Mass shooting

Aaron Alexis holding a gun during his deadly rampage in the Washington Navy Yard
Aaron Alexis killed twelve people and injured three in the Washington Navy Yard shooting.
Pulse nightclub shooting memorial, Florida, 2016
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A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers kill or injure multiple individuals simultaneously using a firearm. There is no widely accepted definition, and different organizations tracking such incidents use different criteria. Mass shootings are often characterized by the indiscriminate targeting of victims in a non-combat setting, and thus the term generally excludes gang violence, shootouts and warfare. Mass shootings may be done for personal or psychological reasons, but have also been used as a terrorist tactic. The perpetrator of an ongoing mass shooting may be referred to as an active shooter.

In the United States, the country with the most mass shootings, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012 defines "mass killings" as three or more killings in a single incident.[1] In its definition, a Congressional Research Service report from 2013 specifies four or more killings on indiscriminate victims, while excluding violence committed as a means to an end, such as robbery or terrorism.[2] Media outlets such as CNN, and some crime violence research groups such as the Gun Violence Archive, define mass shootings as involving "four or more shot (injured or killed) in a single incident, at the same general time and location, not including the shooter".[3] Mother Jones magazine defines mass shootings as indiscriminate rampages killing three or more individuals (not including the perpetrator), and excluding gang violence and armed robbery.[4][5] An Australian study from 2006 specifies five individuals killed.[6]

The number of people killed in mass shootings is difficult to determine due to the lack of a commonly agreed upon definition. In the United States, there were 103 deaths in mass shootings in 2021 (excluding the perpetrators) using the FBI's definition, and 706 deaths using the Gun Violence Archive's definition.[7] The FBI's definition refers to "active shooter incidents" defined as "one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area", while the Gun Violence Archive's definition counts incidents where at least four people (excluding the perpetrator) were shot, but not necessarily killed.[7]

Mass shootings (that occur in public locations) are usually committed by deeply disgruntled individuals who are seeking revenge as a motive, for failures in school, career, romance, or life in general.[8] Additionally, or alternately, they could be seeking fame or attention,[9] and at least 16 mass shooters since the Columbine massacre have cited fame or notoriety as a motive.[10] Fame-seekers average more than double the body counts, and many articulate a desire to surpass "past records".[10]

  1. ^ "Text - H.R.2076 - 112th Congress (2011–2012): Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012". www.congress.gov. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  2. ^ Bjelopera, Jerome P. (18 March 2013). "Public Mass Shootings in the United States: Selected Implications for Federal Public Health and Safety Policy" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2015. "There is no broadly agreed-to, specific conceptualization of this issue, so this report uses its own definition for public mass shootings."
  3. ^ "General Methodology - Gun Violence Archive". www.gunviolencearchive.org. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  4. ^ Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna. "US mass shootings, 1982–2022: Data from Mother Jones' investigation". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. ^ Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna. "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. ^ Chapman, S. (December 2006). "Australia's 1996 gun law reforms: faster falls in firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and a decade without mass shootings". Injury Prevention. 12 (6): 365–72. doi:10.1136/ip.2006.013714. PMC 2704353. PMID 17170183.
  7. ^ a b Pew Research Center (26 April 2023). "What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S." Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  8. ^ reference https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270480045_Mass_Shootings_in_America_Moving_Beyond_Newtown Fox & DeLateur. Mass shootings in America: moving beyond Newtown] Archived 2 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Homicide Studies, Vol 8(1), pp 125–145.
  9. ^ Lankford, Adam (1 March 2016). "Fame-seeking rampage shooters: Initial findings and empirical predictions". Aggression and Violent Behavior. 27: 122–129. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2016.02.002. ISSN 1359-1789. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Are the Media Making Mass Shootings Worse?". 16 September 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.