Experts Call for Crisis Recognition Training After Tragedy at Annunciation Catholic Church

(KNSI) – “Why does this keep happening?” It’s a question on everyone’s lips following a senseless tragedy like the one that unfolded Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic Church.

James Densley, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Metro State University and deputy director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University, said his team’s recent findings on mass violence showed that those who carry out such attacks are often in a noticeable crisis. This means students, staff, parents, and community members should be trained to recognize concerning behavior and know how to report it.

“A lot of this is really around communication that people trust in the systems that are going to get people off of that pathway to violence,” Densley explained. “So that they don’t go looking for answers in the darkest corners of the internet.”

Densley acknowledged challenges, such as peers not wanting to be seen as “snitches” for reporting someone.

The recommendations complement detection systems already in place and other often-discussed solutions, including safe storage of firearms, according to Densley. He also emphasized that prevention cannot just be about preparing for a situation where a person in crisis no longer cares whether they live or die and is willing to kill others in their “final act.”

Densley said his team has interviewed people who have carried out mass shootings, along with those who had their attack plans thwarted. In situations where a tragedy was avoided, he stressed there was a common factor serving as a blockade.

“Many times it was a human intervention,” Densley underscored.

As for spotting warning signs in someone they know, he advised people be mindful of dramatic changes in behavior, including increased aggression or an unexpected flurry of angry social media posts centered around grievances.

Just as mass was starting to mark the beginning of a new school year at Annunciation School, a masked gunman walked up to the church building and opened fire, killing two students, ages eight and ten, and injuring 14 others between the ages of six and 15. Three parishioners in their 80s were also shot. Everyone is expected to survive.

A manifesto was posted online around the time the shooting began. Investigators are combing through the mountains of evidence to determine a motive.

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MNC Reporter Mike Moen contributed to this story.

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