Disillusioned young white men fill in blanks of a chilling profile

In an FBI report prepared in the wake of the Columbine shootings, researchers identified a number of risk factors associated with school shooters -- including a fascination with violence, a tendency toward racial and ethnic bigotry and stereotyping, a lack of empathy for others, and parents who don't allow them privacy and don't closely monitor their behavior. In the study that looked at 18 cases, most were white adolescent boys with decent school records. They shared a propensity toward outsize resentment and hostility: Whether or not they were picked on, they perceived themselves as the victims of bullying."There's an element of paranoia. They feel the world has done them wrong," says Michael Abramsky, a Birmingham psychologist who specializes in criminal pathology. [more ]