In the telephone survey of 604 adult Hoosiers, when asked how worried they were about a school shooting, 20% of Hoosiers said they were “very worried” and another 36% said they were “somewhat worried” for a total of 56%.

“There have been a number of tragic incidents nationwide, including the one in Noblesville in May, so it’s not surprising that people would be concerned,” said Charles Taylor, managing director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State, which conducts the annual public opinion survey. “The level of concern was somewhat higher in urban areas, where 62 percent were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ worried, than in rural or suburban areas.

Support for the two remaining measures was not as widespread. Only 36 percent of Hoosiers thought that banning assault-style weapons would be ‘very effective;’ only 30 percent rated arming teachers and school officials as ‘very effective.’

“We also asked the survey respondents their opinion about the likely effectiveness of a number of potential school safety measures. Preventing people with mental illness from purchasing guns was rated as ‘very effective,’ by 61% of Hoosiers. Improving mental health screening and treatment was second with 58%. Placing metal detectors was third with 47%.”

Complete results of the Hoosier Survey will be released November 13th.