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A Comparative Analysis of Suicide Terrorists and Rampage, Workplace, and School Shooters in the United States From 1990 to 2010
Abstract
This study presents results from the first combined quantitative assessment and comparative analysis of suicide terrorists and rampage, workplace, and school shooters who attempt suicide. Findings suggest that in the United States from 1990 to 2010, the differences between these offenders (N = 81) were largely superficial. Prior to their attacks, they struggled with many of the same personal problems, including social marginalization, family problems, work or school problems, and precipitating crisis events. Ultimately, patterns among all four types of offenders can assist those developing security policy, conducting threat assessments, and attempting to intervene in the lives of at-risk individuals.
... One of the critical challenges is in designing and implementing comparative analysis. Criminological research frequently investigates differences within groups, and there are many examples of within-group comparative studies for rare events like terrorism/extremism (Chermak & Gruenewald, 2006;Chermak et al., 2012;Freilich et al., 2014;Gruenewald & Pridemore, 2012;LaFree et al., 2009LaFree et al., , 2012LaFree et al., , 2018Parkin et al., 2015), hate crimes (Allison & Klein, 2019;Gruenewald, 2013;Gruenewald & Allison, 2018;Klein & Allison, 2018), mass shootings (Huff-Corzine & Corzine, 2020;Koper, 2020;Lankford & Silver, 2020;Webster et al., 2020;Zeoli & Paruk, 2020), and school shootings (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003;Klein 2005;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2015Meloy et al., 2001). Additionally, some research has examined the suicidal tendencies of rampage school shooters, identified as aggressors who target multiple victims indiscriminately (Newman et al., 2004(Newman et al., , 2009. ...
... For example, Newman et al. (2004) found that of 102 rampage school shooters, 33 died by suicide, nine wanted to die by suicide, nine were killed by law enforcement, and four died by suicide sometime after the shooting. Lankford (2013) explored whether 81 different types of suicide attackers were similar in demographic characteristics and attack strategies. School shooters were significantly younger than the other groups, terrorists were more likely to "die by cop," and workplace shooters were less likely to write a suicide note or have a family. ...
... They also had grades ranging from excellent to failing, with most (41%) receiving As and Bs and 22% receiving Cs and Ds. 5% knowingly failed out of school as well (Vossekuil, 2004). Research has also shown that school shooters may struggle with school-related problems, partially explaining why they carry out their attacks (Lankford, 2013). Issues in school are related to suicide incidents as well. ...
This study comparatively examines whether suicide school shooters differ from non-suicide school shooters. Although the research on school shootings is increasing, there is limited research on school shooters who attempt, threaten, or plan suicide or die by suicide in comparison to those who do not. The American School Shooting Study (TASSS) includes data on all school shooting events occurring in the United States between 1990 and 2016 that resulted in at least one injury. This study extracts event and individual characteristics from TASSS to quantitatively explore which attributes explain differences across these groups. We conclude by discussing recommendations on responding to school shootings and highlighting directions for future research.
... Since 2011, there has been a major increase in studies that compared suicide terrorists or lone actor terrorists with public mass shooters (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019;Clemmow et al., 2022;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018. In general, findings suggest that all three types of attackers usually (1) commit premeditated attacks, (2) kill unarmed strangers in public, and (3) attempt to justify their violence by claiming they were victimized, oppressed, or mistreated (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019;Clemmow et al., 2022;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2018. ...
... Since 2011, there has been a major increase in studies that compared suicide terrorists or lone actor terrorists with public mass shooters (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019;Clemmow et al., 2022;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018. In general, findings suggest that all three types of attackers usually (1) commit premeditated attacks, (2) kill unarmed strangers in public, and (3) attempt to justify their violence by claiming they were victimized, oppressed, or mistreated (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019;Clemmow et al., 2022;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2018. Many also (4) seek revenge or retribution against whomever they blame for their suffering and (5) want to generate fame or media attention through mass violence (Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2014, 2018. ...
... In general, findings suggest that all three types of attackers usually (1) commit premeditated attacks, (2) kill unarmed strangers in public, and (3) attempt to justify their violence by claiming they were victimized, oppressed, or mistreated (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019;Clemmow et al., 2022;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2018. Many also (4) seek revenge or retribution against whomever they blame for their suffering and (5) want to generate fame or media attention through mass violence (Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2014, 2018. In addition, all three types often (6) have struggled with social isolation or loneliness and (7) have mental health problems or suicidal motives (Capellan, 2015;Corner & Gill, 2015;Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford & Hakim, 2011, Lankford, 2013, 2016, 2018. ...
... Over the last decade, western societies have experienced an increase in acts of mass violence carried out by lone actors (Hamm and Spaaij, 2017;Kenyon et al., 2021), that is, a perpetrator who single-handedly executes an attack, has no direct affiliation with an extremist group or terrorist organization, or is under direct command or influence of a terrorist leader or group (Lindekilde et al., 2017). While the notion of lone actors is mostly associated with lone-actor terrorists, the definition also applies to other single offenders, e.g., school shooters, workplace attackers, rampage shooters, fame-seeking mass shooters, mass murderers, and some forms of incel violence (Hempel et al., 2000;Langman, 2013;Lankford, 2013;Capellan and Anisin, 2018;Taylor, 2018;Capellan et al., 2019;Silva and Greene-Colozzi, 2019;Hoffman et al., 2020;Clemmow et al., 2020b). Historically, lone-actor violence has been considered a particularly challenging phenomenon to prevent due to their relatively more solitary and unpredictable radicalization trajectory (Bakker and de Graaf, 2010;Alakoc, 2017). ...
... In this article, we argue in favor of moving away from a distinctive typology of violent lone-actor types and toward the unifying conceptualization of lone-actor grievance-fueled violence, which suggests that these seemingly different offenders may share a common genesis (McCauley et al., 2013;Barry-Walsh et al., 2020;Clemmow et al., 2020b). Despite increasing usage of the concept, the literature still seems to revolve in large part on the typological approach (e.g., Lankford, 2013;Capellan et al., 2019). To illustrate the analytical benefits of embracing the lone-actor grievance-fueled violence concept, we analyze the Aarhus University Shooting in 1994, where a single offender killed two students and wounded another two. ...
... Second, and perhaps best known, school shooters attack their current or former educational institution (e.g., Leary et al., 2003). Similarly, the third category, workplace attackers, take violent action against their current or former workplace (Lankford, 2013). Fourth, there is the recent classification of incels (involuntary celibates), who are motivated by a specific worldview (Baele et al., 2019;Hoffman et al., 2020) stemming from misogynistic attitudes, which has found to be a driver of other forms of sexual violence and death (e.g., Willmott et al., 2017;Sowersby et al., 2022). ...
Over the last decade, western societies have experienced an increase in acts of mass violence carried out by lone actors. While this concept is mostly associated with lone-actor terrorists, it also involves the actions of other single perpetrators, e.g., school shooters, workplace attackers, rampage shooters, and some forms of incel violence. In this article, we argue in favor of moving away from such categorization of violent lone-actor types and toward the unifying concept of lone-actor grievance-fueled violence. We illustrate the analytical benefits gained from such a conceptual shift by analyzing the Danish Aarhus University Shooting in 1994, where a single offender killed two students. While this attack is widely accepted as the only Danish school shooting in history, we identify signs of an extremist misogynist worldview held by what we today would call incels. This case serves as an illustration of the blurred and context-sensitive boundaries between violent lone-actor types and how nuances in offender motivation can be lost when lone-actor attacks are classified within a typological framework. Rather than simply recasting the Aarhus University Shooting as an incel attack considering the recent development of this category, we argue for the need to embrace the conceptualization of lone-actor grievance-fueled violence, which points toward the common genesis of lone-actor violence and allows for multi-faceted offender motivations. Using the Aarhus University shooting as a steppingstone, we discuss the pitfalls of lone-actor violence typologies and the advantages of the unifying lone-actor grievance-fueled violence conceptualization for both academia and practice.
... To date, there has been a tendency to regard violence and homicide within the family and LAGFH which targets individuals outside the family as separate domains (McCulloch et al., 2019). Whilst a few studies have included familicides or family massacres in discussions of LAGFH (McCauley et al., 2013;Capellan, 2015;Hurlow et al., 2016), the literature has tended to treat fatal family violence (FFV; deliberate homicide of at least one family member, including extended family, guardians, and current or former intimate partners) as conceptually distinct (Lankford, 2012;Krouse and Richardson, 2015;Clemmow et al., 2020) and these fields of research have developed separately. This is somewhat surprising as there are more than anecdotal grounds to consider that a grievance or multiple grievances may be relevant to some acts of FFV. ...
... Research into lethal and near lethal mass violence throughout the 2010s increasingly found that lone perpetrators of extreme violence shared some key similarities both within similar (see Ioannou et al., 2015) and different contexts. Lankford (2012) was one of the earliest to compare lone actor terrorists with those engaging in public mass killings at schools or workplaces, concluding that most distinctions between these offenders were superficial and precipitating crises were common across all four groups. McCauley et al. (2013) compared lone actor terrorists to public figure assassins and school shooters, suggesting that the common theme of a perceived grievance -as opposed to material self-profit -rendered these groups more similar than different. ...
... within the realm of lone actor grievance-fuelled violence more broadly, but there is another sub-group of FFV cases that are not motivated by grievance and have different offender, victim, and other characteristics. These results challenge existing assumptions that largely exclude family violence from LAGFH research on the basis of their relationship with the people they target (Lankford, 2012;Krouse and Richardson, 2015;Clemmow et al., 2020). ...
Introduction
The concept of lone actor grievance fuelled violence assumes that homicides that occur in very different contexts can be thought about in a consistent manner because they share common motivations and resultant emotional states like resentment, outrage or revenge. Fatal family violence has been largely excluded from discussions of lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide, based on the assumption that it is conceptually different. This scoping review examines similarities and discrepancies between the characteristics and motivations of perpetrators of fatal family violence and those who have engaged in lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide outside the family context, and the relevance of the concept of grievance-fuelled violence to fatal family violence.
Methods
This study reviewed published case studies and case series, resulting in a dataset of 102 homicide cases from 36 studies, of which there were 38 fatal family violence cases and 64 categorised as lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide.
Results
Twenty of the 38 fatal family violence cases were identified as being grievance-fuelled, based on the presence of motivations consistent with definitions in the grievance literature. Whilst there were some offence similarities between the fatal family violence cases (e.g., location of offence), those driven by grievance were more similar to lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide in other ways (e.g., offender’s gender and offence methods). In both these categories violence was predominantly motivated by grievance and a desire for revenge, whereas non-grievance fatal family violence cases were predominantly motivated by altruism.
Discussion
The motivations that defined behaviour as lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide were equally apparent in a sub-group of fatal family violence, implying that some family violence cases can be integrated into the construct of lone actor grievance-fuelled homicide in future research and theorising.
... Mass gun violence research has predominantly focused on schools (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003;Leary, Kowalski, Smith, & Phillips, 2003;Muschert 2007;Newman, Fox, Roth, Mehta, & Harding, 2004;Wike & Fraser, 2009), but other important locations include workplaces, religious institutions, government buildings, and "open-spaces" (e.g. malls, restaurants, clubs, bars, and events) (Capellan, 2015;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2015Lankford, , 2016Silva & Capellan, 2018). ...
