A painful reminder.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The investigation of Tuesday's shooting at Springwater Trail High School in Gresham still is under way. But already one lesson appears painfully clear:

Better communication might have prevented this tragedy.

Police reports indicate 15-year-old Chad Escobedo was angry with two teachers, one of whom had called his parents to say he was not doing well at school and another who Escobedo believed was mean to students. The boy also told police he was upset with his mother because she refused to let him live with his father in Eastern Oregon.

According to court documents, Escobedo acted on that anger by hiding his stepfather's rifle, along with three boxes of ammunition, in a field near the school before its delayed opening Tuesday.

At lunch time, Escobedo displayed a bullet to several friends and told them he planned to "shoot at the school." None of those friends - not one - informed a school official about Escobedo's comments.

After lunch, Escobedo went to the field where he had hidden the rifle and fired two rounds into one of the school's classrooms, according to court documents. Ten students were injured, none fatally, by flying glass and metal fragments.

A grand jury will meet next week to decide whether to indict Escobedo on attempted murder and other charges. Meanwhile, investigators will continue to search for answers.

It would be premature to draw many conclusions from this incident. But it's not too early to note the obvious: The violence might have been averted if one of Escobedo's friends had immediately gone to the nearest teacher, administrator or school official and told them about his noon-time comments.

Not long ago, the U.S. Secret Service analyzed dozens of school shootings that have occurred over the past quarter century, including Kip Kinkel's deadly rampage at Thurston High School in Springfield a decade ago.

While the shootings differed in many aspects, one clear message and pattern emerged: Better communication could have prevented many, if not most, of the shootings.

The Secret Service found that school shootings were rarely spontaneous. In 97 percent of the cases, investigators found evidence of planning. In four out of five cases, someone other than the shooter knew about the crime before it occurred.

The lesson is plain: Students who hear a friend or acquaintance talking about committing an act of violence at school should always - always - take it seriously and immediately contact a school official or other trusted adult. And adults who receive such information from young people need to pay attention and make certain that the proper authorities are informed and that all necessary precautions are being taken.

For the most part, school officials across the nation have done an excellent job in heeding this lesson and spreading the word to students. It's safe to assume that many young lives have been saved because students spoke - and adults responded.

Tuesday's incident in Gresham should serve as a clarion reminder to school officials in Lane County and across the nation of the critical role that communication plays in preventing school violence.