It's billed as a Threat Assessment Seminar to look for similarities among the gunmen, what sparked their rampages, and for any common behavior patterns in the shooters' families.
Officials hope to develop risk indicators to help identify potentially violent students.
Five months after two boys killed four middle-school students and a teacher in Jonesboro in March 1998, the FBI hosted a similar conference in Little Rock with just police agencies. Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis said he expects next week's meetings will help him prepare for the resumption of classes Aug. 16 and for the emotional aftermath of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Harris and Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide April 20. I will ask other schools what I can expect when we re-enter the school in the fall,'' he said. DeAngelis said he'll suggest that local police departments get blueprints of every school as standard procedure.