“Researches believe domestic lone wolf terrorists are fundamentally different than organized international terrorist groups” (). Lone wolf terrorists rarely carry out their criminal acts because of politics alone, but find their motivation through personal grievances, disputes, or hateful ideology. Furthermore, unlike international terrorists, lone wolf terrorists have a history of some sort of mental health issue. Law enforcement agencies believe that lone terrorist have more in common with apolitical mass murders than organized terrorist cells, because their attacks tend to be less effective and deadly than coordinated attacks by organized terrorists groups (). Unlike international terrorists organizations, lone terrorist conduct their violence in a place they are familiar with.
“The U.S. ranks first in gun ownership per capita, with roughly 270 million firearms, or 89 firearms per 100 residents” (Palazzolo & Flynn). Even though most of the firearms that are bought are used for hunting animals, some are used for killing people. In 2015, “no more than eight days this year have passed without a mass shooting” (Speiser). This seems like a very bad statistic as that is many people's lives that are getting snuffed out. In this research paper, there will be a literature review about mass shootings, as well as a theory that fits mass shootings, and how this theory applies to mass shootings.
Joseph Joubert once said that “The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.” If I were to create a Flash Seminar, I would aim the discussion towards understanding, which then can lead to progress in the world. Specifically, understanding about gun violence and steps that can be taken to reduce the amount of victims from it. The sheer prevalence of gun violence in this country is heartbreaking.
Recently the amount of mass shooting that have happened in the United State within a short period of time have scared everyone. Many people are scared to go to the malls, movies, parks, and restaurants. “The FBI defines mass murder as murdering four or more persons during an event with no "cooling-off period" between the murders. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more people kill several others. Many acts of mass murder end with the perpetrator(s) dying by suicide or suicide by cop” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2005).
Despite the attack on 9/11 being the biggest and deadliest act of terrorism to date, it certainly was not first encounter the U.S. has had over the course of its history. The first recorded instance of terrorism in America dates back to 1622 when the Jamestown colony was attacked by the Powhatan Native Americans, who killed nearly 30% of the colony’s white population (Beutel, 2007). However, it wasn’t until 1867 that the first terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed. Originally created as a non-violent social organization, the white supremacist group quickly turned to violence and became the face for white southern resistance against policies made by the Republican Party to establish equality for Blacks during the Reconstruction
Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, sheds new light on the issue of public mass shootings. Using quantitative data from American and international reports of 171 countries between the years 1966-2012, Lankford concluded that the rate of public mass shootings is greatly dependent on the civilian ownership rate of a country. In his study, Lankford found that the countries with the highest number of firearms per capita also happen to rank in the top fifteen countries in public mass shooters per capita. The U.S having the highest number of firearms per capita, from 1966-2012, it had a staggering 31% of public mass shooters with only 5% of the world’s population.
When it comes to mass shooting, the United States has the most. There are more public mass shootings in the United States than in any other country in the world, according to a study by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Mass shootings are defined for the study as having four or more victims and it doesn’t include gang killings or slayings that involve the death of multiple family members. When used properly, guns can be beneficial to society. However, when in the wrong hands, guns can be used to do terrible things like mass shootings.
Whenever a mass shooting occurs, we are left wondering about a number of things. We are informed of the when, where, body count, and identities of the shooters, but the answer we wait the most for is the “why” behind the crime. The number of mass shootings that have occurred this year allows us to see that each time, Americans try to put these shootings into context. It’s wondered whether the shooter was motivated by race, religion, sex, or mental illness, and so on. There is no point in wondering about the motives behind a mass shooting when nothing is being done to prevent them.
Since 1966, there have been 150 mass shootings in the United States. Over 1,000 people have been killed, and over 150 of those people were children or teenagers. These statistics are brought up in a heartbreaking article by The Washington Post, titled “The Terrible Numbers that Grow with Each Mass Shooting,” written by By Bonnie Berkowitz, Denise Lu and Chris Alcantara. After the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, debates on gun control have once again sparked up. This has happened far too many times for change not to occur.
Going into a crowd of people could be dangerous like, going down back alley way alone. Crowds could be very dangerous with strangers. Shootings that have happened in big crowds. Many people might say that there is a lot of people that can protect you. The massive shootings that have happened in big crowded areas.
The USA needs tighter gun laws The United States just last year had 385 mass shooting (that’s defined as a shooting where 4 or more are injured or killed), that’s more mass shootings then there are days in a year. Still, Americans cling on to the idea that an ordinary citizen needs access to a military grade assault rifle, whose sole purpose is to be efficient at killing people. What’s even more frightening is the fact that America’s President, newly into office has made his stance on gun control quite clear by saying “I am against gun control”. In an age of mass education and with the ability to instantaneously communicate, it is time that America, once the centre of change, moves with the times and begins changing laws that are based around