... The limited access to government documents, court records, and police reports should not discourage comprehensive data collections. Researchers building mass gun violence databases should begin by searching openly available databases from previous research (see for example Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2015Lankford, , 2016, government reports (see Blair & Schweit, 2014;Kelly, 2012), and news outlets (see Follman, Aronsen, & Pan, 2017;Schaul, 2015). This provides a strong foundation for datasets and contributes to advancing the study of mass gun violence. ...
... One specific motivation researchers may also want to include in their datasets is ideologically motivated perpetrators. The reason for the changing perspective and potential inclusion in mass gun violence data is that research comparing lone-wolf terrorists with rampage, disgruntled employee, and school shooters finds that they have very similar demographic and personal profiles (Capellan, 2015;Lankford, 2013). These similarities suggest they may require comparable security measures, threat assessments, and attempts to intervene in the lives of at-risk perpetrators than previously assumed (Lankford, 2013). ...
The excessive media coverage of mass gun violence has contributed to the public perception of an epidemic. These senstionalized media accounts highlight statistics suggesting a dramatic rise of the phenomenon. This chapter provides an in-depth analysis and comparison of open-source datasets to identify methodological weaknesses and clarify the prevalence of the problem. Findings illustrate the definitional, temporal, and data collection issues impacting the accuracy of assessment. This deconstruction of research counters the perception of a substantial rise in mass gun violence and suggests rates will vary depending on the typological phenomenon being investigated. A discussion of findings illustrates the importance of continuing the examination of mass gun violence and provides comprehensive guidelines for future research assessing the frequency of the phenomenon.
... Studies that did include nonterrorist comparison groups have produced interesting insights (e.g. Altunbas and Thornton, 2011;Baele, 2017;Berrebi, 2003;Dhumad et al., 2020;Gottschalk and Gottschalk, 2004;Horgan et al., 2016;Kavanagh, 2011;Krueger, 2008;Krueger and Malečková, 2003;Lankford, 2013;Lee, 2011;Silver et al., 2019;Smith, 2008). Below we discuss six studies meeting the following criteria: they should be quantitative scholarly contributions discussing factors associated with terrorism on the individual level of analysis, and they should examine European or North American terrorist(s) (suspects) as prime subjects (instead of extremists or nationalists, for instance) compared to nonterrorist samples. ...
... Besides theoretical papers (e.g. LaFree and Dugan, 2004), there are empirical contributions that discuss the similarities and differences between terrorists and nonterrorist offenders (Horgan et al., 2016;Lankford, 2013). Horgan et al. (2016) compared demographic (including socioeconomic status (SES)), psychological, and offense-related behavioral factors across and between 115 solo mass murderers and 71 lone actor terrorists. ...
... degree of interacting with co-conspirators), their findings suggested little distinction in terms of socio-demographic profiles. Similarly, a comparative analysis of suicide terrorists and rampage, workplace, and school shooters who attempted suicide showed that distinctions between these two groups of individuals (N = 81) were mostly superficial (Lankford, 2013). Prior to their offenses, individuals from both groups often experienced similar personal problems, including family problems, social marginalization, problems at work or school, and precipitating crisis events. ...
This article contributes to the debate in terrorism research on how unique terrorist suspects (i.e. individuals suspected of crimes with terrorist intent) actually are and whether or not specific theories are necessary to explain their behavior. Our study compares terrorist suspects from the Netherlands with their siblings and nonterrorist suspects to find out whether and how terrorist suspects are unique. Inspired by criminological theories involving social bonds, regression analyses were conducted utilizing registry data on household compositions, socio-economic status (SES), and criminal histories. A key finding is that terrorist suspects seem to have more in common with other suspects than with their siblings; besides prior criminal involvement, no significant differences were found between terrorist suspects and other suspects. Terrorist suspects were significantly less often married, had a lower SES, and were more often previously suspected of crimes as compared to their siblings. Particularly, lacking employment is a differentiating factor for terrorist suspects and siblings. Our findings stress the necessity to investigate in-depth under what circumstances and how a disadvantaged background (e.g. lack of social bonds, criminal history) can lead to becoming a terrorist suspect.
... Studies of mass murder with firearms primarily focus on public mass shootings. These studies often provide examinations of different types of public mass shootings; categorizing and comparing public incidents by motivations and locations (Capellan, 2015(Capellan, , 2019Capellan & Silva, 2021;Lankford, 2013;Silva & Greene-Colozzi, 2019a). For example, studies compare ideological versus non-ideological motivations (Capellan, 2015), government versus non-government locations (Capellan & Silva, 2021), and a mix of four motivation/location types-rampage, workplace, school, and terrorist-of public mass shootings (Capellan et al., 2019;Lankford, 2013;Silva & Capellan, 2019). ...
... These studies often provide examinations of different types of public mass shootings; categorizing and comparing public incidents by motivations and locations (Capellan, 2015(Capellan, , 2019Capellan & Silva, 2021;Lankford, 2013;Silva & Greene-Colozzi, 2019a). For example, studies compare ideological versus non-ideological motivations (Capellan, 2015), government versus non-government locations (Capellan & Silva, 2021), and a mix of four motivation/location types-rampage, workplace, school, and terrorist-of public mass shootings (Capellan et al., 2019;Lankford, 2013;Silva & Capellan, 2019). In general, these studies often compare the offender, victim, and incident characteristics to identify warning signs, individuals at-risk, and areas for intervention (see also : Capellan & Gomez, 2018;. ...
This study provides a comprehensive examination of mass shootings in America (2006–2020). Specifically, this work identifies offender, victim, and incident characteristics, incidence rates, and differences between public, family, and felony mass shootings. Findings indicate consistent characteristics across all mass shootings include male offenders and the use of handguns. Family mass shootings had the highest incidence rate. Family and the felony mass shootings largely involved close offender-victim relationships, no victim injuries, and private locations. Oft-considered public mass shootings involving stranger victims, higher victim counts, and public locations do not reflect the overall phenomenon. Implications offer insight for understanding and addressing the mass shooting problem.
... Chapters two and three outlined a series of studies related to the prevalence and clustering of various indicators and risk factors potentially associated with lone actor terrorism and mass murder events. In terms of the methodological approaches taken and in terms of how the variables were treated, the chapters typified the wider study of school shooters (Langman, 2009), mass murderers (Bowers et al, 2010), lone actor terrorism (Gill et al, 2014) and spree shooters (Lankford, 2013). Such studies of low likelihood events build on the study of risk and high-volume crimes like arson and stalking. ...
... Chapters two and three outlined a series of studies related to the prevalence and clustering of various indicators and risk factors potentially associated with lone actor terrorism and mass murder events. In terms of the methodological approaches taken and in terms of how the variables were treated, the chapters typified the wider study of school shooters (Langman, 2009), mass murderers (Bowers et al, 2010), lone actor terrorism (Gill et al, 2014) and spree shooters (Lankford, 2013). Such studies of low likelihood events build on the study of risk and high-volume crimes like arson and stalking. ...
The study found little to distinguish these two violent offender types in their socio-demographic profiles. Their behaviors, on the other hand, differed significantly in the degree to which they had interacted with co-conspirators, their antecedent event behaviors, and the degree to which they lacked information prior to their attack. Unlike lone terrorists, mass murderers' violence was spontaneous due to unplanned physical or emotional conflicts. Lone terrorists, on the other hand, were motivated to commit violence due to ideologically based conflicts or differences with potential target victims. Regarding threat or risk, there are a number of overlapping questions that must be considered, including what type of action is most likely, under what conditions is a particular mass violence attack likely to be perpetrated, and what interventions are likely to be effective in preventing or mitigating the perpetration of violence. Lack of predetermined intent and strategy distinguishes mass murderers and lone terrorists. The lone terrorist tends to engage in more observable behaviors and planning than the mass murderer, which presents more of an opportunity to observe and assess preparatory actions and intervene to prevent the planned violence from occurring. 3 figures and approximately 100 references
... Homicidalno nasilje koje maloletnici vrše u školskoj sredini fenomenološki i etiološki se razlikuje od drugih vrsta nasilnog ponašanja maloletnika. U literaturi se kao mogući uzroci navode iskustvo viktimizacije nasiljem u školskom okruţenju i van njega (u porodici), socijalna marginalizacija i osećaj odbaĉenosti, nebezbedna klima u školi, neadekvatna ili nepostojeća pravna regulativa u pogledu kontrole kupovine i posedovanja vatrenog oruţja i laka dostupnost istog, fasciniranost nasiljem i nasilnim temama, nedostupnost usluga iz oblasti mentalnog zdravlja, psihopatologija roditelja i drugi (Verlinden et al., 2000;;Leary et al., 2003;Vossekuil et al., 2004;Lankford, 2012;Ress et al., 2019). Zbog ograniĉenosti prostora, ovde ćemo se osvrnuti samo na one moguće etiološke ĉinioce koji su u većini studija, odnosno u većini analiziranih incidenata homicidalnog nasilja u školama, prepoznati, a to su iskustvo viktimizacije, dostupnost oruţja, mentalni problemi, socijalna marginalizacija i/ili iskljuĉenost i patologija porodice. ...
... Sliĉno je utvrĊeno i u studiji Vossekuil i saradnika (2004), koja je pokazalo da su kod mnogih maloletnih izvršilaca ubistava u analiziranim nasilnim incidentima utvrĊene samoubilaĉke i depresivne sklonosti, u smislu istorije samoubilaĉkih ideja ili pokušaja suidica, ili istorije teţeg oblika kliniĉke depresije. U vezi sa tim, pokazalo se da nije neobiĉan, a ni redak sluĉaj, da maloletni izvršioci homicidalnog nasilja u školskom okruţenju izvrše samoubistvo nakon napada i da se praktiĉno napad tako i okonĉa (Lankford, 2012). Pored ovih, kod izvršilaca su utvrĊene i druge poteškoće u vezi sa mentalnim zdravljem. ...
Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija (World Health Organization-WHO,2014) mentalno
zdravlje definira stanjem dobrobiti pri kojem pojedinac ostvaruje svoje potencijale, moţe se nositi sa svakodnevnim i iznenadnim ţivotnim stresom, radno je sposoban i produktivan te sposoban pridonositi obitelji i zajednici. Respektirajući značaj zdravlja na osobnoj, obiteljskoj i socijalnoj razini putem Zoom i Merlin sustava za udaljeno učenje u sklopu visokoškolskog kolegija Obitelj i prevencija rizičnih i asocijalnih ponašanja pokrenuli smo forum raspravu na temu “Promocija mentalnog
zdravlja u funkciji osnaţivanja obitelji - izazovi pandemije i (post)Covid19 krize. U raspravi
sudjelovali su svi studenti prve (N=23) i druge godine (N=20) jednopredmetnog i dvopredmetnog studija pedagogije. Rasprava se vodila tijekom tri tjedna što je omogućilo vrijeme za bolje sagledavanje različitosti pogleda na pristupe podrške obitelji. Kao poticaj raspravi imali smo i podpitanja koja su se odnosila na razmišljanja o posljedicama pandemije posebice na mentalno zdravlje kao i o zaštitnim mehanizma u njegovom očuvanju/osnaţivanju te prijedloge u kreiranju primarnih aktivnosti pogotovo fokusirane na obiteli. Analizom rasprave moţemo zaključiti da su se
zbivanja tijekom pandemije reflektirala na veliki broj mladih što se opisuje kroz: dugotrajni osjećaj straha za svoj i ţivot obitelji, neizvjesnosti nastavka izvršavanja studijskih obveza i završetka studija, izostanak socijalnih i fizičkih kontakata, osjećaj izoliranosti i usamljenosti, osjećaj izostanka kontrole nad svojim ţivotima i odlukama. U skupinu zaštitnih faktora ističe se: zajednički provedeno vrijeme s obitelji, meĎusobna podrška i povezanosti, kao i mogućnosti iznalaţenja humora čak i u situacijama
koje su krizne. Edukaciju o vaţnosti osnaţivanja obiteljskog zajedništva i komunikacije, međusobnog podupiranja i povezanosti smatra se bitnim činiteljem za osmišljavanje strategija zaštite mentalnog zdravlja. Budući i nakon pet godina nije izglasana za novo razdoblje Nacionalna strategija zaštite mentalnog zdravlja, a niti se u prethodnoj istaknula vaţnost edukacije u promociji mentalnog zdravlja za sve a ne samo za bolesne ovaj rad pridonosi ne samo potrebi razmišljanja već i implementacije spoznaja pedagoške znanosti i edukacije u sustavu očuvanja mentalnog zdravlja ljudi.
... Homicidalno nasilje koje maloletnici vrše u školskoj sredini fenomenološki i etiološki se razlikuje od drugih vrsta nasilnog ponašanja maloletnika. U literaturi se kao mogući uzroci navode iskustvo viktimizacije nasiljem u školskom okruţenju i van njega (u porodici), socijalna marginalizacija i osećaj odbaĉenosti, nebezbedna klima u školi, neadekvatna ili nepostojeća pravna regulativa u pogledu kontrole kupovine i posedovanja vatrenog oruţja i laka dostupnost istog, fasciniranost nasiljem i nasilnim temama, nedostupnost usluga iz oblasti mentalnog zdravlja, psihopatologija roditelja i drugi (Verlinden et al., 2000;;Leary et al., 2003;Vossekuil et al., 2004;Lankford, 2012;Ress et al., 2019). Zbog ograniĉenosti prostora, ovde ćemo se osvrnuti samo na one moguće etiološke ĉinioce koji su u većini studija, odnosno u većini analiziranih incidenata homicidalnog nasilja u školama, prepoznati, a to su iskustvo viktimizacije, dostupnost oruţja, mentalni problemi, socijalna marginalizacija i/ili iskljuĉenost i patologija porodice. ...
... Sliĉno je utvrĊeno i u studiji Vossekuil i saradnika (2004), koja je pokazalo da su kod mnogih maloletnih izvršilaca ubistava u analiziranim nasilnim incidentima utvrĊene samoubilaĉke i depresivne sklonosti, u smislu istorije samoubilaĉkih ideja ili pokušaja suidica, ili istorije teţeg oblika kliniĉke depresije. U vezi sa tim, pokazalo se da nije neobiĉan, a ni redak sluĉaj, da maloletni izvršioci homicidalnog nasilja u školskom okruţenju izvrše samoubistvo nakon napada i da se praktiĉno napad tako i okonĉa (Lankford, 2012). Pored ovih, kod izvršilaca su utvrĊene i druge poteškoće u vezi sa mentalnim zdravljem. ...
Zbornik pod nazivom Poremećaji u ponašanju djece i mladih je publikacija koja je nastala u okviru naučnog skupa "Društvene devijacije", a u okviru kojeg smo publikovali 77 naučna rada.
U Zborniku su predstavljeni aktuelni problemi djece i mladih iz ugla raznih naučnih disciplina.
... While some lone-actors may have social ties, many (also) experience varieties of interpersonal rejection in at least three different settings: networks, peers, and intimate relations. For example, marginalization from larger social networks is common for both school shooters, rampage shooters, and workplace attackers (Dumitriu, 2013;Lankford, 2013;Silva & Greene-Colozzi, 2019;Sommer et al., 2014). Leary et al. (2003) found that some school shooters were ostracized by large segments of peer groups, resulting in a feeling of being "relegated to the periphery of social life" (p. ...
... social environment during childhood and adolescence, as well as socioeconomic indicators. Starting with the former, the extant literature emphasizes how offenders have a history of negative childhood experiences.Using cluster analysis, Langman (2009; 2013) identified a particular subgroup of 'traumatized' school shooters that come from 'broken homes', where they suffered from physical and/or sexual abuse and at least one parent had a history of crime of substance misuse.Ioannou et al. (2015) likewise discovered a 'rejected' school shooter type with similar characteristics, andLankford (2013) found that both rampage shooters (56%) and workplace attackers (23%) also experienced family issues. While none of the studies on childhood experience focus on lone-actor terrorists or violent Incels, some studies tentatively propose that these offenders may have a similar historyWhite, 2017).During adolescence too, several lone-actors have ties to dysfunctional environments. ...
The purpose of this systematic review is to identify risk factors and mechanisms of radicalization associated with lone-actor grievance-fueled violence. In this paper, I focus on five violent lone-actor “types”; lone-actor terrorists, workplace attackers, school shooters, rampage shooters and violent Incels. Data synthesis of the 78 included studies led to the identification of nine risk factors: 1) sociodemographic background; 2) social ties; 3) interpersonal rejection; 4) mental illness; 5) subclinical personality traits; 6) strain; 7) grievances; 8) emotional traits and states; and 9) cognitive processes and content. As a limitation of the extant literature is the lack of a coherent and integrative framework of how each factor relates to the others, findings were re-synthesized to show how risk factors essentially reflect five generic social and psychological mechanisms of radicalization: socialization, small-group dynamics, psychological need restoration, mental health from a dimensional perspective, and mechanisms of moral disengagement. The paper ends with a discussion of this framework and its implications for future research on lone-actor grievance-fueled violence.
... High-profile incidents of mass violence in the USincluding the 2015 Inland Regional Centre shooting in San Bernardino, the 2016 Next Generation Action Network Protest shooting in Dallas, and the 2019 Walmart shooting in El Pasoillustrate a link between mass shootings and lone actor terrorism. To understand the connection between these two historically divergent areas of scholarly inquiry, recent mass shooting research provides comparisons between ideologically motivated mass shooter (IMMS) incidents and other types of rampage shootings (Capellan, 2015;Capellan, Johnson, Porter, & Martin, 2019;Lankford, 2013). Studies find they share many of the same background and risk factor characteristics; however, IMMS are unique in the preparation, execution, and conclusion of their attacks. ...
... Studies examining IMMS incidents as a dependent variable provide comparisons against all other mass shootings (Capellan, 2015), or a few other mass shooting types (e.g. school, workplace, etc.) Lankford, 2013;Osborne & Capellan, 2017), to determine differences in shooter and incident characteristics. Findings indicate IMMS are more likely to be of Arab-descent, have a criminal record, and have military experience, and IMMS incidents often involve more planning, firearms, and casualties (Capellan, 2015;Capellan et al., 2019). ...
This study uses a crime script analysis to examine far-right, far-left, and jihadist-inspired ideologically motivated mass shooters (IMMS) in the US (1970-2019). This work provides a comparison of incident rates and shooter backgrounds, as well as the preparation, execution, and conclusion of attacks. When comparing the three IMMS types, findings indicate far-right incidents were most common, far-left shooters were largely Black Nationalists, and jihadist-inspired shooters had more success in life (college graduates, employed, married, parents). During initial preparation, IMMS often leaked violent intentions and had facilitating conditions including criminal, domestic violence, and military histories. Jihadist-inspired shooters had more planning, and far-left shooters often accessed guns illegally. During attack execution, IMMS incidents often occurred in the South and involved open-space and/or unrestricted access locations. Jihadist-inspired shooters targeted government locations more often, while far-left incidents often occurred outside with law enforcement on the scene. During attack conclusion, IMMS incidents often ended quickly and involved gunfire with police. Jihadist-inspired shooters had a higher rate of victim casualties, and far-left shooters had a higher rate of police casualties. Far-right shooters had a higher number of victim and police casualties overall. A discussion of findings contextualises IMMS threats and explores strategies for countering the phenomenon.
... T. Pathé et al., 2018;Silver et al., 2019;Sizoo et al., 2022). Factors often listed as motivational aspects for lone actor violence include mental illness (Allely et al., 2017;Erlandsson & Reid Meloy, 2018); extremist ideology (Capellan & Anisin, 2018;Capellan et al., 2019;Gill et al., 2014); revenge for harassment, rejection, or bullying (Böckler et al., 2018;Farr, 2018); a desire for control (Anisin, 2018;Knoll, 2010;Lankford, 2013); feelings of hate (Bondü & Scheithauer, 2015;Erlandsson & Reid Meloy, 2018); and desires for fame and repute (Bondü & Scheithauer, 2015;Wills & Lankford, 2019). ...
Motivation is at the heart of understanding the causes and reasons for all human behavior. This article addresses the often elusive, conflated, or overlooked motivational underpinnings of lone actor grievance-fueled violence, referring to acts of demonstrative violence carried out by a single perpetrator, for example, lone actor terrorism, school shootings, or public rampage violence. With the frequent occurrence of such violence over the past decades and the ongoing efforts to intervene and prevent attacks before they occur, it becomes essential to understand lone actors and the factors and mechanisms motivating their behavior. The present article outlines a conceptual understanding of motivation, proposing that behavior is driven by the desire to fulfill or restore basic psychological needs, for example, belonging, identity, or significance. Alongside this, the role of individual characteristics in offending is examined, outlining the importance of questions and formulation in understanding motivation. The study illustrates the analytical and practical utility of psychological needs, questioning, and formulation in understanding offending behavior and motivation through an in-depth case analysis of the 2020 Nova Scotia attack perpetrated by Gabriel Wortman. The case analysis focuses on two central questions, (a) “what was it about Wortman and his situational circumstances that led him to commit violence?” and (b) “how was the violence a means to restore or resolve thwarted psychological needs?” The article concludes by reviewing the importance of paying greater attention to motivation and discusses the benefits that this provides to preventative efforts made by law enforcement, threat assessment teams, and mental health practitioners.
... Importantly, active and mass public shooting incidents are differentiated most notably by casualty outcomesotherwise, they share an active and predatory perpetrator who aims to kill and injure innocent targets in a populated area. Mass public and active shootings bear similarities to other extreme crimes, like hate crimes and terrorism (Freilich et al., 2020;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2018. Like terrorism, these shootings are carried out in public locations, and targets are often selected to guarantee newsworthiness and maximum casualties. ...
Research summary
Situational crime prevention (SCP) is an environmental crime control perspective with enormous practical and policy relevance due to its practitioner‐friendly theoretical approach. This study examines whether SCP interventions reduce incident casualty outcomes in active shooter incidents. We used an inductive, open‐source data set of 555 active shooter and mass public shooting sites to study the applicability of SCP to active shooter and mass public violence. Our findings suggest a harm mitigation role for SCP: active shooter sites with stronger holistic SCP had fewer casualties. We assessed perpetrator motivation to test displacement, a core critique of SCP, and found that the harm mitigation potential of SCP persists even in the presence of a highly motivated offender.
