Theories Of Mass Shootings

Why are some of our young men resorting to violence in the form of mass shootings? Over the years many theories have been developed to attempt to explain why mass shootings continue to occur in our country. In this essay, I will focus on and attempt to uncover how these theories may help us to understand why the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings (SHES) occurred. Much confusion remains today in defining what exactly is a public mass shooting, otherwise known as rampage shootings? “Scholars and government researchers have employed a four-fatality minimum to determine which incidents constitute mass shootings and or murders” (Lankford, 2016 p173). Typical characteristics of mass shootings are; they are planned well in advance, occur in

Evidence of the first factor arose during the States investigation when they identified that while Adam was in fifth grade, he once stated, “that he did not think highly of himself and believed that everyone else in the world deserved more than he did” (Sedensky, 2013, p 33). Additionally, a teacher remarked that he was intelligent, but not normal, with antisocial issues. Overall, he managed fairly well until he was in seventh grade, this is when his mother noticed a significant deterioration in his behavior. Others described him as being quiet, barely speaking or even participating and very hard to communicate with. More importantly, his writings had a disturbing amount of violence in them, throughout middle school. During his high school years, he had poor social skills; he would not talk and was withdrawn. However, there were conflicting reports from students in regards to whether he was bullied or not. Despite other student’s uncertainty, Adams parents were adamant that he was

Some characteristics of Asperger’s syndrome are social impairments, high anxiety, and difficulty with communication. Unfortunately, the combination of those mental health struggles resulted in his limited ability to participate in his education while in high school and for him to function effectively in our society as an adult. He lacked empathy, avoided eye contact, could not stand to be touched and displayed rigid thought processes. Programs were developed and medications were advised, yet Adam refused to participate in those therapies and he refused to take the recommended