Theories Of Mass Shootings

Mass shooting episodes have increased over recent decade and received substantial media coverage during the last year. Multiple schools, clubs, and churches, and public places across the United States have been impacted, resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

Mass shootings are a horrific event prevalent in our society for many years. On July 18, 1984, James Huberty fires with his long-barreled Uzi at a McDonald’s San Ysidro, California, killing twenty-one adults and children. Another gunman, George Hennard, fires in a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing a total of twenty-three people on On October 16, 1991. A different mass murderer, Seung-Hui Cho, shoots thirty-two students and faculty members dead at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia on April 16, 2007. Additionally, Adam Lanza opens fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut killing twenty students aging from six to seven, and six staff on December 14, 2012. All too often in the history of America, innocent

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.

In recent years, the American public has been continually plagued by mass shootings; events where an individual, or individuals, with access to firearms, open fire on people, committing seemingly nonsensical acts of violence. Compared to other developed countries the United States holds the highest rates of gun violence and mass shootings, both of which are complex issue that affects American regardless of socioeconomic status. Although the definition of a mass shooting varies depending on the organization, the most widely recognized definition is one used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); as defined by FBI a mass shooting is an incident where at least four persons are killed or injured with a firearm in a random act with little

The first recorded school shooting in America dates back to 1764, during Pontiac’s War. Since then, hundreds have occurred, claiming many lives (Galvin). In the modern era, the rarity of these events has been steadily decreasing, which may be caused by the confusion that surrounds gun laws and regulations. The new debate over this issue is likely due to the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Since that event, about 65 people who have committed a school shooting have referenced Columbine as a motive.

Various preventable high profile violent crimes involving the use of firearms have increasingly occurred numerous times in recent years. The events from Virginia Tech, Charleston Church, Colorado Movie Theater, Sandy Hook shootings along with others are clear messages displaying why the United States should implement greater gun control laws. The mass shootings are only increasing with time as little is done to take preventative measures on gun possession. According to Mona Chalabi from The Guardian, “An analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University last year found that between 1982 and 2011 mass shootings occurred every 200 days on average. Between 2011 and 2014, they occurred every 64 days” (Chalabi, 2015,

Gun Control and Mass Shootings in America Gun violence is an unquestionable issue in America, with the United States ranking as one of the worst with both homicides and suicides using guns. That being said, we outnumber Mexico in gun related deaths and among first-world countries we rank far above others in the number of gun deaths, such as England and Australia. Consequently, we live in one of the only first world countries that does not have extensive gun laws and restrictions to gun access. Aside from the countless homicides and suicides by firearm in this country, one particular issue within this predicament is mass shootings, with the most recent mass shooting occurring on February 14th, 2018 at a high school in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed. Although, it may seem like an easy fix to just implement gun control laws into our society to eliminate gun violence, but it is important to note that Americans own nearly half of all firearms globally, which is roughly 325 million guns;

America is a nation blossomed with prosperity, yet it is notorious for the proliferation of appalling violence and homicides. By focusing on the Columbine High School massacre, Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine explores the environment/causes that lead to shooting tragedies and exposes the culture of fear that governs the unstable American society. On April 20, 1999, two senior students, Erik Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and severely wounded 21 others with a 9mm carbine and a 12-gauge shotgun at Columbine High School. The bloodbath is directly related to the extensive accessibility of ammunitions. Through an investigation, Moore shockingly discovers that a Michigan local bank rewards free guns to customers who open new

Mental illness significantly affects many around the world. In fact, about four-hundred and fifty million people worldwide suffer from one or more of the different known mental illnesses. That is one in every four people. Severe mental health issues such as severe anxiety disorder, antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, or sensory perception disorder are illnesses which are common among the people responsible for the numerous mass shootings in America. Many believe the possession of firearms in the hands of the mentally ill are the real cause of mass shootings. I agree with this statement. However, I do not solely blame the criminal for their actions due to their mental illness. Creating stricter gun laws, expanding mental health awareness

This article has great viewpoints, use of argumentative reasoning, and shows what truly happens in the hallways of a school shooting. The main person he explains is Eric Harris, who killed over two-thousand students and faculty in a Colorado high school in 1998. He set off bombs all over the school and used a semi-automatic

School shootings and active shooter situations are one of the hottest topics in America right now. There is nothing more tragic than turning on the television or radio and hearing about the deaths of children. The primary argument is that no one can ever seem to agree on what the cause of these events are, and if they can be stopped before they occur. Lately it seems that there are more and more of these events occurring, however some researchers argue that this is not the case (Rocque, M. (2012). Others argue that while the events themselves may not be increasing the high amount of publicity these events get from the mainstream media makes it seem that they are occurring more frequently (Snell, C., Bailey, C., Carona, A., & Mebane, D. (2002).

The school environment is one that has been stressed to be a safe and enjoyable place to learn. However, for many individuals, that is not the case. Students around the world have very unique experiences at school, which can unfortunately become abhorrent. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and average of 96 Americans lose their lives to gun violence each day (Gun Violence by the Numbers). There are several causes of death by gun violence, but one of the causes that have become a growing problem is school shootings. Each school shooter has an individual story and should be treated disparate from the rest, but there are several similar characteristics between many school shooters throughout history.

Mass Shootings have been pretty common in the U.S. In the past 30 years or so. According to the Congressional Research Service, there have been 78 mass shootings in the United States since 1983. The shootings have resulted in 547 deaths and 1,023 casualties. Mass shootings are only responsible for a very small percentage of deaths in the United States, but mass shootings are happening more often than ever, a mass shooting happens on average one time a month. Most of the suspects of mass shootings are young males who usually commit the crime on their own with careful planning of the event. Most perpetrators have a fascination with weapons and the shootings usually occur in broad daylight in public places (Frances).

Mass shootings have become a commonality for Americans, and we as a country have become used to the high death toll associated with these tragedies. Killers armed to the teeth seek a highly dense hunting ground to rake in as many kills during their bloodbath. Mass shootings are not uniquely an American problem, but they are uniquely common here. Federal bans, public safety campaigns, and state laws have attempted to attack the mass shooting dilemma. As shootings continue, the issue remains a prevalent debated topic in politics and leaving many dumbfounded on what course of action needs to be taken to save us from the plight we’re in.

The rise of Mass shootings in the U.S.      In the last 52 years there has been 150 mass shootings in the U.S. In the 50 years before that, their were just 25. In those 52 years 1,077 people were killed. In the year 2017 alone, 112 people were killed.