Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention

Pavel Elfimov; Ol&#039;ga Vinogradova

UDC

343.9

VAK Russia

5.1.4

MASS MURDERS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: DETERMINANTS AND ORGANISATION OF PREVENTION Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention

АА Аа

Published in Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia · Pages 92–101 · Rubric: CRIMINAL LAW SCIENCES

Received: 18.06.2025 Accepted: 25.09.2025 Published: 30.09.2025 Language of publication: RUS

Authors

Pavel Elfimov

ORCID

Ol'ga Vinogradova

ORCID

Pavel Elfimov

Academic degree: doctor of medical sciences

Science rang: professor

Ural Institute of the MIA of Russia Professor · the Department of Criminalistics · Russian Federation · Yekaterinburg

ORCID

Ol'ga Vinogradova

Academic degree: candidate of jurisprudence sciences

Science rang: docent

Ural Institute of the MIA of Russia the Department of Criminalistics · Russian Federation · Yekaterinburg

ORCID

ABSTRACT

Introduction. Over the past few years, Russian educational institutions have recorded a dynamically developing trend of committing mass murders, the victims of which are students, teachers, and law enforcement officers trying to neutralise the perpetrator (usually a schooler or student of an educational institution that is the scene of the crime). Modern realities are such that mass murders in educational institutions are committed almost annually. This relatively new “trend” of juvenile delinquency has been dubbed “schoolshooting” or “Columbine” in reference to the events that took place in 1999 at the American school of the same name. However, since then, this phenomenon has become popularised among teenagers, reaching far beyond the borders of the United States of America, forming an independent global criminal phenomenon. Methods. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative analysis, study and synthesis of literature, which are reflected directly in achieving the stated research goal and solving the tasks set, namely in the synthesis of structural elements of activities aimed at identifying and suppressing schoolshooting, analysing the organisation of prevention, as well as establishing structural links between the elements of the schoolshooting prevention system. The authors applied an activity-based methodological approach, and general scientific research methods (system-structural analysis, dialectical cognition method) were also used. Results. Juvenile delinquency has always attracted the attention of scientists, as it is characterised by specific features, largely determined by the personality of a juvenile offender. Based on the studied cases of school shootings in the Russian Federation, it is possible to identify some psychological and criminal aspects of the personality of the “schoolshooter” in order to determine preventive measures and prevent schoolshooting as a criminal phenomenon.

KEYWORDS

school shooting, Columbine, juvenile, mass murder, educational organisation, educational institution, prevention, causes, conditions

Text

Text (PDF)

Read Download

1. Serikov A. E. «Kolumbayn» kak mediynyy prototip shkol'nyh rasstrelov / Chelovek v informacionnom obschestve : sbornik materialov nauchno-prakticheskoy mezhdunarodnoy konferencii, posvyaschennoy 60-letiyu poleta v kosmos Yu. A. Gagarina, g. Samara, 28–30 aprelya 2021 g. / redkol.: pred. A. Yu. Nesterov, N. V. Avdoshina, A. Yu. Agafonov : [elektronnoe izdanie]. Samarskiy nacional'nyy issledovatel'skiy universitet im. S. P. Koroleva, 2021. S. 658–661. URL: http://repo.ssau.ru/handle/Chelovek-v-informacionnomobshestve/ «Kolumbain»-kak-mediinyi-prototip-shkolnyh-rasstrelov-91767 (data obrascheniya: 04.05.2025).

2. Davydov D. G., Hlomov K. D. Massovye ubiystva v obrazovatel'nyh organizaciyah: mehanizmy, prichiny, profilaktika// Nacional'nyy psihologicheskiy zhurnal. 2018. № 4. S. 62–76. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2018.0406

3. Konovalova A. A., Savchishkina O. G. Skulshuting i prichiny massovyh ubiystv shkol'nikami // Mezhdunarodnyy zhurnal gumanitarnyh i estestvennyh nauk. 2023. № 3. S. 104–107. https://doi.org/10.24412/2500-1000-2023-10-3 104-106

4. Borisova N. F. Skulshuting – novaya kriminal'naya ugroza obschestvu // Rossiyskoy pravovoy zhurnal. 2021. № 1 (6). S. 125–129.

