Mass Shooting: The cause and effect - Community Watch Paper

In this blog, we are going to furnish an overview about Mass Shootings, based on detailed researching and collective data. Several psychologists and doctors have concluded their assessments ascertaining the following blog. 

There is no basic definition that can explain Mass Shootings. There have been several media aperture, academic researching and various compliance agencies who time and again, try defining the horror Mass Shootings are, which creates different perspectives leading to different judgements. 

What is a mass shooting? 

As the name portrays, Mass Shootings are of a larger number of people but to provide you with a cleaner view, in early 1980s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation described Mass Shootings as a single incident where four or more people get killed and presumably in a single location.However, there have been various opinions on the said description.

Disparity was found among many definitions and their logical reasoning. There have been certain famous statistics provided that were said to be different. For example, the Mother Jones case was focused as high profile, providing lesser air to the fire. But certain case such as, Krouse and Richardson were not explicitly profiled and details were shared more enthusiastically. 

Therefore, there remains to be the shadow of value over Mass Shooting cases making it clear and precise among the board. 

A Mass Shooting involves the victims from fire arms violence. However, terrorists and military actions are not considered under Mass Shootings. In a Mass Shooting, the killer targets four or more people in a very haphazard manner. In the mass killings, the death of perpetrator is not considered. The motives of the killers are indiscriminate. 

A Mass Shooting is considered different from a shooting solely because of motives. A shooting takes place with a motive, however as far as a Mass Shooting is considered, there is no stated motive and it happens as a part of sudden uncontrollable rage. 

However, mental illness cannot predict mass shootings, the idea of a psychological profile predicting shootings is an untrue statement. As a part of conducted survey, there are dicey opinions of this being a yes and a no, and though mental distress causes sudden moves to the sufferer, there are higher chances of mental health patient never leading to any such violent incidences.

There have been several cases of mass shootings over a period of last 60 years all around the world, and the statistics have only grown. 

Mass shootings leaves the country and its citizens highly traumatized, it’s like a bullet that goes but leaves it’s mark behind for a really long time. And it is not necessary to get stuck in a mass shooting as a result of coercion, but sometimes it’s just about being in a wrong place at a wrong time, leading to ghastly consequences.

Mass shootings happen to be a sort of threat by the mass killer to the people around them proclaiming if anybody tries to disrupt anything for them, in return they would retaliate in a way that will never be appreciated by anybody. Apparently, a mass shooting is sometimes considered a way of showing the power they have over themselves and others, including the protection unit of the country. Mass shooters power through the incident to rise to this violence and portray themselves as powerful and undeceivable. 

Mass shootings are not only remembered by the victims or survivors or their families, but the place too. It takes a lot of time to heal and get over a trauma like this easily. 

Who commits mass shootings and why? 

You can find numerous numbers of motivations as these are killers and can reason anything into the cause of their outrage as violence ending up in killing people. The reasons that has been claimed in humans who commit these shootings are contributed through various factors. They are said to be the “violent video games, increasing violent tendencies among the people” and the “poisonous nature of the mass murder” and the “ignorance towards the red flags that are a sure shot threat signs in the human behaviour”. These mass murderers have been named as “mentally ill monsters”. 

However, in several tests and assessments and researches we have already established that mental health patients are not always the ones who commits such murders. Scientists and psychologists have studied the cases for a very long time and they are ruled upon the factors for over decades defining that no common ground can be set among the mental health patients. There’s always a difference between subject’s characteristics. 

Mostly the reason for commitment of such mass shootings turns out to be the influencefrom the already committed mass shooting. The police and psychologists over a long period of assessment found logical proofs and abundant evidences, claiming the one mass shooting may inspire another. It’s not a matter of how a subject is taking it in, but the incidences are what makes it appealing to the mass murderer. 

The mass murderers often mimic the previous killings or tactics. They get inspired or influence of how the previous one occurred and, in an order, to get public attention or famous mention, they end of committing a violent crime.

There are both young and mature shooters in such cases, most of the times the cause for these shootings by nature of mature murderers is considered to be their ideology of equality and justice in the eyes of their mythological leader, whereas the younger shooters end up being brainwashed by the same ideology. The ideology is based on racism, inequality, rights or their extreme beliefs over anything. Statistics have proved that most of the young murderers were well read and educated but still ended up being brainwashed in the names of their loved ones or their idols. 

Many such killers were found to be believing the mass shooting as a path to their righteousness and brotherhood towards them sacrificing themselves and others, to be given justice and a place in heaven as a good human being for being loyal to their idealistic thoughts and conventions. 

Forensic psychologists and assessors found out that, most of the murderer had same mentality of being a part of a brotherhood who swore to protect and sacrifice for each other, like minded personalities, who were throughout their life isolated and persuaded into believing that this path was the only path to earn what they deserve. All of their personalities were resentful. 

While the other group of mass murderers were victims of their own anger and over thinking practices. For some it was sudden outrage of anger and for some it was a result of their own tormenting of thoughts, and in a way to stop themselves they grow highly violent in their actions powering through. It is only a matter of time when they regain common consciousness, but by then several lives have been destroyed, taking them to a point of no return. 

