Town or rural schools, however, are more likely to have problems with alcohol, tobacco and drug use, while town students are the most likely to commit robberies of any group. And rural areas are seeing an explosive growth in violence, with much more crime than in the recent past, and with more serious problems, a 1995 study conducted by a group of educational psychologists concluded. Students who feel they differ from the norm may feel rejected or isolated from their peers, as in the Littleton case. The more disconnected a student feels, the more frustrated and potentially dangerous she or he might become. Mary Karpos, a criminology expert and professor at the University of Miami, disagrees, saying this disassociation is more apt to occur in the city.
People become disconnected and anonymous to each other.
The school's location may also affect how violence is played out. Ewing says urban school shootings tend to involve one person, and are usually carried out for reasons of self-defense or during another crime, such as a robbery. The reasons for suburban deaths, however, are generally quite different. The kids killing in suburban schools are killing for an emotional reason. Cities Have Precautions in Place Metal detectors, police officers and security cameras may seem more appropriate for a prison than a school.