Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I have been researching school shootings for 20 years. In four out of five cases, according to the FBI, these school shooters told someone what they were going to do—this is called “leakage” and is one of the warning signs of a potential school shooter. Those who heard these shooters thought they were “just joking.” As we have seen far too many times, the shooters were not joking.

So it is no wonder that these “jokes” are now being taken seriously by schools and law enforcement.

Those making threats against schools today are now being suspended or expelled from school and prosecuted.

A few recent examples: An 18-year-old exchange student from Taiwan pleaded guilty to threatening to carry out a shooting at his high school. The teen said it was a joke, but authorities found more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, as well as weapons, in his home. He is now facing federal charges and deportation back to Taiwan.

A 17-year...