Three school shootings that surpass the death toll of 13 – 12 students, one teacher – all took place within the past decade: 2012 Sandy Hook’s Basic Attack, in which a gunman killed 26 children and school staff; the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where took the lives of 17 people; and now Robb Elementary School Attacked in Uvalde, Texaswhere on May 24, 2022, at least 19 children and two adults were murdered.
we is a criminologistwho study?life history of public mass shooters in the United States As part of that study, we built a comprehensive database about mass public shootings using publicly available data, with shooters coded on more than 200 different variables, including location and racial profiles. For the purposes of our database, mass shootings in public places are defined as incidents in which four or more victims are murdered with at least one of those killings taking place. out in a public location and not associated with potential criminal activity, such as gangs or drugs.
Our database shows that since 1966, when our database timeline begins, there have been 13 such shootings at schools across the United States – the first in Stockton, Californiain 1989.
Four of those shootings – including one at Robb Elementary School – involved a murder at a different location, always by a family member at the residence. The most recent killer shoot his grandma before going to school in Uvalde.
The vast majority of mass school shootings are carried out by a lone gunman, with just two – Columbine and Columbine. 1998 shooting at Westside School in Jonesboro, Arkansas – by two gunmen. In total, about 146 people were killed in the attacks and at least 182 victims were injured.
The selection of “gunman” to describe the perpetrator was correct – all mass school shootings in our database were performed by men or boys. And the average age of those involved in the attacks was 18.
This is consistent with the existing image of the shooter in the Robb . elementary school attack. He just turned 18 and is said to be buy two military-style weapons. Authorities said on May 25, 2022, it was believed the shooter used a military-style weapon in the attack.
The police have has not revealed important information yet about the shooter, including what prompted him to kill children and adults at Robb Elementary. The image of the shooter that came out matched the profile we’ve built from past perpetrators in some ways, but differed in others.
We know that most school shooters have a connection to the school they target. 12 of the 14 school shooters in our database prior to the most recent Texas attack were current or former students. Any prior connections between the newest shooter and Robb Elementary School have yet to be made public.
Our research and Dozens of interviews with detained perpetrators of mass shootings shows that for most perpetrators, mass shootings are intended as a last resort. The majority of the student mass shooters died in the attack. Of the 15 mass school shooters in our database, only seven have been caught. The rest of the people died at the scene, nearly all of them by suicide – the only exception being elementary school shooter Robb, who was shot dead by police.
And school shooters tend to thwart their attacks by leaving posts, messages or videos warning of their intentions.
Inspired by past school shootings, some of the perpetrators are seek fame and notoriety. However, most school shooters are motivated by a generalized anger. Their path to violence involves self-hatred and desperation toward the world, and our research has found that they often foretell their harmful intentions as an act. Finally, despair. call for help. The key to preventing these tragedies is to let society Be warned with these warning signs and act immediately.
James DensleyProfessor of Criminal Justice, Metropolitan State University and Jillian PetersonProfessor of Criminal Justice, Hamline University
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© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