Policy summary
SCP could be a practical and effective method to decrease casualties in the event of an active shooting, which is a highly motivated crime type that is difficult to predict and prevent. Public locations may select a range of appropriate SCP techniques based on individual resources and needs. The totality and interactions of these techniques may contribute to public safety in general, with diffuse benefits. This policy solution is highly oriented toward practice and real‐life application, and may be used to supplement existing preventative measures like threat assessment and gun legislation.
... Capellan and colleagues found a common profile of both ideological and nonideological active shooters: they were young and isolated white males, with at least 25% of them suffering from confirmed mental disorders (Capellan, 2015). Other authors confirmed these similar profiles (Gill et al., 2019) and found more similarities than dissimilarities between the two populations, including social and personal factors (Lankford, 2013). One explanation proposed by several authors is that the actions of lone-actor terrorists and mass murderers may result from the same psychological and social processes and are a part of the lone-actor grievance-fueled violence phenomenon (Capellan, 2015;Clemmow et al., 2022;Ebbrecht, 2022;McCauley et al., 2013). ...
Terrorism and mass murder are two forms of violence that have become international concerns in the twenty-first century. Despite their apparent differences, they share some similarities. This chapter aims to compare and contrast the two phenomena by examining their definitions, global impact, and the psychological profiles of terrorists and mass murderers.
This chapter presents a comparative study of the psychological profiles of terrorists and mass murderers. Two systematic literature reviews were carried out to investigate mental disorders in these two populations. It examines the role of mental disorders in both populations and discuss their potential relationship with violent behavior. The case of Anders Behring Breivik, who perpetrated the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway, is used to illustrate the complex interplay between terrorism, mass murder, and psychiatry.
Finally, the chapter addresses the role of mental health professionals in understanding and preventing terrorism and mass murder, as well as the limitations of current research and the need for a dynamic and multidisciplinary approach to address these complex issues.
... (Blair, Nichols, Burns, & Curnutt, 2013). A crise é uma tipologia que se caracteriza pela sua rapidez de ação e por um desfecho que, muitas vezes, se materializa no suicídio do agente agressor, (Lankford 2012 É importante apresentar esse caso tanto pela sua notoriedade que ataque ainda tem como pelos procedimentos policiais que sucederam. Foi a partir deste episódio lamentável que a polícia norteamericana teve que rever seus protocolos de atendimentos, pois, apesar De acordo com a Lei 13.185/2015, que instituiu o programa de combate à intimidação sistemática (Bullyng), o bullyng é todo ato de violência física ou psicológica, intencional e repetitivo que ocorre sem motivação evidente, praticado por indivíduo ou grupo, contra uma ou mais pessoas, com o objetivo de intimidá-la ou agredi-la, causando dor e angústia à vítima, em uma relação de desequilíbrio de poder entre as partes envolvidas. ...
O aumento das ameaças de agressores ativos, especialmente em ambientes escolares, tem gerado reflexões profundas e exigidas respostas imediatas por parte das forças de segurança pública, profissionais da educação e da população em geral. Ataques em massa e massacres, crimes que são mais comuns nos Estados Unidos e antes raros no Brasil, agora ocupam com frequência significativa os noticiários nacionais. De acordo com dados recentes do Instituto Sou da Paz (2023), nos últimos 20 anos, o Brasil registrou 25 ataques violentos em ambientes escolares, sendo mais da metade desses incidentes ocorridos nos últimos 5 anos (2019-2023). Notavelmente, dois dos três ataques que resultaram no maior número de vítimas aconteceram no período de 2019 a 2022. Em um total de 25 ataques, 139 vidas foram perdidas e 93 pessoas sofreram ferimentos não fatais. Além disso, 12 dos 24 ataques envolveram o uso de armas de fogo, muitas vezes provenientes do ambiente residencial, sendo adquiridos por agressores de seus próprios pais ou familiares. Diante desse problema alarmante, a sociedade clama por uma resposta do Estado, envolvendo a implementação de políticas públicas efetivas, além de medidas direcionadas à capacitação das forças de segurança, orientações ao corpo acadêmico e à população em geral, bem como uma reflexão sobre a responsabilidade da mídia na cobertura desses eventos. Embora cada entidade envolvida tenha missões específicas, suas atitudes tornam-se fundamentais na defesa de vidas inocentes e na construção de ambientes mais seguros.
... In another study focusing on the United States from 1990 to 2010, Lankford (2013a) compared the characteristics of suicide terrorists and rampage, workplace and school shooters, generally associated with mental disorders. Lankford (2013a) found high level of similarities between groups in terms of social and personal issues preceding the attack. However, as these studies are based on the researchers' evaluation of social and mental problems faced by the terrorists based on fragmentary data, one cannot exclude coding biases (Atran, 2014). ...
The self-sacrifice of suicide terrorists is subject to sophisticated models of altruistic sacrifice. Yet, a simpler account is that it reflects common suicidal tendencies. This paper offers new micro and macro evidence supportive of this hypothesis. At the micro level, the paper compares a sample of suicide and non-suicide terrorists in the United States from 1948 to 2017. Results indicate that suicide terrorists are more likely to display various established suicidal risk factors including history of child abuse, absent parent/s, and relationship troubles. Results from Bayesian Model Averaging indicate that suicide risk factors outperform other individual factors (e.g., ideology and lone-actor terrorism) in explaining suicide terrorism. At the macro level, the paper takes advantage of the cross-national variations in suicidal tendencies to explain the incidence of suicide and non-suicide terrorist attacks worldwide from 1991 to 2014. Results reveal that countries with higher share of deaths from suicide display higher incidences of suicide attacks but similar incidences of non-suicide attacks. However, other contextual factors such as the share of Muslims also predict the incidence of suicide terrorism. The decision of some terrorists to sacrifice their life may well have been subject to over-theorization.
... Scholars have pursued a variety of strategies. Some have compared terrorists to non-political, "parallel" offenders (Gruenewald, 2011;Gruenewald & Pridemore, 2012;Horgan & Gill, 2016;Lankford, 2013;McCauley, Moskalenko, & Van Son, 2013;Pyrooz, LaFree, Decker, & James, 2017;Smith & Damphousse, 1996) or compared extremists committing ideologically motivated attacks to extremists committing nonpolitical crime Gruenewald, 2011). Such comparisons are useful to determine if the same causal models proposed to explain regular offending are applicable to terrorism, or if different frameworks are needed to account for political crime (Freilich & LaFree, 2015). ...
This paper identifies what we see as opportunities to improve data collection, analysis, and interpretation of findings in American and British terrorism research. We suggest seven directions that we see as promising. These include: 1) interview methods and reporting, 2) source reporting in database studies, prioritizing available court records, 3) more comparison groups, including non-offender activists for the same cause and non-political offenders, 4) comparison of cases with and without confidential informants, 5) extremist ideas and extremist violence studied as separate problems, 6) more attention to grievances, avoiding controversies over defining ideology and narrative, and 7) more attention to emotions of terrorists, their supporters, and their victims.
... The term grievance-fuelled violence has been used over the last decade to reflect the fact that similarities exist between those committing violent that acts in the context of grievance in settings previously studied separately, such as school shootings, workplace violence, random massacres, and lone-actor terrorism (e.g., Lankford, 2012;McCauley et al., 2013;Capellan, 2015;Clemmow et al., 2022). This is relevant because insights gained in the study of one group may prove to be applicable to others. ...
The adoption of the term grievance-fuelled violence reflects the fact that similarities exist between those committing violent acts in the context of grievance in different settings, so potentially allowing the application of insights gained in the study of one group to be applied to others. Given the low base rate of violence against public figures, studies in the field of violence against those in the public eye have tended to use, as a proxy for violence, attempts by the individuals concerned to achieve unwarranted and unwanted proximity to the subject of their attention, given that approach is a necessary prerequisite for most forms of attack. In such studies, one factor that has frequently been considered is whether the making of threats is associated with a subsequent approach. The results have been varied, with no correlation found in some, a negative correlation in others, and a positive correlation in at least one. Such studies have been retrospective, using case files prepared for other purposes, and samples of cases have been selected according to their victims’ sector of employment – for instance, politicians, celebrities, judiciary, and the corporate world. This study of a sample of 126 threat assessment cases, using a prospective methodology, looks at the associations between the making of threats and subsequent approach from a different angle – that of a standardised and validated classification of underlying motivation. It finds that particular types and forms of threat are significantly associated with subsequent approach in cases that are fuelled by grievance, but not in those with the motivation of seeking a relationship. Furthermore, when a sample with a mixture of motivational categories was examined in the manner of previous studies, such associations with threat were not apparent. These results refine the existing understanding of the significance of threats in public-facing cases. Future research projects in this area might usefully incorporate the consideration of underlying motivation, in particular grievance.
... School safety, school shootings, weapons, and school shooters were keywords used to search a university library catalogue (1,294), ProQuest Criminal Justice Database (255) The topics related to school shootings also had varying foci. In fact, some of school shooting studies we examined identified ways to better understand deviant behaviors and rampage that have occurred (Keatley, Mcgurk, & Allely, 2019;Lankford, 2012). Another study examined factors that could aid in identifying the likelihood of a future school shooting (Fridel, 2019). ...
... Ultimately, when implementing school security measures, the goal is to find a balance between restrained caution and intrusive hypervigilance. 44 There is emerging research indicating the utility of lockdown drills and SRO efficacy for school safety, 45 and future research should continue to explore how these efforts can harden the school environment. These strategies can protect intended victims Standardizing the best practices and requiring rigorous assessment of lockdown drills at a national level would help to ensure that schools are equally prepared across states and districts. ...
This research brief will explore what we know about foiled and failed mass school shootings - referring to incidents and plots that resulted in zero victim casualties. Findings will illustrate the common mass school shooting perpetrator and incident characteristics, as well as what contributed to these attacks being thwarted. Actionable takeaways based on the research will illustrate future strategies for prevention and intervention including leakage and warning signs, as well as situational crime prevention.
... Cultural differences can also vary how definitions and incidents are socially constructed in different nations and regions (Hall and McLean, 2009: 314). Terminology and inclusion and exclusion criteria vary across researchers, resulting in somewhat different, but overlapping, populations being studied (Langman, 2009), which then have different consequences for research findings, impacting upon our understanding of the level of firearms violence and increasing the challenges associated with conducting meta-studies (Böckler et al., 2013;Harding et al., 2002;Kelly, 2010;Lankford, 2013;Larkin, 2009;Nurmi, 2014). How mass shootings are defined can reduce or increase the number of mass shootings that are recorded (Lott and Landes, 1996), and then how they appear within data sets. ...
Mass shootings are one example of a focusing event that has particular significance for firearms legislation. Mass shootings shock, disturb and provoke enormous and controversial debate, often causing significant public and media resonance, becoming the subject of intense discussion politically. At times providing an impetus for legislative amendments, often in distinct ways that routine gun violence does not. If certain events highlight the need for reform, policy change becomes more likely. Cases with the lowest number of victims are likely to generate the least amount of attention and are most likely to be missed in data collection, rendering them the least noteworthy, least important in terms of lethality and social and political consequence. Various problems come to the attention of people in and around government, necessitating an understanding of why such problems occupy officials’ attention and appear to be more ‘deserving’ of attention.
