Law enforcement officials warned that the system only can do so much in the face of a myriad of potential problems affecting school districts. In the days before the shooting, Williams appeared suicidal and warned fellow classmates he would shoot others, his friends said. Williams had been bullied for months, his friends said. Williams also was despondent after moving 18 months ago from Maryland, where he earned good grades and had many friends, to California, where he often was seen as an outcast. There's an Andy Williams in every community.
Every school has one.
Prosecutors say Hoffman's target was the school's dean. Before the outbreak of violence at San Diego area schools, federal education officials and the Secret Service had begun trying to help identify potential threats based on a study of previous school shooters. Melissa DeRosier, a psychological consultant based in North Carolina, told authorities yesterday she is developing a threat-assessment computer program that focuses on teasing, bullying and rejection by fellow students. Teachers miss 80 percent of children who experience severe teasing. About 3,000 guns were taken from students last year, he said.