Leadership

Managing High-Risk Adolescents in Community Contexts: The South Haven (MI) Pier Shooting Case Study

Location: Ballroom A2, KBHCC

Sammie Wicks, II

Senior Program Manager
National Police Foundation
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Frank Straub, Ph.D.

Director of the Center for Mass Violence Response Studies
National Police Foundation
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Alyse Ley, Ph.D.

Associate Chairperson- Department of Psychiatry, Director- Psychiatry Residency Education Program
Michigan State University
Lansing, Michigan, United States

In 2018, a youth at a Michigan high school was arrested after his mother uncovered a school shooting plot involving modified firearms and homemade explosives. Although the school shooting was averted, the subject of concern went on to conduct a tragic act of mass violence after his release from juvenile detention three years later. This incident highlights the need for ongoing engagement and management of subjects of concern during and after incarceration. Containment strategies do not ensure desistance in violence. This case study presents valuable lessons learned for public safety and public health professionals and the need for collaborative multidisciplinary interventions to prevent acts of targeted mass violence that endure after mitigating the initial crisis.