On February 19, 1997, 16-year-old Evan Ramsey entered his high school in quiet Bethel, Alaska and used a shotgun to fire on fellow students. He killed one student and the principal and injured two additional students. According to his friends, Ramsey complained of being harassed and teased by other students, even to the extent of only addressing him as “”Screech””, a character from the TV series Saved by the Bell. After the attack, Ramsey alleged the student he killed was one of his tormentors. At some point prior to his attack, the Ramsey asked the principal and dean of students for help with the bullying he was experiencing. Though the situation seemed to improve, it was only temporarily. The teasing and bullying soon resumed. Ramsey asked the principal for help a second time, but this time he was told to ignore the bullies. He tried but felt like the victimization worsened. Feelings of hopeless dominated his life. In addition to being harassed by peers, Ramsey had a long history of abuse. His mother lived with a series of violent men who abused Ramsey and his brothers. He also was physically and sexually abused by an older boy in one of the foster homes he was placed. After his attack, Ramsey explained he felt as though he had asked the “proper people” for assistance, but he was denied help. He felt he had no other option but to bring a gun to school. His initial plan was to scare his tormentors and get them to leave him alone, but when some friends learned of the plan, they told him that he had to use the weapon to shoot people or the bullying would continue. Ramsey decided he would have to fire the weapon at people in order to end his torment. (NTAC, 2018)

In the wake of this tragic incident, we should be asking how we can prevent this from happening again. Unfortunately, no simple answer exists. It is necessary to use a multi-faceted approach that includes students, parents, school officials, police, and the community.