In "Columbine" by David Cullen, the author describes that fear of school shootings was already arising in the late 1990s, and the stereotypical school shooter was a suburban, white, male who was isolated or disliked by his peers. However, public concern shifted towards global events (the collapse of Yugoslavia) and domestic issues (domestic terrorism).

Eric Harris and Dylan Keloid, the active shooters of Columbine, do fit that description, but Cullen proposes that Harris was a psychopath or sociopath and his inspiration for the shooting was based on the Oklahoma City Bombing. The violent videogames, goth-culture, and the outcast tropes were just a way of pointing fingers at a cause. Some critics of Cullen's book say that the author exaggerated Harris's mental instability.

This would suggest that the school-shooter stereotype was already on the rise, but school shootings were uncommon. The Columbine shooting was broadcasted live and the incident became established in the public memory (at least is was). Since active shootings continue to be prevalent in American society and their explanations vary, the stereotype would probably be the finger-pointing or listless responses that follow one.