Mass Shootings: An Escalating Threat

Abstract

The USA has one-third of the world’s civilian mass shootings and five times as many of these incidents as the second-ranked country.1 While mass murders in public account for less than 1 % of all gun murder victims,2 they receive a great deal of media coverage and can leave the public feeling far more vulnerable than other types of killings, such as those occurring in the family, among acquaintances, or even gang-related killings. People feel they can avoid these other categories of homicide by avoiding those who are prone to extreme violence. Public mass shootings, on the other hand, are viewed as involving strangers and as occurring in places we or family members frequently use or visit—workplaces, schools, restaurants, shopping malls, and movie theaters. Mass murders, such as those at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, or the Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, can leave a community severely traumatized and fearful. They can even produce economic damage as residents may avoid crowded public spaces that may attract the next individual contemplating a massacre.