A Framework for Narrative Forensic Interviewing of School Shooting Survivors: Building the Foundation of the Framework on School Shooting Survivors' Narratives

Introduction:

“Normal” is the word each survivor used to describe the moments before the event that would forever change their lives. They explained how they unknowingly moved toward the school shooting event that altered their lives in ways they previously could not even fathom. The unprovoked violent act of another individual would forever impact their new “normal.” Social workers, law enforcement officers, and mental health professionals have analyzed school shootings for twenty-five years. They have worked tirelessly to develop a coordinated effort to prevent these deadly, terrifying, and unpredictable events.

Nevertheless, despite these efforts, school shootings continue to occur. In the violence's aftermath, first responders face the daunting task of saving lives, providing aid, and restoring order. In the chaos and carnage, first responders are faced with providing care for the survivors' emotional and physical needs. This chapter provides a framework for a trauma-informed response to school shootings. The first-hand accounts of six survivors of four school shootings, dating back twenty-five years, show the long-term impact of school shootings. While the survivors have adjusted to living with the physical scars of the school shootings, the images, guilt, and fear of the survivors are forever imprinted on their souls and cannot be erased. The survivors' narratives will be used to demonstrate the importance of a trauma-informed narrative response. This chapter provides a trauma-informed narrative framework that first responders can use to respond to school shootings.

To construct this framework, this author, a certified forensic interviewer, interviewed six survivors and individuals directly involved in four school shootings in Kentucky and surrounding states dating back twenty-five years. Over the last twenty-five years, the trauma of those impacted by school shootings has not changed. The pain, agony, loss, the sheer fear of having your life destroyed in seconds remains the same. Narrative forensic interviews provide support throughout the interview process. The Mudd-Fegett framework is a trauma-informed survivor-centered approach that considers the survivor's needs throughout the interview process. The recognition that healing is a complicated process involving multiple layers of victimization guides the transformational interviewing process. By creating partnerships with those impacted by school violence, their voices, and experiences become a crucial foundation in developing interventions that do not heighten survivors' trauma. Furthermore, this framework safeguards to not cause further trauma to the survivor while ensuring they are heard, supported and led through the necessary investigative process.

Witnessing a traumatic event, such as a school shooting, profoundly impacts one's brain. It disrupts one's sense of safety and security and how one responds to others (LaBabera, 2020). Following the event, one might experience difficulty processing events, recalling the memory, and emotional functioning, which, left untreated, can rise to post-traumatic stress disorder. There may be ongoing distress memories, nightmares, vivid flashbacks, panic attacks, and other physical symptoms (such as digestive issues) (LaBabera, 2020). No two individuals experience trauma the same; therefore, the long-term impact of trauma varies drastically. When individuals feel a sense of genuine support, even on a short-term basis (such as a forensic interview), it encourages them to disclose their narrative. This allows the interviewer and survivor to formulate a rapport that enables the details of the traumatic event to be discussed. Forensic interviewing is a means of gathering information in a protected setting that limits trauma to the survivor. Narrative forensic interviewing unfolds by encouraging survivors to recall personal details of their traumatic experience at their own pace. When law enforcement and social workers join their resources in conducting narrative forensic interviews, the traumatic impact on the survivor lessoned.