... Subsequent research on typological frameworks resulted in broader classifications being made as observable in (Holmes & Holmes, 1992;Fox & Levin, 2003;Lankford, 2013) studies. Among the most innovative typological inquiries into mass shootings was put forward by Osborne and J. A. Capellan (2015) who combined different types of theoretical approaches with typological classifications. ...
This study puts forward the first analysis of mass shootings that occurred in Central and Eastern European countries and compares them to American mass shootings. Qualitative comparative analysis is utilised to assess whether pathways of explanatory conditions are similar or different according to two samples of cases featuring 76 shootings that occurred in Central and Eastern European states and 103 that occurred in the United States. Results reveal six pathways that account for the former sample and nine for the latter. American mass shootings are more causally complex and are associated with mental illness, ideological motivations, and grievances against groups and institutions to a greater extent. American mass shootings are also more lethal, while the average age of perpetrators of both US and CEE mass shootings is around34 years old.
... For example, school shooters were almost always male (Langman, 2018), engaged in a planning period prior to the attack (Larkin, 2007;Paolini, 2015), and leaked their intent or desire to harm the school to third parties (Alathari et al., 2019;Fast, 2008;Gerard et al., 2016;Langman, 2009;Newman et al., 2004). Several had experienced bullying or perceived rejection from peers (Alathari et al., 2019;Dumitriu, 2013;Gerard et al., 2016;Kalish & Kimmel, 2010;Kimmel & Mahler, 2003;Lankford, 2013;Leary et al., 2003;Meloy et al., 2001;Newman et al., 2004;Wike & Fraser, 2009 but see Rocque, 2012) or other forms of personal loss or cumulative strain (e.g., unrequited love, death of a loved one; Klein, 2012;Levin & Madfis, 2009), showed symptoms of depression and suicide ideation (Fritzon & Brun, 2005;Gerard et al., 2016;Harding et al., 2003;Kidd & Meyer, 2002;Langman, 2009), were fascinated with guns and violence (especially past school shootings; e.g., Kiilakoski & Oksanen, 2011;Leary et al., 2003;Newman & Fox, 2009), and had access to firearms (Paolini, 2015). In reality, there is no one single explanation for why a student engages in a school shooting. ...
Tip lines are a promising strategy for promoting school safety by creating a structured system where students, staff, parents, and community members can anonymously report safety concerns. To date, little is known about the characteristics of tips, how tips are reported, and what implications for practice can be developed from studying tip line data. We analyzed 228 tips collected over the course of 43 months by the SafeOregon tip line in which one or more persons were reported for signaling intentions or desires to commit an act of mass violence at a school (i.e., “leakage”). Tips were coded and analyzed to generate critical knowledge about the leakage, the person(s) being reported, how the tip was reported, and how the school responded. Given the urgency of timely reporting, we also investigated the odds of same day reporting by several tip and school characteristics. Results show that most tips described direct threats to shoot up the school by a known male student, usually made at school. Notable patterns can be observed by disaggregating tips according to time of day, day of the week, and month, although more research is needed to understand temporal fluctuations. When a specific date for violence was mentioned in the leakage, the reporter was significantly more likely to engage in same day reporting and the police were more likely to be called. Results highlight the importance of training students on how to use tip lines effectively, including describing leakage events clearly and with as much detail as possible.
Law enforcement and security services are facing a rising number of referrals involving concerns about an adolescent’s potential for extremist violence. Assessing and managing their risks requires a somewhat different approach than doing so with adults. While some risk and protective factors overlap, their significance varies at different stages, as do their mechanisms of action. Risk must be understood in its developmental context. The challenge is amplified because adolescents are concurrently undergoing significant biological, social/emotional, and cognitive changes. This article describes a developmentally informed approach to these assessments to help professionals better understand the complexities of adolescent behavior and to plan and provide more effective interventions. It introduces the general challenge of assessing risks related to violent extremism and the emergence of the Structured Professional Judgment model as a best practice approach. It goes on to define the contours of “developmentally informed assessment,” explaining why that perspective is necessary for a competent evaluation of an adolescent’s risk for extremist violence. The ensuing sections outline some of the key developmental constructs such as identity and psychosocial maturity and developmentally specific risk and protective factors to consider in those evaluations and conclude with a brief description and example of the risk formulation process.
This study presents a comparative case study analysis of three fame seeking mass shootings that arose in Eastern Europe. It draws on commonly assessed correlates, especially those stemming to Cumulative Strain Theory, to investigate whether there are differences or similarities inherent to the fame seeking phenomenon in this under-studied context. The inquiry reveals that the fame seeking phenomenon in Eastern Europe is not necessarily statistically rarer than in the U.S. in relation to the total universe of all mass shootings. Fame seekers in this context experienced similar forms of strains and adverse experiences as their American counterparts stemming to family issues, bullying, and isolation. Fame seekers also meticulously planned their attacks and two of the three cases featured offenders detonating homemade bombs. Ideationally, fame seeking appears to be heavily reliant on information that offenders obtain through the internet and mass media outlets about previous attacks, which entails that fame seeking has become a globalized phenomenon.
Much like other violent extremists, some mass shooters embrace inconsistent, mixed, or customized beliefs and attack for a combination of personal and ideological reasons. This makes it difficult to understand what effects ideology has on their behavior. To obtain empirical answers, we studied (1) the frequency of extreme ideological interests and motives among public
mass shooters, (2) differences between perpetrators with and without extreme ideological interests, and (3) the degree of consistency between their ideologies and attack outcomes. Findings suggest that from 1966–2023, approximately one-quarter of public mass shooters in the United States had extreme ideological interests and roughly 70 percent of them were partially motivated by those extreme beliefs. Mass shooters with and without extremist
interests showed similar rates of childhood trauma, mental health
problems, suicidality, crisis, substance abuse, and criminal records, but ideological shooters were more likely to create legacy tokens, use semi-automatic or automatic rifles, kill strangers and non-white victims, and be copycats or role models. It appears extremism was sometimes a correlate and sometimes a cause of their behavior, with a clear effect on shaping some attacks. Nevertheless, inconsistencies were common, and many attackers did not target locations or victims that fit their ideological enemies.
“Active shooter” events are amongst the most dangerous an educational institution can face. Planning for emergencies like this can, to some extent, mitigate the level of harm faced. Using the two cases of shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University, this chapter exemplifies how these incidents highlighted flaws in emergency management planning, training, and communication. Also discussed are the advances in law enforcement tactics following the Columbine shooting. The policy responses to improve emergency management planning, training, and communication are discussed. The work of school safety foundation, I Love U Guys, and smartphone application, LiveSafe, is detailed in relation to ongoing developments in planning for emergencies and communicating threats to the affected populations.
The Cambridge Handbook of International Prevention Science offers a comprehensive global overview on prevention science with the most up-to-date research from around the world. Over 100 scholars from 27 different countries (including Australia, Bhutan, Botswana, India, Israel, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Thailand) contributed to this volume, which covers a wide range of topics important to prevention science. It includes major sections on the foundations of prevention as well as examples of new initiatives in the field, detailing current prevention efforts across the five continents. A unique and innovative volume, The Cambridge Handbook of International Prevention Science is a valuable resource for established scholars, early professionals, students, practitioners and policy-makers.
Extremism of all types arises from a motivational imbalance wherein one need outweighs all other needs. When such a process occurs, more means to achieving the focal goal, including those considered extreme, become available to the individual. Presently, we focus on the need for significance, an existential social need. When the quest for significance is dominant, an individual may be willing to make extreme sacrifices in order to achieve their goal. The quest for significance can be activated through many different means, one of which is the loss of significance through exclusion. When one perceives that they have been excluded, their motivation to regain respect is activated. When this motivation to restore significance comes to suppress one’s other needs, the individual becomes willing to engage in activities they may have previously considered socially unacceptable, including joining extreme groups and participating in violence, in order to fulfill their quest for significance.
The advent of innovative online tools has ushered in new possibilities for enhancing the quality of language learning. This study delved into the influence of the flipped classroom approach on augmenting the cognitive and meta-cognitive competence of EFL learners. Two distinct participant groups were enlisted for the study's sequential phases, necessitating varying sample sizes to compare the effects of the flipped classroom against traditional instructional modes on the improvement of EFL learners' self-regulated learning strategies and higher-order thinking. Homogeneous groups of language learners were essential for addressing the research inquiries, and participants were selected from two private language institutes in Arak, Iran. Multiple data sources, including a language proficiency test, the Self-Regulation Questionnaire, a flipped classroom attitude questionnaire, and the Higher-Order Thinking Skills Test, were employed to gather the necessary data. The results demonstrated a significant impact of flipped classrooms on learners' utilization of cognitive self-regulated learning strategies, indicating that the flipped classroom approach fosters students' development as self-directed learners. Concerning the influence of the flipped classroom on enhancing EFL learners' higher-order thinking skills, it was deduced that the flipped classroom significantly affected the learners' engagement in evaluating, analyzing, and creating. The implications of these findings underscore the potential of the flipped classroom approach to positively shape EFL learners' self-regulated learning and higher-order thinking skills, advocating for its incorporation into language education practices.
Background:
Rampage mass shootings (RMS) are a subset of mass shootings occurring in public involving random victims. Due to rarity, RMS are not well-characterized. We aimed to compare RMS and NRMS. We hypothesized that RMS and NRMS would be significantly different with respect to time/season, location, demographics, victim number/fatality rate, victims being law enforcement, and firearm characteristics.
Study design:
Mass shootings (4 or more victims shot at a single event) from 2014-2018 were identified in the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). Data were collected from the public domain (e.g. news). Crude comparisons between NRMS and RMS were performed using Chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. Parametric models of victim and perpetrator characteristics were conducted at the event level using negative binomial regression and logistic regression.
Results:
There were 46 RMS and 1626 NRMS. RMS occurred most in businesses (43.5%), whereas NRMS occurred most in streets (41.1%), homes (28.6%), and bars (17.9%). RMS were more likely to occur between 6AM-6PM (OR=9.0 (4.8-16.8)). RMS had more victims per incident (23.6 vs. 4.9, RR: 4.8 (4.3,5.4)). Casualties of RMS were more likely to die (29.7% vs. 19.9%, OR: 1.7 (1.5,2.0)). RMS were more likely to have at least one police casualty (30.4% versus 1.8%, OR: 24.1 (11.6,49.9)) or police death (10.9% versus 0.6%, OR: 19.7 (6.4,60.3)). RMS had significantly greater odds that casualties were adult (OR: 1.3 (1.0,1.6)) and female (OR: 1.7 (1.4,2.1)). Deaths in RMS were more likely to be female (OR: 2.0 (1.5,2.5)) and White (OR: 8.6 (6.2,12.0) and less likely to be children (OR: 0.4 (0.2,0.8)). Perpetrators of RMS were more likely to die by suicide (34.8%), be killed by police (28.3%), or be arrested at the scene (26.1%), while more than half of perpetrators from NRMS escaped without death or apprehension (55.8%). Parametric models of perpetrator demographics indicated significant increases in the odds that a RMS shooter was White (OR: 13.9 (7.3,26.6)) or Asian (OR: 16.9 (3.7,78.4)). There was no significant difference in weapon type used (p=0.35).
