“Throw in a handful of heavy-duty, mood-altering drugs. Then, add 24/7 news-coverage - INSTANT NOTORIETY - of every maladjusted twit that shoots up a school and...Presto.”
You may have something there. In the current celebritocracy, it doesnt matter WHY you are famous, its just the fame thats important. And what can a kid do to become famous faster than to shoot up a school?
And, in making that point, you hit on the easiest way to stop these attacks from occuring.
A simple news blackout on the names/faces/manifestos/etc of these kids would, I think, nip the problem in the bud. No publicity = Less reason to blow up schools.
I think that a voluntary blackout would be the moral, correct thing for news organizations to do. Problem is, when has a "journalist" ever done the moral, correct thing? Or, for that matter, a TV station chasing the almighty dollar?