Bullying, rejection, and social exclusion are often considered key contributing factors in school shootings, but recent studies have questioned their importance. One weakness in the previous research is its almost exclusive focus on U.S. American perpetrators. Therefore, we examined files of inquiry pertaining to seven school shootings in Germany…

A plethora of studies have appeared which argue that, prior to their attack, the perpetrators of school shootings had experienced intense conflicts and problematic relations (e.g. bullying) with peers and teachers, and were on the periphery of the schools' social life. This in turn resulted in the perpetrators' view of themselves as marginalized…