Conclusion:
The demographics, temporality, and location differ between RMS and NRMS, suggesting that they are dissimilar and require different preventive approaches.
Academics and law enforcement practitioners engage in collaborative studies, driven both by individual efforts and government support, and have developed several models of cooperation that hold promise for continued partnership. In this article, we present an example of one collaborative model – coproduction – involving a federal law enforcement agency and an academic studying threat assessment and the behaviours of violent offenders in the United States. Our focus is not on the findings from the underlying research; rather we describe and reflect on the process itself, outlining the benefits as well, as the pitfalls, for both law enforcement and academics. Our overall experience provides a realistic picture of how these partnerships can be responsive to the needs and aims of both parties, to the advantage of the research.
This chapter offers a review of the literature of the nature of studying mass violence. It is often problematic, difficult, or nearly impossible due to small sample sizes, incomplete or inaccurate information, or discrepancies even deciding what exactly “mass violence” is. This chapter reviews the literature for methodological approaches, summarizes qualitative and quantitative methods and findings, and discusses the challenges of mass violence methodologies while also proposing solutions, suggestions, and directions for future research.
Following high-profile mass shootings in the United States, there are policy debates about gun regulation; yet, for the most part, these stall. This chapter suggests that an alternative way to frame this issue would be through “bullet control,” centering on the ammunition used. In order to inflict the greatest degree of damage possible, mass shooters tend to carry large quantities of bullets and large-capacity magazines with them. Harm-inducing bullets, such as hollow-points which penetrate certain parts of the body, have been used in previous mass shootings. Policy proposals could center on these areas to reduce harm in a mass shooting. Another regulation could focus on mandating background checks for ammunition. Interviews were conducted with six participants with knowledge of gun policies and/or gun violence prevention advocacy. Findings from interviews indicate support for these policy proposals. Discussed are ways to increase public support for these proposals via framing strategies. Also deliberated is whether the current political climate is conducive to pass legislation.
“Active shooter” events are amongst the most dangerous an educational institution can face. Planning for emergencies like this can, to some extent, mitigate the level of harm faced. Using the two cases of shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University, this chapter exemplifies how these incidents highlighted flaws in emergency management planning, training, and communication. Also discussed are the advances in law enforcement tactics following the Columbine shooting. The policy responses to improve emergency management planning, training, and communication are discussed. The work of school safety foundation, I Love U Guys, and smartphone application, LiveSafe, is detailed in relation to ongoing developments in planning for emergencies and communicating threats to the affected populations.
Background
The link between mental health difficulties and terrorist behaviour has been the subject of debate for the last 50 years. Studies that report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples or compare rates for those involved and not involved in terrorism, can inform this debate and the work of those responsible for countering violent extremism.
Objectives
To synthesise the prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples (Objective 1—Prevalence) and prevalence of mental health disorders pre‐dating involvement in terrorism (Objective 2—Temporality). The review also synthesises the extent to which mental health difficulties are associated with terrorist involvement compared to non‐terrorist samples (Objective 3—Risk Factor).
Search Methods
Searches were conducted between April and June 2022, capturing research until December 2021. We contacted expert networks, hand‐searched specialist journals, harvested records from published reviews, and examined references lists for included papers to identify additional studies.
Selection Criteria
Studies needed to empirically examine mental health difficulties and terrorism. To be included under Objective 1 (Prevalence) and Objective 2 (Temporality), studies had to adopt cross‐sectional, cohort, or case‐control design and report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples, with studies under Objective 2 also needing to report prevalence of difficulties before detection or involvement in terrorism. For Objective 3 (Risk Factor) studies where there was variability in terrorist behaviour (involved vs. not involved) were included.
Data Collection and Analysis
Captured records were screened in DisillterSR by two authors. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and random‐effects meta‐analysis conducted in Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis software.
Results
Fifty‐six papers reporting on 73 different terrorist samples (i.e., studies) (n = 13,648) were identified. All were eligible for Objective 1. Of the 73 studies, 10 were eligible for Objective 2 (Temporality) and nine were eligible for Objective 3 (Risk Factor). For Objective 1, the life‐time prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in terrorist samples (k = 18) was 17.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.1%–26.3%]. When collapsing all studies reporting psychological problems, disorder, and suspected disorder into one meta‐analyses (k = 37), the pooled prevalence rate was 25.5% (95% CI = 20.2%–31.6%). When isolating studies reporting data for any mental health difficulty that emerged before either engagement in terrorism or detection for terrorist offences (Objective 2: Temporality), the life‐time prevalence rate was 27.8% (95% CI = 20.9%–35.9%). For Objective 3 (Risk Factor), it was not appropriate to calculate a pooled effect size due the differences in comparison samples. Odds ratios for these studies ranged from 0.68 (95% CI = 0.38–1.22) to 3.13 (95% CI = 1.87–5.23). All studies were assessed as having high‐risk of bias which, in part, reflects challenges conducting terrorism research.
Author's Conclusions
This review does not support the assertion that terrorist samples are characterised by higher rates of mental health difficulties than would be expected in the general population. Findings have implications for future research in terms of design and reporting. There are also implications for practice with regards the inclusion of mental health difficulties as indicators of risk.
This study examines the reality and news media coverage of all mass shootings in the
United States from 1966 to 2016. It employs agenda-setting and framing theoretical frameworks to determine the social construction of mass shootings via the mass media. The project uses open-source data to create a comprehensive list of mass shooting incidents. It then identifies all published New York Times articles on each incident. The study summarizes both the reality of the social problem (i.e. incidents) and the news mediated reality (i.e. New York Times). Next, this dissertation conducts a media distortion analysis to determine the perpetrator, motivation, and incident characteristics influencing media selection, prominence, and framing. The purpose is to illustrate the media’s social construction of mass shootings that in turn shapes public perceptions, political discourse, and public policies. The study concludes by highlighting the findings and implications for scholars, practitioners, policy-makers, media outlets, and the general public.
Background
Family‐related risk and protective factors are crucial for different antisocial behaviors, but their role in radicalization requires synthesis. Radicalization is likely to have a negative impact on families, and well‐designed and implemented family‐focused intervention programs have the potential to decrease radicalization.
Objectives
Research questions were: (1) What are the family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization? (2) What is the impact of radicalization on families? (3) Are family‐based interventions against radicalization effective?
Search Methods
Searches included 25 databases and hand searches of gray literature from April to July 2021. Leading researchers in the field were asked to provide published and unpublished studies on the topic. Reference lists of the included studies and previously published systematic reviews on risk and protective factors for radicalization were scanned.
Selection Criteria
Published and unpublished quantitative studies on family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization, the impact of radicalization on families, and family‐focused interventions were eligible with no restrictions regarding the study year, location, or any demographic characteristic. Studies were included if they measured the relation between a family‐related factor and radicalization or if they included a family‐focused intervention against radicalization. For family‐related risk and protective factors, radicalized individuals needed to be compared to general population. Studies were included if they defined radicalization as support or commission of violence to defend a cause, including support for radical groups.
Data Collection and Analysis
The systematic search identified 86,591 studies. After screening, 33 studies focused on family‐related risk and protective factors were included, with 89 primary effect sizes and 48 variables grouped in 14 factors. For the factors that included two or more studies, meta‐analyses with random effects were conducted. When possible, moderator analyses were performed together with sensitivity and publication bias analyses. No studies on the impact of radicalization on families or family‐focused interventions were included.
Results
The current systematic review based on studies with 148,081 adults and adolescents from diverse geographic locations showed that parental ethnic socialization (z = 0.27), having extremist family members (z = 0.26), and family conflict (z = 0.11) were related to more radicalization, whereas high family socioeconomic status (z = −0.03), bigger family size (z = −0.05), and high family commitment (z = −0.06) were related to less radicalization. Separate analyses described family‐factors for behavioral versus cognitive radicalization, and different radical ideologies including Islamist, right‐wing and left‐wing. It was not possible to distinguish risk and protective factors from correlates and the level of overall bias was mostly high. No results regarding the impact of radicalization on families or family‐focused interventions were included.
Authors' Conclusions
Although causal relations between family‐related risk and protective factors could not be established, it is reasonable to suggest that policies and practice should aim at decreasing family‐related risks and increasing protective factors for radicalization. Tailored interventions including these factors should be urgently designed, implemented and evaluated. Studies focused on the impact of radicalization on families and family‐focused interventions are urgently needed together with longitudinal studies on family‐related risk and protective factors.
Following a school shooting, the public and media search to understand what factors led to such tragedy. Faced with grief, fear, and confusion, people often seek to make sense of traumatic events. As such, this study uses a 2020 Amazon Mechanical Turk survey ( N = 739) to examine the impact of generational cohort on the blameworthiness of various perceived causes of school shootings. Findings support some generational differences. Baby Boomers were more likely to believe in societal-related causes of school shootings compared to Millennials and Generation Z. Conversely, Millennials and Generation Z were more likely than Baby Boomers to attribute the cause of school shootings to bullying, mental health, and school security. These findings suggest that future school shooting policies will seek to address bullying, mental health, and school security, while policies surrounding societal factors may be phased out.
Litigation consultation is an expanding practice for forensic practitioners. Mock juries to voir dire to jury decision-making, there are multiple areas for psychologists to use their experience and expertise. The litigation consultant can aid the retaining attorney in developing case theories and drafting talking points for opening statements and closing arguments. It may be helpful for newer litigators to have a consultant for cases that are seldom seen, but create emotional responses within the litigator, the judge, or the jury. When females commit different forms of homicide, each one comes with a different theory as to why the killing was done. This article will begin with a brief literature review on three forms of homicide women commit: filicide, mariticide, and mass murder. There will be a brief literature review on developing and presenting a case theory. The article will examine different trial strategies that can be used by a consultant and if hired by the prosecution or the defense. The motive for killing will be presented in a way that will best serve the trier of fact to render a decision. Studies on female homicide indicated the act challenges assumptions about the role women play in society. These assumptions may either need to be challenged or reinforced depending on the side that hired the consultant but also allow for individual differences based on case specifics and issues of diversity. The article will conclude with a discussion on best practices for both the consultant and the retaining attorney.
С середины 1970-х годов в США и с середины 1990-х годов в других странах мира произошла череда перестрелок в учебных организациях, так называемый «скулшутинг» (schoolshooting),или «Колумбайн», приводивший к многочисленным ранениям и убийствам. В Российской Федерации также отмечены случаи скулшутинга. Основной задачей настоящей работы является анализ накопленного в зарубежной и отечественной литературе опыта осмысления вооруженного насилия в образовательной организации. Представленное психологическое теоретико-аналитическое исследование направлено на обсуждение факторов риска, связанных с явлением скулшутинга, а также на разбор и оценку имеющихся моделей вооруженного насилия вобразовательной организации.
The legacy of the 1999 Columbine School shooting has resulted in increased political elements in subsequent shootings and the line between these school shooters and terrorists has blurred. Current research comparing terrorists and school shooters has largely focused on the similarities between the perpetrators using largely qualitative methods. With the behavioural and subsequent economic impacts of terrorism having been previously identified, this paper investigates if these behavioural changes and impacts are present following school shootings. Through the use of a logit regression of historical school shooting data, we find evidence that support our theories that school shootings cause fear and change consumer behaviours.
