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CNN Live Sunday

Violence in Schools Hard to Predict

Aired May 13, 2001 - 20:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Monday will also bring closing arguments in the case of Nathaniel Brazill in West Palm Beach, Florida. Fourteen -year-old Brazill is being tried for the shooting death of his teacher last year. School officials are now instituting new security procedures at the school where that happened, and they are focusing on violence prevention. CNN's Mark Potter reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): Last spring, the desperate call to 911 came from Lake Worth Community Middle School.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a teacher that's been shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been shot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, a teacher has been shot in the 300 building.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

POTTER: The victim, Barry Grunow, a language arts teacher, was killed by one of his students, Nathaniel Brazill, who at the time was 13 years old. He claims it was an accidental shooting.

ROBERT HATCHER, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: I remember hearing the call that a teacher had been shot, and just thinking to myself, there's just no way. It must be a mistake.

POTTER: In the year since then, the Palm Beach County school system has increased security, with more police officers, stricter procedures, and increased hallway monitoring. But the biggest focus is on education, teaching students how to prevent violence.

ART JOHNSON, PALM BEACH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: We teach our adults how to teach youngsters to deal with conflict, because many times the first impulse is to use physical violence, or to go and get a weapon.

POTTER: Students who see something suspicious are urged to report it. Palm Beach County has produced TV public service announcements aimed at young people. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speak up. Tell someone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could save a life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe a friend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe my own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: The school system also pays more attention to bullying and threats. Teacher Margot Collins learned one of her students had threatened her.

MARGOT COLLINS, MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER: So I wrote the letter and I gave it to my principal. The day I came back from vacation and the students came back the next day. And that student was not in my class. So the problem was solved.

POTTER: But violence can be hard to predict. School officials say Nathaniel Brazill was a good and likable student.

HATCHER: That's what makes it so difficult is, you know, you take a kid like that, that would do something like this. There's no way to predict.

POTTER (on camera): While emphasizing conflict resolution and prevention, school officials say physical security measures can only do so much, and if they become overbearing, can actually hinder the students' ability to learn. Mark Potter, CNN, Lake Worth, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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