MASS SHOOTINGS: SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES Learning Objectives 1. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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MASS SHOOTINGS: SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES Learning Objectives 1. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dec 02, 2023 148 likes •691 views

MASS SHOOTINGS: SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES Learning Objectives 1. Discuss the history of mass shootings 2. Explore causation myths such as medications and mental illness 3. Investigate main socio-cultural factors 4. Integrate

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MASS SHOOTINGS: SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

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Learning Objectives

  • 1. Discuss the history of mass shootings
  • 2. Explore causation myths such as medications and “mental

illness”

  • 3. Investigate main socio-cultural factors
  • 4. Integrate evidence-based prevention
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~ 918 Victims

71% African American 28% Children 26% Over age 50

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Charles Whitman

August 1, 1966

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Mass Murder in the U.S. Brief History

  • 1st wave (prior to 1950s)—familicide-suicide, workplace
  • 1950 to 1965 ~ relative quiescence
  • 2nd wave (after 1965)—high profile workplace shootings, some school

shootings

  • 3rd wave (late 1990s)—gradual increase in school shootings, news as

theater, moral panic

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Mass Murder

4 or > victims at 1 location, 1 event

(U.S. BJS)

  • Familicide ( suicide)
  • Crime-related (i.e., gang violence)
  • Disgruntled (ex) employee
  • Classroom avenger
  • Pseudo-commando
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Mass Murder Classification Relationship/linkage + Motive

  • Relationship or link between victims and perpetrator

(work, school, family, etc.)

  • Motive of perpetrator

(resentful, psychotic, depressed, etc.)

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School—Resentful

  • Socially excluded
  • Angry
  • Depressed
  • Vengeful
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Common Characteristics

(Mullen ’04)

  • Socially-excluded loners
  • Suspicious, resentful, grudge-holders
  • Self-centered, entitled, self-righteous
  • Externalizers (others are responsible)
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Externalization

"You forced me into a corner and gave me only one

  • ption. The decision was yours. Now you have blood
  • n your hands that will never wash off....”
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Common Characteristics

(Mullen ’04)

  • Well planned—“he snapped” is a

myth

  • Well prepared (guns, outfit)
  • Personal agenda = “Pay Back”
  • Seek infamy, aura of power
  • Influenced by & reference prior MMs
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Mental Functioning Spectrum

Psychotic Externalizing Internalizing

Symptoms

  • Hallucinations
  • Delusions
  • Disorganized

thought

  • Envy
  • Resentment
  • Rage
  • Impulsivity/lability
  • Guilt
  • Anxiety
  • Depression

Modus Operandi

Change world in fantasy Change world in reality Delay gratification to meet expectations

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Persecutory Worldview

  • “[You know what I hate]… Culture. I’ve been pissed out of my

mind all night thinking about it” (Lanza)

  • “Humanity is a cruel and brutal species…” (Rodgers)
  • “You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my

conscience.” (Cho)

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“Oh the happiness I could have had mingling among you hedonists, being counted as one

  • f you, if only you didn’t ***** the living *****
  • ut of me.”
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drreidmeloy.com

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Pathway: Research & Planning

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  • Allowed to fill out paperwork
  • Declined to sell guns
  • Thought behavior suspicious
  • Contacted law enforcement
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TRAP-18: Proximal Warning Behaviors

  • Leakage—communicate to 3rd party
  • Directly communicated threat—< 20%
  • Last resort behavior—“only alternative”
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FBI Study of Pre-Attack Behaviors

(Silver, J., Simons, A., & Craun, S. , 2018)

Phase II: 2000–2013 N = 63

  • 77%—planning 1 week or >
  • 46%—preparing 1 week or >
  • Majority obtained guns legally
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Mental Illness “FBI could only verify that 25% (n = 16) of the active shooters in Phase II were known to have been diagnosed by a mental health professional with a mental illness of any kind prior to the offense.”

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Mental Illness “Therefore, absent specific evidence, careful consideration should be given to social and contextual factors that might interact with any mental health issue before concluding that an active shooting was ‘caused’ by mental illness. In short, declarations that all active shooters must simply be mentally ill are misleading and unhelpful.”

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  • Dr. Breggin
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The Myth of School Shooters & Psychotropic Medications

(Time = up to past 8 years):

  • Any psychotropic = 23 (47%)
  • Antidepressant = 11 (22%)
  • Antipsychotic = 3 (6%)
  • Benzodiazepine = 3 (6%)
  • Stimulant = 2 (4%)

“Most school shooters were not previously treated with psychotropic medications—and even when they were, no direct or causal association was found.”

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Potential “Causes” of Mass Shootings

  • Antidepressants
  • Autism
  • Music, Marilyn Manson
  • Video games
  • Revenge, narcissism, desire for infamy
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Antidepressant Use in U.S. 2011–2014

(National Center for Health Stats, 2017)

  • 12.7% age 12 and over
  • 16.5% women
  • 8.6% men
  • 16.6% age 40 to 59
  • 19.1% age 60 and over
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Socio-Cultural Factors

  • News coverage
  • Social media
  • Western cultural “script” (Mullen)
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Jerem emy

(Pearl J Jam, 1992) 1992)

Jere eremy spok poke in class toda today Jere eremy spok poke in class toda today Try Try to to forge

  • rget th

this, Try Try to to era erase th this, From the blackb kboa

  • ard.

rd.

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Pu Pumped Up Up Kic icks

(Fost ster t the he People, 2011) 2011) Al All the other k r kids w with the p pumped-up k kicks You b better ru r run, better ru r run, outru run m my gun Al All the other k r kids w with the p pumped-up k kicks You b better ru r run, better ru r run Faster r than m my b bullet

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“Columbine Kid”

“A kid who has the potential to become a school

  • shooter. Usually socially outcast and depressed.”

e.g.: “Dan has no friends and people make fun of him all the time. He may become a Columbine Kid.”

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Media Attention Mass Shooters vs. Celebrities

(Lankford, 2018)

Less More Media Coverage

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Herostratus

(or Erostratus)

  • 4th cent BC Greek arsonist
  • Destroyed Temple of Artemis
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Tragic Anti-Hero Script

  • 1. Perception of ruined social identity
  • 2. Reclaim identity via revenge
  • 3. Dramatic/theatrical nature
  • 4. Violent bid for public validation & “justice”

(I’m right—society’s wrong) “Humanity has rejected me… Exacting my Retribution is my way of proving my true worth to the world”

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Gun Laws

  • NICS Background Check
  • Inconsistent reporting
  • Legal purchases only
  • “Mental Defectives” only
  • Gun-Violence Restraining Order
  • Relies on police judgment
  • Population bias?
  • Doesn’t rely on Dx
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Extreme Risk Protection Orders

(Acad Med, 2019)

(Rapid, focused response when risk is imminent) Synonyms:

  • Red flag laws
  • Risk-based gun removal
  • Gun violence restraining order (GVRO)
  • Extreme risk protection order (ERPO)
  • Domestic violence restraining order (DVRO)
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Risk‐Based Firearm Removal Laws

Recognize persons at risk: 1) Have ready access to firearms 2) Fluctuate in risk over time 3) Not at risk simply because of mental illness

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Conclusions

Warning behaviors & leakage Threat assessment teams Risk-based firearm removal laws Few mass shooters are psychotic Socio-cultural factors: media, script Suicide prevention initiatives?