The authors analyze modern manifestations of violence in educational establishments, such as school shootings and cyberbullying. Cyberbullying and, to a greater degree, school shootings remain practically unresearched by Russian legal scholars, while foreign authors stress the necessity of their research with the purpose of identifying the determinants of deviant behavior and optimizing its prevention. The authors used the materials of criminal cases to study the criminological characteristics of cyberbullying and school shootings, and identified their close interconnection. They analyzed and specified the conceptual framework, offered a classification of school shootings, and described their main types. It is stated that mass murders in educational establishments are an independent criminal phenomenon not connected with the concept of a terrorist attack, involvement of young people into extremist activities or driving an adolescent to a suicide. A general criminological description of school shootings is presented: the authors show its dynamics in Russia and abroad and single out its key determinants. The criminological features of the personality of the criminal are described using the following indices: gender, age, education, specifics of upbringing, moral and psychological traits, specifics of goals and ambitions, etc. It is stated that in the overwhelming majority of cases attacks in educational establishments were carried out by males of 14–18 years old. Most perpetrators had skills in the use of firearms. The authors examined foreign publications on the topic and conducted a comparative analysis of the spread of school shootings and cyberbullying in Russia, the USA and the EU countries from the standpoint of situational approach. It was determined that the overwhelming number of cases of school shootings registered in the world history happened in the USA, while in the EU the cases were evidently sporadic. In Russia in the last seven years there has been a trend for annual mass murders in educational institutions. Using the analysis of foreign experience and the results of a large-scale interviewing of schoolchildren and teachers in different regions of Russia, the authors suggest measures of preventing school shootings and cyberbullying while taking into account specific national features.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the current literature which assesses the incidence of completed or attempted mass shooting events in which a female party acted either alone or as an accomplice; explore the involvement of women in the planning or execution of acts of terrorism; evaluate the pathology of women involved in these acts of extreme violence; highlight any gender-specific pathological and environmental risk factors associated with the planning or completion of the mass shooting, spree killing or terrorist attack events.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the 27-item preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines (Moher et al. , 2009), the present systematic review explored peer-reviewed literature published between 1908 and September 2020 using six databases [SalfordUniversityJournals@Ovid; Journals@Ovid Full Text; APA PsycArticles Full Text; APA PsycExtra; APA PsycInfo; Ovid MEDLINE(R)], in addition to conducting a grey literature search on “Google Scholar” using specific search terms, predetermined following use of the patient/population, intervention, comparison framework.
Findings
Findings of the review did identify several distinguishing characteristics exclusive to women allied to terror organisations; including lower levels of extremism and religious ideology, lower age of radicalisation, higher levels of education than currently hypothesized and the significance of relational affiliation with extremist causes. Despite the synthesis of descriptive characterises being achieved, data relating to female mass shooters was scant and relied upon case study review and discussion. As a result, identification of precipitating psychopathological and environmental triggers was difficult, however, there does appear to be a higher proportion of female mass shooters targeting current or previous places of employment.
Research limitations/implications
One of the potential limitations of this review is that some relevant studies were not identified during the search. The risk of this was minimised as much as possible by screening the reference section of relevant reviews and theoretical papers (which were identified in the search of the databases) for any potentially relevant studies that may have been missed. In addition, numerous permutations of the search criteria that were entered into the databases were also entered into “GoogleScholar”.
Practical implications
Current literature has highlighted that the age of radicalisation among women across both jihadi-inspired, right-wing and far-left extremist organisations are decreasing, with many new recruits being born after 1990 (Jacques and Taylor, 2012). This finding aids in identifying a target of entry to minimise the chance of radicalisation, through targeted educational training and anti-radicalisation programmes intervening in at risk groups at the correct time. However, further exploration will be necessary to identify specific risk factors prior to radicalisation in such groups.
Originality/value
There appears to be a large gap in literature quantitively assessing the rates of psychopathological variables among this demographic. When narrowing the lens further onto female mass shooters, empirical literature investigating even characteristic variables continues to evade the academic remit. Arguably this obstruction to the current understanding of female perpetrated violence, both in an organised terror and a mass shooter capacity, limits the ability to meaningfully evaluate whether previous models assessing risk among mass shooters is valid across genders.
In the United States, it seems unlikely that a foreign terrorist group would be able to assemble and maintain the required infrastructure within our borders that would provide a platform for a sustained campaign of suicide bombings. However, a strategy of infrequent suicide bombings supplemented by psychologically manipulative rhetoric during the intervals between attacks is plausible and could amplify the fear level. Attacks against high-value targets, use of weapons of mass destruction, or maintenance of an infrastructure on foreign soil with an operational capability for suicide attacks within our borders, would further amplify the psychological fallout. In either case, the potential psychological effects on society - including pervasive insecurity, reduced travel, commerce, and long-term investment, and foreign policy shifts in acquiescence to terrorist pressures - easily dwarf the potential physical effect of suicide terror on American soil. Therefore, identifying strategies to counter the psychological effects of suicide terror and promote resilience is an indispensable aspect of taking away its potential value to terrorist organizations around the world. Who becomes a suicidal terrorist and why is, perhaps obviously, a multifactorial "etiology" including significant developmental, psychodynamic, social, cultural, biological, temperamental, situational, and tactical-instrumental determinants. In other words, multiple "ingredients" often are needed in the manufacture and delivery of a suicide terrorist, or "human bomb" (Table 1, see page 706). For direct victims of terrorism and mass disasters, the principles of psychological support are relatively well developed. For the wider, societal target of the suicide bomber, psychological response is less well defined. Focusing on the intended effects of suicidal terror provides empowering insights to potential victims, enabling them to identify the boundary between rational and irrational fear and to neutralize the primary weapon of the suicide bombers (Table 2, see page 705).
The purpose of this article is to explore how the Columbine shootings on April 20, 1999, influenced subsequent school rampage shootings. First, school rampage shootings are defined to distinguish them from other forms of school violence. Second, post-Columbine shootings and thwarted shootings are examined to determine how they were influenced by Columbine. Unlike prior rampage shooters, Harris and Klebold committed their rampage shooting as an overtly political act in the name of oppressed students victimized by their peers. Numerous post-Columbine rampage shooters referred directly to Columbine as their inspiration; others attempted to supersede the Columbine shootings in body count. In the wake of Columbine, conspiracies to blow up schools and kill their inhabitants by outcast students were uncovered by authorities. School rampage shootings, most of which referred back to Columbine as their inspiration, expanded beyond North America to Europe, Australia, and Argentina; they increased on college campuses and spread to nonschool venues. The Columbine shootings redefined such acts not merely as revenge but as a means of protest of bullying, intimidation, social isolation, and public rituals of humiliation.
Attacks at Montréal École Polytechnique and Columbine High frame a decade of school shootings and may offer insights into some other rampages. Though times, rationales, and sites of peer-group production differed at these two sites, “school shooter” encoded ways to react in situations where some young men felt unfairly subordinated in society; shooters used deadly violence to assert and reclaim the “rightful” places they felt denied. “School shooter” seemed to borrow from violent masculinities, common socioculturally produced images, or tropes, for acting, implicating not only shooters (who take up extreme versions of these tropes), but also simultaneously everyday sociocultural contexts where violent masculinities are produced, reinforced, and valorized. This article suggests the importance of context to the production of shooters and as such competes with attempts to develop remedies to school shootings grounded in de-contextualized, individualistic approaches that focus only on shooters.
This is a report of a direct psychological examination of suicide, or “martyrdom” terrorists and of organizers of martyrdom attacks. Assessments of the personality of self-martyrs have so far relied on biographical material drawn from secondary sources. In the absence of direct psychological examinations, the debate on the existence of distinctive personality factors among suicide terrorists has so far remained at the hypothetical level. This study subjected failed Palestinian suicide terrorists, a control group of non-suicide terrorists, and a group of organizers of suicide attacks, to clinical psychological interviews and tests. Significant differences were found between suicide and non-suicide terrorists and between these two groups and the organizers of martyrdom attacks. Two main personality styles were found among the would-be suicides. Members of this group had a significantly lower level of ego strength than the organizers of martyrdom attacks. Most of the would-be martyrs displayed a dependent and avoidant personality style, a profile that made them more amenable to group, leader, and public influence. Others were assessed as having an impulsive and emotionally unstable style. Some of the would-be martyrs but none of the control and organizers groups' participants displayed sub-clinical suicidal tendencies. Significantly more martyr than control group members displayed symptoms of depression.
A number of researchers have sought to identify the features that school shooters have in common in terms of family life, personalities, histories, and behaviors. This article examines the cases of 10 rampage school-shooters in an effort to find out not only how they are alike, but also how they differ. Based on available information, these youths are categorized into three types: traumatized, psychotic, and psychopathic. Out of the 10 shooters discussed, three were traumatized, five were psychotic, and two were psychopathic. The three traumatized shooters all came from broken homes with parental substance abuse and parental criminal behavior. They all were physically abused and two were sexually abused outside of the home. The five psychotic shooters had schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, including schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder. They all came from intact families with no history of abuse. The two psychopathic shooters were neither abused nor psychotic. They demonstrated narcissism, a lack of empathy, a lack of conscience, and sadistic behavior. Most people who are traumatized, psychotic, and psychopathic do not commit murder. Beyond identifying the three types of rampage shooters, additional factors are explored that may have contributed to the attacks. These include family structure, role models, and peer influence.
Current rates of intimate partner homicide of females are approximately 4 to 5 times the rate for male victims, although the rates for both have decreased during the past 25 years. The major risk factor for intimate partner homicide, no matter if a female or male partner is killed, is prior domestic violence. This review presents and critiques the evidence supporting the other major risk factors for intimate partner homicide in general, and for intimate partner homicide of women (femicide) in particular, namely guns, estrangement, stepchild in the home, forced sex, threats to kill, and nonfatal strangulation (choking). The demographic risk factors are also examined and the related phenomena of pregnancy-related homicide, attempted femicide, and intimate partner homicide-suicide.
In this exploration of new possibilities for the reduction of workplace violence and occupational homicide within a variety of work environments, Kelleher examines the crimes of the lethal employee or ex-employee and develops a profile of characteristics and behaviors often associated with workplace violence or murder. This profile, in turn, can be used to recognize potential violence before it occurs, allowing employers to devise early and effective intervention strategies. The author develops the profile of the potentially lethal employee through behavioral science models and an analysis of case histories of incidents of occupational homicide.
The commonly accepted interpretation is that a religious motive—the desire to please God—is the principal reason why people volunteer for suicide missions. American political scientist Robert A. Pape rejects this view. For him the common thread linking suicide bombers is a political objective— driving out an occupier from one’s homeland, which they see as furthering the common good of their society. In arriving at this theory, Pape relied on the concept of “altruistic suicide,” developed by French sociologist Emile Durkheim in his pioneering work Suicide (1897). These ideas are discussed in Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (2005), from which the passage below is taken.
Written by a scholar with extensive research experience, this book applies an original approach to assessing criminal justice policies, based on their impact on errors of justice. The study covers the error of failing to bring offenders to justice as well as the errors of imposing costs on innocent people and excessive costs on offenders. Ultimately, it develops a new framework for each major sector of the justice system: policing, prosecution, adjudication and the jury, sentencing and corrections.
