KIDS WHO KILL; HOW TO SEE WARNING SIGNS IN TODAY'S KIDS.

Byline: Steve Carney Daily News Staff Writer

There has to be a way to spot them.

In the wake of the school carnage in Littleton, Colo., terrified students, parents, teachers and administrators are repeating it like a mantra: There must be a way to spot them, the students who can turn violent. There just has to be.

Who's harmless. Who's dangerous?

How can you tell the difference between the gloomy student with a penchant for unusual clothing and the one with the shotgun hidden under his cape?

Is there a difference between kids who hate and kids who will kill?

``There are warning signs, but it's always easier to identify these things in retrospect,'' said Dr. Allen Chroman, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

The glaring warning signs that students - almost always boys - may be capable of violence include cruelty to animals, fire-setting, bed-wetting and a lack of remorse for actions that harm others, said Richard Lieberman, a psychologist for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and a member of the National Association for School Psychologists emergency-response team.

Any of these behavioral patterns alone may not mean much, but taken together with other characteristics - chronic depression, aggression, etc. - can indicate a child is heading over the edge. Experts said early intervention by school counselors or other responsible adults can help dangerously troubled children.

Tuesday's shooters fit the profile of kids who kill. So did those who opened fire in the past two years on classmates in Arkansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Idaho and Kentucky.

They weren't just your average sullen teens, struggling to find a way to rebel against their parents or peers.

``They had all the warning signs, and they had a history of bullying and aggression,'' Leiberman said. ``This is not a normal kid. These kids were way, way, way on the fringe.''

Chroman and Leiberman said most youths - some even into their late teens - have a skewed view of death, and they imagine it as temporary, magical and reversible. The danger is magnified when parents are neglectful or violent toward each other or the kids.

So children learn violence as a way of resolving problems. And music, movies and video games reinforce that view, Chroman and Leiberman said.

``The response is: The other people are no good. If I kill the jocks, I have no more problems,'' Chroman said.

While some might dismiss connections between violence in the media and violence in practice, Chroman compared youths playing shoot'em-up video games with fighter pilots training in flight simulators.

``We do that because it works well,'' he said.

In each case, he said, the virtual reality desensitizes the user to anxiety when the situation arises in real life. The emotional immaturity of some teens keeps them from fully recognizing that the classmates falling around them are flesh and blood, not renewable characters in some scenario.

The deaths of others, and even themselves, are viewed as no great loss.

``It's all part of the game,'' Chroman said. ``It's all pieces of the puzzle, the devaluation of life.''

Boys who are depressed or chronically aggressive need to be identified in the elementary grades, when they can still be turned around, according to James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell University and author of a new book, ``Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them.''

``This is the time to intervene,'' agreed Chroman. ``Not all these kids become mass murderers, but most mass murderers begin this way.''

Paul Royer of Pasadena, a licensed clinical social worker for 18 years, said the key is helping students make good choices - not to listen to Marilyn Manson, flash gang signs or wear clothes that are all black or absurdly baggy.

He recommends dress codes and other restrictions on appearance, including hairstyles. He said if children have fewer choices, they have a better chance of making the right ones.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's shootings, Columbine High students talked about their classmates' fascination with death, Nazism, violent music and pipe bombs.

But Lieberman warned against jumping to conclusions from one or a few indicators. Students shouldn't be pounced upon just because they listen to shock rock, or espouse distasteful political beliefs, or wear unusual clothing or have a fascination with militarism.

``Every principal is going to say all students who wear long coats are potential killers; tomorrow, no long coats allowed on campus.

``That's simplifying it. That's what happens in the aftermath,'' he said. ``But there are no simple answers. You have to be careful not to knee-jerk. You'll just alienate the kids even more.''

But the experts agreed on one thing: Anyone who spots threatening or frightening behavior should notify a responsible adult - a teacher, a counselor, a school psychologist or a school nurse.

Teens especially may be reluctant to tell adults about strange students, and they may prefer just to ignore their creepier classmates. But Garbarino said they have a responsibility to report any concerns they have.

Six weeks ago in Butler, Pa., three students overheard a 15-year-old classmate talk about hurting others, and they told authorities, Garbarino said.

The next morning school officials detained the boy, Garbarino said, and they found his gun hidden in the bushes.

WARNING SIGNS

There is no foolproof system for identifying kids who might lash out with lethal violence, says the National School Safety Center. But a study of the youths responsible for violent deaths at U.S. schools since 1992 revealed common characteristics that should alert parents and school officials that a student is seriously troubled and may be in need of help:

Has a history of tantrums and uncontrollable angry outbursts

Characteristically resorts to name calling, cursing or abusive language

Habitually makes violent threats when angry

Has previously brought a weapon to school

Has a background of serious disciplinary problems at school and in the community

Has a background of drug, alcohol or other substance abuse or dependency

Is on the fringe of his peer group with few or no close friends

Is preoccupied with weapons, explosives or other incendiary devices

Has previously been truant, suspended or expelled from school

Displays cruelty to animals

Has little or no supervision and support from parents or caring adult

Has witnessed or been a victim of abuse or neglect in the home

Has been bullied and/or bullies or intimidates peers or younger children

Tends to blame others for difficulties and problems he causes himself

Consistently prefers TV shows, movies or music expressing violent themes and acts

Prefers reading materials dealing with violent themes, rituals and abuse

Reflects anger, frustration and the dark side of life in school essays or writing projects

Is involved with a gang or an anti-social group on the fringe of peer acceptance

Is often depressed and/or has significant mood swings

Has threatened or attempted suicide

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Box: Warning signs (see text)