Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T05:34:12.759Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attacks on Educational Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2022

Derrick Tin Open the ORCID record for Derrick Tin [Opens in a new window] ,
Fadi Issa  and
Gregory R. Ciottone
Derrick Tin*
Affiliation:
Senior Fellow, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Fadi Issa
Affiliation:
Director of Education, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Gregory R. Ciottone
Affiliation:
Director, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
*
Correspondence: Derrick Tin, MBBS, Senior Fellow, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Educational institutions around the world have long been targets of terrorist attacks. Schools, colleges, and universities often lack security measures against intentional threats and may be viewed as relatively easy, soft targets with high potential for mass casualties. The long-term psychosocial impact on children, youth, and survivors of terrorist attacks are significant and recovery remains a challenge. Deliberate attacks on students and children, in particular, can also often gain mass-media attention, provoke significant community unrest, and place a spotlight on the local government’s inability to protect the vulnerable. This study is an epidemiological examination of all terrorism-related events targeting educational institutions from 1970-2019.

Method:

Data collection was performed using a retrospective search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The database was searched using the internal search functions for all events that occurred from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. “Educational institutions” as a primary target type was selected for the purpose of this study and events were further sub-classified by country and attack type. All classifications were pre-determined by the GTD.

Results:

The GTD listed 4,520 attacks against educational institutions, recording 3,732 deaths and 9,920 wounded. This accounted for 2.7% of all terrorist attacks (total 168,003 attacks against all target types). There has been a downtrend in attacks since the 2014 peak when 344 attacks were recorded that year. Pakistan recorded the most attacks with 969 events, followed by Afghanistan (369), India (311), and Iraq (279). The most common attack types included bombing/explosions (2290), facility/infrastructure attacks (636), armed assaults (628), hostage takings (kidnappings [415]), assassinations (357), unarmed assaults (72), unknown (67), hostage takings (barricade incidents [46]), and hijackings (9).

Eight hundred seventy-three of the 4,520 attacks were recorded against teachers, professors, and instructors and 486 attacks were recorded against “other personnel” such as security and non-teaching staff.

Conclusion:

Terrorist attacks on educational institutions are rare but significant target types. In total, 41.2% of attacks on educational institutions occurred in South Asia, followed by 18.9% in the Middle East and North Africa. Western Europe and North America accounted for 3.9% and 3.6%, respectively. Educational institutions around the world should evaluate their risks and put in place appropriate hardening measures as well as preparedness and recovery plans to intentional threats.

Keywords

counter-terrorism medicineeducationpediatricterrorismyouth
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 333 - 337
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Comer, JS, Kendall, PC. Terrorism: the psychological impact on youth. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 2007;14(3):179–212.Google Scholar
Stoddard, FJ, Gold, J, Henderson, SW, et al. Psychiatry and terrorism. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2011;199(8):537–543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Global Terrorism Database (GTD). START.umd.edu. https://www.start.umd.edu/data-tools/global-terrorism-database-gtd. Accessed July 18, 2021.Google Scholar
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. https://www.start.umd.edu/. Accessed November 28, 2021.Google Scholar
Pakistan university attackers vow to target schools in new video. Agence France-Presse. 2016. https://www.rappler.com/world/119904-pakistan-university-attackers-vow-target-schools-video/. Accessed December 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Tin, D, Hart, A, Ciottone, GR. Rethinking disaster vulnerabilities. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;45:660–661.10.1016/j.ajem.2020.10.073CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grabow, C, Rose, L. School shootings in the US compared with the rest of the world. CNN. 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html. Accessed December 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Murphy, T. State Legislators: School Shootings Are Acts of Domestic Terrorism. The New York State Senate. 2018. https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/terrence-murphy/state-legislators-school-shootings-are-acts-domestic. Accessed December 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Eggert, D. Why was Michigan suspect charged with terrorism? AP NEWS. 2021. https://apnews.com/article/shootings-michigan-terrorism-7c0836469c98c31a854cd22a59f92cef. Accessed December 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Da Silva, C. Terrorism charge in Michigan school shooting could mark “new way” forward. NBC News. 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/terrorism-charge-michigan-school-shooting-mark-new-way-forward-experts-rcna7365. Accessed December 26, 2021.Google Scholar
Schlegelmilch, J, Petkova, E, Martinez, S, Redlener, I. Acts of terrorism and mass violence targeting schools: analysis and implications for preparedness in the USA. J Bus Contin Emer Plan. 2017;10(3):280–289.Google ScholarPubMed
Tin, D, Hart, A, Ciottone, GR. Hardening hospital defenses as a counter-terrorism medicine measure. Am J Emerg Med. 2020;45:667–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stene, LE, Schultz, J-H, Dyb, G. Returning to school after a terror attack: a longitudinal study of school functioning and health in terror-exposed youth. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2019;28(3):319–328.10.1007/s00787-018-1196-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schonfeld, DJ, Demaria, T. Supporting children after school shootings. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2020;67(2):397–411.10.1016/j.pcl.2019.12.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perate, AR. Pediatric mass casualty preparedness. Anesthesiol Clin. 2020;38(3):509–516.10.1016/j.anclin.2020.05.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newgard, CD, Lin, A, Olson, LM, et al. Evaluation of emergency department pediatric readiness and outcomes among US trauma centers. JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(9):947–956.10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1319CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ciottone, GR, Tin, D, Court, M. Counter-Terrorism Medicine: The Time is Now. Crisis Response J. 2021. Epub ahead of print.Google Scholar
Tin, D, Margus, C, Ciottone, GR. Half-a-century of terrorist attacks: weapons selection, casualty outcomes, and implications for counter-terrorism medicine. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(5):526–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed