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New Study of Targeted Violence Affecting U.S. Institutions of Higher Education Released

Published By
U.S. Secret Service Media Relations
Published Date
Body

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, April 16, 2010, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department
of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will release a study of targeted violence
incidents on U.S. campuses of higher learning.

The June 2007 Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy included a
recommendation that the Secret Service, Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of

Investigation explore the issue of violence at institutions of higher education. This collaborative
effort examines the scope of the problem of targeted violence at U.S. institutions.

In total, 272 incidents were identified through a comprehensive search of more than 115,000
results in open-source reporting from 1900 to 2008. The incidents studied include various forms
of targeted violence, ranging from domestic violence to mass murder. The findings should be
useful for campus safety professionals charged with identifying, assessing and managing violent
risk at institutions of higher education.

The study and its findings will be available on each of the agencies’ Internet sites:
www.secretservice.gov, www.ed.gov and www.fbi.gov.