For years, scholars have claimed that suicide terrorists are not suicidal, but rather psychologically normal individuals inspired to sacrifice their lives for an ideological cause, due to a range of social and situational factors. I agree that suicide terrorists are shaped by their contexts, as we all are. However, I argue that these scholars went too far. In The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers, I take the opposing view, based on my in-depth analyses of suicide attackers from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America; attackers who were male, female, young, old, Islamic, and Christian; attackers who carried out the most deadly and the least deadly strikes. I present evidence that in terms of their behavior and psychology, suicide terrorists are much like others who commit conventional suicides, murder-suicides, or unconventional suicides where mental health problems, personal crises, coercion, fear of an approaching enemy, or hidden self-destructive urges play a major role. I also identify critical differences between suicide terrorists and those who have genuinely sacrificed their lives for a greater good. By better understanding suicide terrorists, experts in the brain and behavioral sciences may be able to pioneer exciting new breakthroughs in security countermeasures and suicide prevention. And even more ambitiously, by examining these profound extremes of the human condition, perhaps we can more accurately grasp the power of the human survival instinct among those who are actually psychologically healthy.
Margo Wilson has been crucial to the development of the Chicago Homicide Data Set (CHD) beginning in 1987, when she and Martin Daly joined the project. She spent 2 years collecting detailed information on intimate partner homicides, and inspired the addition of variables, such as whether the victim and offender resided together, the offender’s sexual jealousy, the offender’s sexual rivalry, and whether the offender was motivated by the victim’s estrangement or attempted desertion. This article reviews Margo Wilson’s many contributions and presents analyses showing the importance of differentiating between sexual jealousy and sexual rivalry in research on intimate partner homicide.
Simple logic dictates that some suicide terrorists are more significant than others. However, major questions still remain about the motives and psychology of 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta, arguably the most significant suicide terrorist in human history. This article constructs a psychological autopsy of Atta in order to provide a much more complete explanation of his behavior. First, it suggests that accounts which solely attribute Atta’s actions to religious and political ideology appear severely incomplete. It then reviews evidence that Atta may have been clinically suicidal, and that his struggles with social isolation, depression, hopelessness, guilt, and shame were extraordinarily similar to the struggles of those who commit conventional suicide. Finally, it considers how Atta’s ideology may have interacted with his suicidal tendencies to produce his final act of murder-suicide on September 11, 2011.
Terrorists attack civilians to coerce their governments into making political concessions. Does this strategy work? To empirically assess the effectiveness of terrorism, the author exploits variation in the target selection of 125 violent substate campaigns. The results show that terrorist campaigns against civilian targets are significantly less effective than guerrilla campaigns against military targets at inducing government concessions. The negative political effect of terrorism is evident across logit model specifications after carefully controlling for tactical confounds. Drawing on political psychology, the author concludes with a theory to account for why governments resist compliance when their civilians are targeted.
This is the first article to analyze a large sample of terrorist groups in terms of their policy effectiveness. It includes every foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designated by the U.S. Department of State since 2001. The key variable for FTO success is a tactical one: target selection. Terrorist groups whose attacks on civilian targets outnumber attacks on military targets do not tend to achieve their policy objectives, regardless of their nature. Contrary to the prevailing view that terrorism is an effective means of political coercion, the universe of cases suggests that, first, contemporary terrorist groups rarely achieve their policy objectives and, second, the poor success rate is inherent to the tactic of terrorism itself. The bulk of the article develops a theory for why countries are reluctant to make policy concessions when their civilian populations are the primary target.
The authors examine rampage shootings in American high schools after 2002 and consider whether factors identified in their prior research on rampages from 1974 to 2002 account for the more recent cases. The authors find that the five factors—social marginality, individual predisposing factors, cultural scripts, failure of the surveillance system, and availability of guns—remain important features. The authors then contrast these high school shootings with the recent spate of college rampage shootings that resemble the high school cases in some ways but differ in others. College shooters are older and therefore typically further along in the development of serious mental illness.
Despite growing evidence to the contrary, it is still widely assumed that suicide terrorists are not actually suicidal. However, this review supports recent studies which suggest the opposite, and presents initial evidence that much like other suicidal individuals, many suicide terrorists appear to be driven by clinically suicidal risk factors, including: (1) the desire to escape the world they live in, (2) the desire to escape moral responsibility for their actions, (3) the inability to cope with a perceived crisis, and (4) a sense of low self-worth. By establishing the links between suicide terrorism and suicidality, scholars may be able to better understand the nature of these violent attacks and develop more effective ways to stop them.
Homicides committed against supervisors and coworkers by disgruntled employees have grown at a disturbing rate in the American workplace. Increasingly, embittered employees and ex-employees are seeking revenge through violence and murder for alleged mistreatment on the job. This article examines patterns and trends in available data and presents a theoretical profile of those who kill at the work site. It suggests that the typical homicide of employers and coworkers is committed by a disgruntled, white, middle-aged male who faces termination or who has recently been fired. Recommendations are advanced for how employers might better respond to problem employees and to homicidal threats at the workplace. These include prevention strategies, such as giving higher priority to the role of human resources, affording employees due process protection against unfair terminations, and changing the importance attached to the meaning of work in people's lives.
Previous research comparing rampage shooters in the U.S. and volunteer suicide bombers in the Middle East appears to be virtually non-existent. When these two types of suicidal killers have been mentioned in the same context, it has primarily been to dismiss any possible connections. Rampage shooters are generally assumed to be mentally unbalanced, while suicide bombers are seen as extreme, but rational, political actors. However, this review explores the possibility that the primary differences between the two types of killers are cultural, not individual, and that in terms of their underlying psychology and motivation, they are actually quite similar. In both cases, substantial evidence indicates that these perpetrators of murder–suicide share many of the following characteristics: (1) they had troubled childhoods, (2) they lived in oppressive social environments, (3) they suffered from low self-esteem, (4) they were triggered by a personal crisis, (5) they were seeking revenge, and (6) they were seeking fame and glory.
On November 5, 2009, a lone attacker strode into the deployment center at Fort Hood, Texas. Moments later, 13 Department of Defense (DoD) employees were dead and another 32 were wounded in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs launched an investigation of the events preceding the attack with two purposes: (1) to assess the information that the U.S. Government possessed prior to the attack and the actions that it took or failure to take in response to that information; and (2) to identify steps necessary to protect the United States against future acts of terrorism by homegrown violent Islamist extremists. This investigation flows from the Committee's four-year, bipartisan review of the threat of violent Islamist extremism to our homeland which has included numerous briefings, hearings, consultations, and the publication of a staff report in 2008 concerning the internet and terrorism. In our investigation of the Fort Hood attack, we have been cognizant of the record of success by DoD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the ten years since 9/11. We recognize that detection and interdiction of lone wolf terrorists is one of the most difficult challenges facing our law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Every day, these agencies are presented with myriad leads that require the exercise of sound judgment to determine which to pursue and which to close out. Leaders must allocate their time, attention, and inherently limited resources on the highest priority cases. In addition, the individual accused of the Fort Hood attack, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is a U.S. citizen. Even where there is evidence that a U.S. citizen may be radicalizing, the Constitution appropriately limits the actions that government can take.
The mass-casualty school shooting incidents in recent years have heightened concern about the safety of U.S. schools and prompted responses that, in many cases, have centered mainly on bolstering security on school campuses. Some researchers have concluded, however, that the most effective prevention efforts are those that are more comprehensive in scope. This article explores selected spiritual, religious, and family value factors that research has indicated may play an important protective role in strengthening resilience in young people and minimizing at-risk behavior that may be associated with school violence.
Are suicide terrorists suicidal? A review of the worldwide literature on suicide terrorism uncovered five published empirical studies describing data collected from potential suicide terrorists or the surviving friends and families of deceased terrorists. The many discrepancies uncovered between suicide terrorists and other suicides on key factors known to underpin suicidality, suggest that such terrorists are not truly suicidal and should not be viewed as a subgroup of the general suicide population. Nonetheless, methods developed by suicidologists, such as the psychological autopsy, will help increase our understanding of the individual and group factors that underpin suicide terrorism.
This paper reviews current understandings of the psychology of suicide terrorism for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to help them better understand this terrifying phenomenon. After discussing key concepts and definitions, the paper reviews both group and individual models for explaining the development of suicide terrorists, with an emphasis on "collective identity." Stressing the importance of social psychology, it emphasizes the "normality" and absence of individual psychopathology of the suicide bombers. It will discuss the broad range of terrorisms, but will particularly emphasize terrorism associated with militant Islam. The article emphasizes that comprehending suicide terrorism requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes anthropological, economic, historical, and political factors as well as psychological ones. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for research, policy, and prevention, reviewing the manner in which social psychiatric knowledge and understandings applied to this phenomenon in an interdisciplinary framework can assist in developing approaches to counter this deadly strategy.
It has been argued that individuals who engage in spouse abuse increase their violence toward their partners, which can culminate in the death of either the assaulter or the victim. The aim of this review is to identify risk factors that determine whether an abusive relationship will end in eventual death. An extensive search revealed 22 empirical research studies on risk factors for spousal homicide. The circumstances of spousal homicide are described and salient risk factors are highlighted. In the United Kingdom, 37% of all women were murdered by their current or former intimate partner compared to 6% of men. The most common cause of an intimate partner's death in England and Wales was being attacked with a sharp implement or being strangled. By contrast, the most common cause in the United States for spousal homicide was being shot. Nine major risk factors are found that may help predict the probability of a partner homicide and prevent future victims.
This paper explores perspectives about certain individual and social characteristics that may contribute to school shootings by students. It begins with perspectives on individual/environment fit, arguing first that persons marginalized by their caregivers during their upbringing, and by their peers, are lacking in the social interactions that help develop ethical behavior. Our argument contends that lacking such interactions may result in the failure to develop a sound moral philosophy. Further, we argue that when such persons enter the highly competitive environment found in some suburban and rural schools, some will be continually and consistently marginalized, finding their means of self-expression and sense of significance subdued. Their need for self-expression and a sense of significance as persons will surface, but without the benefit of a moral philosophy to guide that expression, this may result in deviant means of expression, such as violence--even extraordinary violence. We do not attempt to identify a list of specific traits of school shooters, which might lead to the development of a profile of school shooters. Rather, we are concerned with the characteristics of the environment in which shootings might occur, and how students not fully prepared for that environment might react. Thus, this paper is an overview of how seeds of the neglect of the basic needs of personhood, when sown early in life, and nurtured by peers, might come to fruition in the fertile field of the competitive school environment.
Much of the research undertaken on workplace homicide relied on data from media accounts, investigative files, and records from victimized organizations. Empirical analysis of these types of events was considered using data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), but this data set presents limitations for such research. This study attempted to accomplish the following: document in greater detail the known limitations; identify any additional limitations; and make recommendations that will enhance this data base and/or the evolving National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for this type of research. The SHR was searched for information on several high profile workplace homicide incidents. Notable cases of workplace homicide were found missing. Moreover, examples of improper or inadequate victim-offender relationship descriptors and/or circumstance descriptors were found with regard to other notable workplace homicide incidents. This latter problem resulted in event descriptions that prevented the identification of workplace homicide cases in the database.
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