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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:12 am
Time: 3:12 am
Results for mass homicides
6 results foundAuthor: Haider-Markel, Donald P. Title: Attributing Blame in Tragedy: Understanding Attitudes About the Causes of Three Mass Shootings Summary: Individuals develop causal stories about the world around them that explain events, behaviors, and conditions. These stories may attribute causes to controllable components, such as individual choice, or uncontrollable components, such as systematic forces in the environment. Here we employ motivated reasoning and attribution theory to understand causal attributions the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, the 2009 Fort Hood shootings, and the 2011 Tucson, Arizona shootings. We argue that causal attributions stem from individual reasoning that is primarily motivated by existing dispositions and accuracy motives. Both motivations are present for attributions about these mass shootings and we seek to understand their significance and whether dispositional motives condition accuracy drives. We are able to test several hypotheses using individual level survey data from several national surveys to explain attributions about the shootings. Our findings suggest a substantial partisan divide on the causes of the tragedies and considerable differences between the least and most educated respondents. However, our analyses also reveal that while education has virtually no influence on the attributions made by Republicans, it heightens the differences among Democrats. We discuss these findings for the public's understanding of these tragedies and more broadly for attribution research. Details: Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, Department of Political Science, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper: Accessed November 25, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1901759 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1901759 Shelf Number: 134235 Keywords: Gun ViolenceHomicidesMass HomicidesMass Shootings (U.S.)Violent Crimes |
Author: Krouse, William J. Title: Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999-2013 Summary: In the wake of tragedy in Newtown CT, Congress defined "mass killings" as "3 or more killings in a single incident" (P.L. 112-265). Any consideration of new or existing gun laws that follows mass shootings is likely to generate requests for comprehensive data on the prevalence and deadliness of these incidents. Despite the pathos of mass shootings, only a handful of researchers and journalists have analyzed the principal source of homicide data in the United States-the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-to determine whether those incidents have become more prevalent and deadly. According to the FBI, the term "mass murder" has been defined generally as a multiple homicide incident in which four or more victims are murdered, within one event, and in one or more locations in close geographical proximity. Based on this definition, for the purposes of this report, "mass shooting" is defined as a multiple homicide incident in which four or more victims are murdered with firearms, within one event, and in one or more locations in close proximity. Similarly, a "mass public shooting" is defined to mean a multiple homicide incident in which four or more victims are murdered with firearms, within one event, in at least one or more public locations, such as, a workplace, school, restaurant, house of worship, neighborhood, or other public setting. This report analyzes mass shootings for a 15-year period (1999-2013). CRS analysis of the FBI SHR dataset and other research indicates that offenders committed at least 317 mass shootings, murdered 1,554 victims, and nonfatally wounded another 441 victims entirely with firearms during that 15-year period. The prevalence of mass shooting incidents and victim counts fluctuated sporadically from year to year. For the period 2007-2013, the annual averages for both incidents and victim counts were slightly higher than the years from 1999-2007. With data provided by criminologist Grant Duwe, CRS also compiled a 44-year (1970-2013) dataset of firearms-related mass murders that could arguably be characterized as "mass public shootings." These data show that there were on average: - one (1.1) incident per year during the 1970s (5.5 victims murdered, 2.0 wounded per incident), - nearly three (2.7) incidents per year during the 1980s (6.1 victims murdered, 5.3 wounded per incident), - four (4.0) incidents per year during the 1990s (5.6 victims murdered, 5.5 wounded per incident), - four (4.1) incidents per year during the 2000s (6.4 victims murdered, 4.0 wounded per incident), and - four (4.5) incidents per year from 2010 through 2013 (7.4 victims murdered, 6.3 wounded per incident). These decade-long averages suggest that the prevalence, if not the deadliness, of "mass public shootings" increased in the 1970s and 1980s, and continued to increase, but not as steeply, during the 1990s, 2000s, and first four years of the 2010s. Mass shootings are arguably one of the worst manifestations of gun violence. As discussed in this report, statute, media outlets, gun control and rights advocates, law enforcement agencies, and researchers often adopt different definitions of "mass killing," "mass murder," and "mass shooting," contributing to a welter of claims and counter-claims about the prevalence and deadliness of mass shootings. With improved data, policymakers would arguably have additional vantage points from which to assess the legislative proposals that are inevitably made in the wake of these tragedies. Toward these ends, Congress could consider directing one or several federal agencies, including but not limited to the FBI and BJS, to improve collection of data on multiple-victim homicides. Congress could also direct federal agencies, possibly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to report annually on firearms-related mass murders, including data on (1) offender acquisition of firearms, (2) types of firearms used, (3) amounts and types of ammunition carried and shots fired, (4) killed and wounded counts, (5) offender histories of mental illness and domestic violence, and (6) victim-offender relationships. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2015 at: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44126.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44126.pdf Shelf Number: 136296 Keywords: Gun-Related ViolenceGunsHomicidesMass HomicidesMass MurdersViolent Crimes |
