Three school shootings have occurred in the past two weeks, prompting questions about security in schools.

The most recent attack happened on Monday, when Charles Carl Roberts IV walked into an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Penn. Roberts, 32, sent the three teachers and boys out of the one-room schoolhouse, lined the girls up and, after an hour, started shooting. He then committed suicide when police closed in. Five girls died and five were injured.

Eric Hainstock brought two guns into his high school in Cazenovia, Wis., on Sept. 29 and shot his principal, John Klang, after a struggle with adults and other students. The shooting came a day after Klang gave Hainstock, 15, a disciplinary warning for having tobacco on school grounds.

On Sept. 27, Duane Morrison, 53, walked into Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo., and took six girls hostage inside their English class. He released four girls and held the final two until police forced their way into the classroom and traded fire with Morrison. Morrison killed Emily Keyes, 16, when she tried to escape. He then committed suicide.

Another incident occurred on Sept. 13 when Kimveer Gill, 25, opened fire at Dawson College in Montreal. Gill killed one woman, injured 19 and was killed by police after a shootout.

According to Michael Wierzbicki, associate professor of psychology, the shooters who committed suicide went in with the intention of killing themselves.

"There are many kinds of suicide," Wierzbicki said. "People with psychotic disorders commit suicide as well as people suffering from depression."

People suffering from depression would not be expected to be interested in taking other's lives with them, he said.

"The man in Pennsylvania had festering anger that had persisted over the years," he said.

The timing and similarities of the attacks have some wondering if the Pennsylvania and Colorado attacks are related.

According to William Thorn, associate professor of journalism, the timing of the Colorado and the Pennsylvania shootings is probably a coincidence.

"The man from Pennsylvania was planning the attack all along," he said. "It is possible that the shooting may have pushed him along to an earlier time."

These shootings have put the United States in the center of international discussion, Thorn said.

"When considering these crimes absolute reason will not work," Thorn said. "These men are beyond normal social control."

Mary Pat Pfeil, senior director of university communication, said people need to hear that the crisis is over and they can start the healing process.

It is important to remember and continue to support the families of victims, she said.

Pfeil worked at the Wauwatosa School District in 1993 when a former student shot and killed a principal.

Pfeil was also at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., 24 hours after the shootings happened there in 1999.

Pfeil was in charge of coordinating responses in the community and developed daily fact sheets to dispel rumors.

"Communities need factual information," Pfeil said. "They need to know what they can do to help and how they can help their children deal with the tragedy."

Pfeil was impressed with the community members of Columbine who volunteered their time and resources in the aftermath.

"People feel there is a need to help and they need to be told how they can help," she said.

Most schools, including Marquette, have developed crisis response plans and should be practicing those plans, she said.

According to Capt. Russ Shaw, associate director of the Department of Public Safety, Marquette has a critical incident management plan that DPS would carry out if an emergency occurred on Marquette's campus.

According to Chris Preisler, Wauwatosa School District communication specialist, the district has not made any significant changes or upgrades in security because of the school shootings in the last few weeks.

"We are adding another officer to security, but that decision was made before the shootings in previous weeks," he said.

The district does review its safety and emergency plans regularly.

"The lockdown procedures are part of training for new teachers," he said.