5. Malyushina Yu. A., Shatilovich S. N., Fedorova O. B. Izuchenie psihologicheskogo mehanizma nasil'stvennyh prestupleniy kak odin iz aspektov profilaktiki skulshutinga // Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo oblastnogo universiteta. Seriya: Psihologicheskie nauki. 2021. № 3. S. 86–97. https://doi.org/10.18384/2310-7235-2021-3-86-97

6. Vinogradova O. P. Otdel'nye elementy kriminalisticheskoy harakteristiki prestupleniy protiv zhizni i zdorov'ya, sovershaemyh po motivam politicheskoy, ideologicheskoy, religioznoy, rasovoy nenavisti ili vrazhdy //Vestnik Ural'skogo yuridicheskogo instituta MVD Rossii. 2024. № 3 (43). S. 105–110.

7. Karpov V. O. Kul't Kolumbayna: osnovnye determinanty massovyh ubiystv v shkolah // Vestnik Kazanskogo yuridicheskogo instituta MVD Rossii. 2018. T. 9, № 4. S. 442–446. https://doi.org/10.24420/KUI.2018.49.27.001

8. Vinogradova O. P. Osobennosti ugolovnogo sudoproizvodstva v otnoshenii lic, stradayuschih psihicheskim rasstroystvom / Aktual'nye problemy bor'by s prestupnost'yu: voprosy teorii i praktiki : sbornik materialov vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferencii (pamyati doktora yuridicheskih nauk, Pochetnogo professora Moskovskoy akademii SK Rossii Evgeniya Petrovicha Kima), g. Habarovsk, 30 maya 2024 g. Moskva : Moskovskaya akademiya Sledstvennogo komiteta Rossiyskoy Federacii imeni A. Ya. Suhareva, 2024. S. 36–42.

9. Jonson Ch. L. Preventing School Shootings: The Effectiveness of Safety Measures // Victims and Offenders. 2017. Vol. 12. No. 6. R. 956–973. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2017.1307293

10. Kostinsky S., Bixler E., Kettl P. Threats of School Violence in Pennsylvania After Media Coverage of the Columbine High School Massacre. Examinng the Role of Imitation Adolescent masculinity, homophobia, and violence // Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2001. Vol. 155. No. 9. P. 994–1001. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.155.9.994

11. Lankford A.. Madfis E. Media Coverage of Mass Killers: Content, Consequences, and Solutions //American Behavioral Scientist. 2018. Vol. 62. No. 2. P. 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218763476

12. Antonyan Yu. M., Eminov V. E. Lichnost' prestupnika : Kriminologo-psihologicheskoe issledovanie : monografiya. Moskva : Norma, 2010. 366 s.

13. Suhodol'skaya Yu. V. Faktory, determiniruyuschie sovershenie massovogo ubiystva v obrazovatel'noy organizacii i mehanizm prestupnogo povedeniya skulshutera // Vestnik Universiteta prokuratury Rossiyskoy Federacii. 2021. № 3 (83). S. 64–70.

14. Formirovanie gotovnosti specialistov psihologo-pedagogicheskoy sluzhby obrazovatel'nyh organizaciy k profilaktike skulshutinga / Paatova M. E., Grunina S. S., Sazhina N. M., Agoshkova O. V. // Vestnik Adygeyskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Pedagogika i psihologiya. 2023. Vyp. 1 (313). S. 100–108. https://doi.org/10.53598/2410-3004-2023-1-313-100-108

15. Uzlov N. D., Semenova M. N. Skulshuting: ubiystvo i postgomicidnoe samoubiystvo kak transgressivnyy akt // Suicidologiya. 2021. № 12 (4). S. 16–30. https://doi.org/10.32878/suiciderus.20-12-04(45)-16-30

16. Volcheckaya T. S., Avak'yan M. V., Osipova E. V. Kriminologicheskaya harakteristika i profilaktika skulshutinga i kiberbullinga v Rossii i zarubezhnyh stranah // Vserossiyskiy kriminologicheskiy zhurnal. 2021. T. 15, № 5. S. 578–591. https://doi.org/10.17150/2500-4255.2021.15(5).578-591

GOST

Elfimov P. V., Vinogradova O. P. Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention // Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. 2025. no. 3. pp. 92-101. (Date of access 08.09.2026).

MLA

Pavel Elfimov, Vinogradova O. P.. "Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention." Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 2025.3 (2025): 92-101.

APA

Elfimov P. V., Vinogradova O. P. (2025). Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention. Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2025(3), 92-101.

Chicago

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Elfimov P. V., Vinogradova O. P. | title = Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention | journal = Vestnik of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia | year = 2025 | volume = 2025 | issue = 3 | pages = 92-101 }}

Copy

Export: BibTeX EndNote RefMan RusMARC

MASS MURDERS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: DETERMINANTS AND ORGANISATION OF PREVENTION Mass murders in educational institutions: determinants and organisation of prevention

Confirmation