School shootings are getting to be so common these days that soon they probably won’t even make the news any more.

Still, every time one occurs, it raises questions about the nature of teen violence, gun control, media influence, media hype, the place of God in the schools, crime and punishment, et cetera, et cetera.

The questions are legitimate, and let’s face it, this is a conundrum that may never have an answer.

We should continue to ask the questions, however, until the problem is solved and kids stop shooting each other.

The latest school shooting in Fort Gibson, Okla., is an even greater mystery than other school shootings since there were virtually no warning signs.

The pundits, finger pointers and problem solvers are going to have a hard time with this one, too, since the boy being tentatively identified as the shooter, 13-year-old Seth Trickey, has been noted as the least likely of all potential shooters.

He is from a good Christian home, attends church regularly, lives in a very religious community and belongs to a Christian teen group so the moral majority is not going to be able to claim the lack of knowledge about Jesus contributed to this boy’s violent outburst.

According to witnesses who spoke with the Associated Press, he was a popular, well-liked, straight-A student with no outstanding social or behavioral problems. He was not picked on, ostracized or demeaned by his classmates.

So far, video games, movies and rock ‘n’ roll music have not been shown to have had an undue influence in his lifestyle choices, mannerisms or world view, either.

The only group that may still get finger-wagging rights in this case are the gun-control proponents who can now clearly demonstrate one case in which access to a firearm may have been the only factor in this boy’s decision to open fire on his classmates.

When Muskogee County Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Cragg spoke with the boy, he had no motive and said he didn’t know why he did it.

Now is not the time for grandiose recriminations on the part of gun-control lobbyists, but clearly, in this case, if the suspect had not had access to this weapon, the shooting would not have occurred.

Trigger locks alone might have prevented this latest terrible example of youth gone wild.

In Columbine, we saw angry, demonized youth who would have stopped at nothing to wreak havoc.

That much has been agreed upon.

But in Fort Gibson, a little gun control might have gone a long way.

Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Sara Ziegler, Greg Jerrett, Kate Kompas and Carrie Tett.