as a metal detector] but from a kid who comes forward and reports it to an adult that he or she trusts."
A 2008 Secret Service report found that in more than 80 percent of instances of school violence, at least one person, usually a fellow student or peer, had knowledge of the attackers' plans. If people who suspect a problem feel comfortable enough in school to tell a teacher or a principal, then attacks could be prevented.
Make sure your staff receives effective, high quality bullying prevention training. Call or email 1-866-768-4803 or info@BalanceEducationalServices.com to schedule a Fall '09 professional development presentation. www.Balance EducationalServices.com

Contributors John D. Sutter,CNN Jessie Klein, www.huffingtonpost.com