The I-Team traveled to the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) in Washington, D.C. to go behind the scenes with this specialized unit.
For nearly 30 years NTAC has been training people, including hundreds recently in Gurnee, how to identify early warning signs and quickly intervene.
Stopping violent attacks before they happen is the mission of the National Threat Assessment Center.
"NTAC was established to conduct research to study what you call targeted violence... a premeditated attack that could be targeting an individual, a population, a location and that person wants to cause harm," Lina Alathari, chief of the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center told the I-Team.
This center was created by the Secret Service a year before the 1999 Columbine school shooting.
"Our staff at the National Threat Assessment Center have studied targeted violence and prevention through behavioral threat assessment and also brings the Secret Service's operational expertise in how to prevent not only assassination, but school shootings, workplace violence and attacks against houses of worship," said NTAC Assistant Chief Steven Driscoll.
NTAC studies the behaviors, backgrounds, and motivations of attackers to identify patterns.
"If communities can be equipped with the right kind of programs to identify signs and intervene, we can save lives," said Driscoll.
"Thousands of schools across the country are already implementing what we call multi-tiered systems of support where... Those teams are working with those individual students that have very severe, concerning behaviors," said NTAC Education Program Specialist Kelsey Morris.
Not surprisingly, their research shows people planning attacks are suffering.
"Things like job loss, divorce, substance abuse, or mental health stressors...bullying," said Driscoll.
NTAC provides emergency consulting when there is an imminent threat.
"As part of our case consultation mission we are able to meet with law enforcement, school personnel and talk through some of these concerning cases," NTAC's Katie Lord told the I-Team.
Investigators say most of the alarming communication happens in person but there are also threats made on social media and other platforms.
"Oftentimes people feel like they're at the end of their rope," said Driscoll.
SEE ALSO | Secret Service runs specialized training in Illinois' Lake County to help prevent targeted violence
Nearly half a million people in schools, law enforcement, and businesses are NTAC trained, including in Lake County, Illinois.
More than 400 people packed the Almond campus of Warren Township High School in early March.
"I think as people are working together and always just being on the lookout, whether it's in your school, in your neighborhood, you're seeing something that could fester," said Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools Michael Karner.
Tony Montalto lost his daughter Gina in the Parkland school shooting in 2018.
"National Threat Assessment Center does would have helped prevent that. Sadly, here in Parkland, the school tried to do a behavioral threat assessment on the shooter, and botched it," Montalto said.
Montalto is the president of Stand with Parkland and helps NTAC with their training.
"In the three decades, we've seen dozens of states mandate this approach for preventing school violence, we've seen workplaces develop workplace violence prevention programs," said Driscoll.
This school safety approach is mandated in Illinois and Indiana.
"We've seen communities intervene" and plots thwarted, said Alathari. "We produce the research looking at averted attacks, targeting schools. And in every single case, someone came forward with information... Because the guidance that has been provided by the Secret Service for over 20 years is being replicated in communities across the country."
"That concerning behavior is the trigger and the idea of a behavioral threat assessment is not to punish, not to incarcerate, but to get the individual connected with help before they resort to violence. I know that our family sure wishes that had happened in our case," said Montalto.
Stand with Parkland helped pass several school safety laws, including the STOP School Violence Act. Because of this, Illinois has received millions of dollars in grant money for threat assessment training.