Author: Towers, Sherry Title: Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings Summary: Abstract Background Several past studies have found that media reports of suicides and homicides appear to subsequently increase the incidence of similar events in the community, apparently due to the coverage planting the seeds of ideation in at-risk individuals to commit similar acts. Methods Here we explore whether or not contagion is evident in more high-profile incidents, such as school shootings and mass killings (incidents with four or more people killed). We fit a contagion model to recent data sets related to such incidents in the US, with terms that take into account the fact that a school shooting or mass murder may temporarily increase the probability of a similar event in the immediate future, by assuming an exponential decay in contagiousness after an event. Conclusions We find significant evidence that mass killings involving firearms are incented by similar events in the immediate past. On average, this temporary increase in probability lasts 13 days, and each incident incites at least 0.30 new incidents ( p = 0.0015). We also find significant evidence of contagion in school shootings, for which an incident is contagious for an average of 13 days, and incites an average of at least 0.22 new incidents ( p = 0.0001). All p -values are assessed based on a likelihood ratio test comparing the likelihood of a contagion model to that of a null model with no contagion. On average, mass killings involving firearms occur approximately every two weeks in the US, while school shootings occur on average monthly. We find that state prevalence of firearm ownership is significantly associated with the state incidence of mass killings with firearms, school shootings, and mass shootings. Details: PLoS ONE 10 (7): e0117259. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117259. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2016 at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/asset?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0117259.PDF Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/asset?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0117259.PDF Shelf Number: 139930 Keywords: ContagionCopycat EffectGun-Related ViolenceMass HomicidesSchool ShootingsSchool Violence |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Investigation Title: Active Shooter Incidents in the United States from 2000-2016 Summary: This document contains a list of active shooter incidents in the United States that have been identified by the FBI from 2000 through the end of 2016. Details: Washington, DC: FBI, 2017. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2018 at: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooter_incidents_2001-2016.pdf/view Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooter_incidents_2001-2016.pdf/view Shelf Number: 148945 Keywords: Active Shooter IncidentsGun ViolenceGun-Related Violence (U.S.)HomicidesMass HomicidesSchool ViolenceViolent CrimeWorkplace Violence |
Author: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Title: Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2016 and 2017 Summary: The FBI has designated 50 shootings in 2016 and 2017 as active shooter incidents. Twenty incidents occurred in 2016, while 30 incidents occurred in 2017. As with past FBI active shooter-related publications, this report does not encompass all gun-related situations. Rather, it focuses on a specific type of shooting situation. The FBI defines an active shooter as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter's use of one or more firearms. The active aspect of the definition inherently implies that both law enforcement personnel and citizens have the potential to affect the outcome of the event based upon their responses to the situation. This report supplements two previous publications: A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 20132 and Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2014 and 2015.3 The methodology articulated in the 2000-2013 study was applied to the 2016 and 2017 incidents to ensure consistency. Excluded from this report are gang- and drug-related shootings and gun-related incidents that appeared not to have put other people in peril (e.g., the accidental discharge of a firearm in a bar). Analysts relied on official law enforcement investigative reports (when available), FBI holdings, and publicly available resources when gathering data for this report. Though limited in scope, this report was undertaken to provide clarity and data of value to federal, state, tribal, and campus law enforcement as well as other first responders, corporations, educators, and the general public as they seek to neutralize threats posed by active shooters and save lives during such incidents. Details: Washington, DC: FBI, 2018. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view Shelf Number: 150072 Keywords: Active Shooter IncidentsGun Violence Gun-Related Violence (U.S.) Homicides Mass HomicidesSchool Violence Threat AssessmentViolent Crime Workplace Violence |
Author: Lott, John R., Jr. Title: How a Botched Study Fooled the World About the U.S. Share of Mass Public Shootings: U.S. Rate is Lower than Global Average Summary: A paper on mass public shootings by Adam Lankford (2016) has received massive national and international media attention, getting coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, plus hundreds of other news outlets spanning at least 35 different countries. Lankford's claim was that over the 47 years from 1966 to 2012, an enormous amount of the world’s mass public shooters -- 31% -- occurred in the United States. Lankford attributed this to America's gun ownership. Lankford claims to have "complete" data on such shooters in 171 countries. However, because he has neither identified the cases nor their location nor even a complete description on how he put the cases together, it is impossible to replicate his findings. It is particularly important that Lankford share his data because of the extreme difficulty in finding mass shooting cases in remote parts of the world going back to 1966. Lack of media coverage could easily lead to under-counting of foreign mass shootings, which would falsely lead to the conclusion that the U.S. has such a large share. Lankford's study reported that from 1966 to 2012, there were 90 public mass shooters in the United States and 202 in the rest of world. We find that Lankford’s data represent a gross undercount of foreign attacks. Our list contains 1,448 attacks and at least 3,081 shooters outside the United States over just the last 15 years of the period that Lankford examined. We find at least fifteen times more mass public shooters than Lankford in less than a third the number of years. Even when we use coding choices that are most charitable to Lankford, his 31 percent estimate of the US's share of world mass public shooters is cut by over 95 percent. By our count, the US makes up less than 1.43% of the mass public shooters, 2.11% of their murders, and 2.88% of their attacks. All these are much less than the US’s 4.6% share of the world population. Attacks in the US are not only less frequent than in other countries, they are also much less deadly on average. Given the massive U.S. and international media attention Lankford's work has received, and given the considerable impact his research has had on the debate, it is critical that this issue be resolved. His unwillingness to provide even the most basic information to other researchers raises real concerns about Lankford's motives. Details: Crime Prevention Research Center, 2018. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 31, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3238736 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3238736 Shelf Number: 151317 Keywords: Gun ViolenceHomicidesMass HomicidesMass ShootingsTerrorism |