If Only I Had Known: A True Story

This book is the riveting account of the school massacre that started a global trend, and the strategy that thousands of education, law enforcement, and mental health professionals have quietly used to stop countless attacks and threats.

"On October 1, 1997," writes author William Dodson, "when I was superintendent of Pearl Public Schools in Jackson, Mississippi, Luke Woodham, a sixteen-year-old sophomore, stabbed and bludgeoned his mother to death, then took a rifle to Pearl High School and shot nine students. Two died; seven were wounded. The act seemed to come out of the blue, with Luke Woodham randomly shooting anyone who moved. He did it in a safe and serene community. And he did it on my watch."

This is the only book ever written by a school executive who has experienced an attack. For over ten years, he searched for the answer to one question: What could we have done to prevent the attack? Dodson tells the story of a life-saving strategy that has saved countless lives.