Final answer:
The Hagan study emphasizes that student victims are more common than adult victims in school shootings, with the perpetrators often having severe mental health issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the Hagan study regarding school shootings, student victims are much more common than adult victims, and the former overwhelmingly involve shooters with severe mental health problems. This is supported by several tragic events, such as the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. These incidents highlight a pattern where the assailants often have significant psychological issues. The debate on how to address this includes discussions on gun control, mental health support, and the potentially catastrophic combination of easy access to firearms and mental illness.
The rise in school shootings and gun violence, including recent events like the attack at the Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023, has intensified the debate. Whether or not tighter gun control would reduce these incidents is a contested topic, with some advocating for stricter regulations and others arguing that access to guns is incidental.