Number of mass shootings in US has risen sharply, FBI report says

[umbertino]

Study, which focused on 160 ‘active shooter incidents’ between 2000-13, says most attacks happened at a business or school

 

 

• Associated Press in Washington
•  
• theguardian.com, Thursday 25 September 2014 08.03 EDT

 

 

The number of shootings in which a gunman wounds or kills multiple people has increased dramatically in recent years, with the majority of attacks in the last decade occurring at a business or a school, according to an FBI report released Wednesday.

 

The study focused on 160 “active shooter incidents” between 2000 and 2013. Those are typically defined as cases in which a gunman in an attack shoots or attempts to shoot people in a populated area.

 

The goal of the report, which excluded shootings that are gang and drug related, was to compile accurate data about the attacks and to help local police prepare for or respond to similar killings in the future, federal law enforcement officials said.

 

“These incidents, the large majority of them, are over in minutes. So it’s going to have to be a teaching and training of the best tactics, techniques and procedures to our state and local partners,” said James F Yacone, an FBI assistant director who oversees crisis response and was involved in the report.

 

According to the report, an average of six shooting incidents occurred in the first seven years that were studied. That average rose to more than 16 per year in the last seven years of the study. That period included the 2012 shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as last year’s massacre at the Washington Navy Yard in which a gunman killed 12 people before dying in a police shootout.

 

The majority of the shootings occurred either at a business or a school, university or other education facility, according to the study, conducted in conjunction with Texas State University. Other shootings have occurred in open spaces, on military properties, and in houses of worship and health care facilities.

 

A total of more than 1,000 people were either killed or wounded in the shootings. In about one-quarter of the cases, the shooter committed suicide before the police arrived. The gunman acted alone in all but two of the cases. The shooters were female in at least six of the incidents.

 

Not all of the cases studied involved deaths or even injuries. In one 2006 case in Joplin, Missouri, a 13-year-old boy brought a rifle and handgun into a middle school, but his rifle jammed after he fired one shot. The principal then escorted the boy out of school and turned him over to the police.

 

Law enforcement officials who specialize in behavioral analysis say the motives of gunmen vary but many have a real, or perceived, personally held grievance that they feel mandates an act of violence. Though it’s hard to say why the number of shootings has increased, officials say they believe many shooters are inspired by past killings and the resulting notoriety.

 

“The copycat phenomenon is real,” said Andre Simons of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. “As more and more notable and tragic events occur, we think we’re seeing more compromised, marginalized individuals who are seeking inspiration from those past attacks.”

 

Beyond studying the shootings, the FBI has promoted better training for local law enforcement, invariably the first responders.

 

 

 

James Holmes has been charged with the killing of 12 people at a movie theater in Colorado in 2012. Photograph: RJ Sangosti/EPA

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/us-mass-shootings-risen-sharply-fbi-report

[Whatshername]

And this is why more good people should carry a concealed weapon. 

[sxsess]

And this is why more good people should carry a concealed weapon. 

10-4

[Tripphood]

I mean look at the psycho! It doesn't say that most of these shooters were on psychotropic drugs. What happened to all of the insane asylums? OH, THEY WERE ALL CLOSED DOWN AND THE INHABITANTS WERE PUT ON PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS AND RELEASED INTO SOCIETY.

[gymrat76541]

Concealed carry or open carry are the answer! I can not wait until Texas adopts the open carry! I want to wear mine in the open with pride! Like in Oklahoma....................  Concealed I carry a .380 but if I can wear the holster outside, I'd pack my .40 cal.

 

These cowards seek out easy targets! I just bet they would run like swiped dogs if someone shoots back!

Edited September 25, 2014 by gymrat76541