There are no firm motives behind these mass shootings, it’s either unknowingly approached or fed to them like a computer command. The ability to shut down their very own thinking leads to this catastrophe. 

So, there can be a thousand assumptions as to why a person can do it and how, but it’s all a matter of time. The wrong wire in the brain leads to a personal explosion resulting in unbearable consequences. 

Statistics of mass shootings around the world

Talking about the statistics involving mass shootings around the world are saddening, and when one can expect the numbers to go down, sadly they have increased over a period of time. Concerning here, the statistical assessors came down to the most developing and high GDP countries to include in their database for evaluation over the years. 

Starting with INDIA, the cases of mass killings in India have been recorded since 1878, when the first one was documented in Hyderabad where 6 were killed and 4 others were very seriously injured, resulting in losing their body abilities and motility. The cases were very serious and ghastly. 

And apparently over time such cases increased, in the years 1925, 1980s the cases increased consecutively, where 7 were killed by a sepoy in Indian army. And later the cases were found in Sindh with 6 killings. 

The cases have been going on since British Raj starting with 4 killings. Since then the cases increased with severe consequences.

In SOUTH KOREA there were multiple mass shootings and most of them were caused in the South Korean military army itself. There were 3 cases mapped in the 1950s and all of them were caused by the soldier’s personal conflicts among themselves, their stress levels and detention from their social and personal life. The three cases consecutively faced casualties in the numbers of eight, six and five. Most of them were unable to cope with the violence in the army resulting in harming the victims.

In ISRAEL there have been the most amounts of mass shootings, the most famous one being the one happened in 1972, Lod Airport Massacre, it killed over 26 victims and more than 80 were injured. Then the 2002, Bat Mitzvah Massacre marked almost 17 casualties, followed by the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack killing 11 victims and lastly in 2016 the Tel Aviv shooting killing almost 9 people. 

Another mass shooting in Israel happened to be done by the Jews in 1990 and 1994. Ami Popper was convicted as the murderer of 7 Palestinian men. And later 29 Muslims were killed whole worshipping. 

EUROPE also marked the highest number of mass killings over the period of decades. The latest ones include the 1987 Hungerford Massacre, then in 1996 the Dunblane Massacre, then in 2010 Cumbria shootings. All the three incidences marked over 15 casualties and over 9 injuries sustaining victims. 

Other such cases involve Erfurt school Massacre in 2002, where the 7 casualties were all children. 

RUSSIA has marked about seven notable mass shootings with six of them being happened in the 2000s. The one occurred in 1992 was the Tatarstan Shooting with killing over 9 victims. Later in 2002 were two incidences, Yaroslavsky shooting and Moscow theatre hostage crisis. 

The recent incidences include 2014 Moscow school shootings and 2013 Belgorod shootings. 

UNITEDSTATES marked the highest rate of mass shootings among all around the world. According to the time magazine survey, the 31% of total mass shootings happened in United States of America. Though US has only 5% of the total population, but US has recorded to have the higher population of stressed and depressed humans leading to such incidences. 

The US marked the 2.88% of mass shootings in a period of three months and the rest was covered in a matter of three decades. 

With no confirm data ever leaked, US managed to hide its statistics really well but not too well. US marked it’s increase in mass shootings, with very depictive rise in the sale of weapons around the country. 

Notable mass shootings around AUSTRIA include the 1987 Hoddle street Massacre and Port Arthur Massacre in 1996. In later two decades, there were thirteen different cases of mass shootings with an average of 5 or more killings in all of them. Which later led to the country applying strict gun control laws. 

NEWZEALAND marked the mass shootings in 1990 Aramoana Massacre where 14 people were killed including the killer himself and then in 2019 Christchurch Mosque shootings that eventually resulted in 51 killings, recorded the highest ever in mass shootings around the world. 

Though some countries were able to control the cases and their casualties, but some could just not overcome the numbers and improve their statistical data for the shootings. 

Several survivors were recorded for their statements and their experiences are spine chilling, only they can understand how they survived it and what they were feeling but it sure portrays there should be a way to stop such incidences from happening again, it’s like a scar to someone’s soul. 

Help stopping mass shootings

Well it will be safe to say, that over decades the scientists or psychologists or assessors were unable to identify any possible ideology that they can pass over to the potential perpetrators resulting in stopping any such events from happening altogether. 

Though mental conditions have been stated responsible for the outbursts leading to these events, it is not entirely true. Every potential perpetrator is different from each other in the way they think and the solution they bring out to their problems. No potential perpetrator can as a turn of event just go violent, it’s always a result of pressure, depression or their suffering through their young years and traumas they were unable to cope up with. 

Most psychologists have proved that the potential perpetrators are sculpted in a way as a result of their conversations or encounters in daily life. 

It might be a belittling incident from office or college, or some childhood trauma including domestic violence. Psychologists have proved that such incidences create a subconscious state in the perpetrator’s mind leading them to act in a protective way which goes overboard when the situation is not handled rationally. 

Mostly, it is believed that threatening the perpetrator while on the scene might make him lose the face of it and surrender, though it can work in very rare cases, it is not approved as a solid method as sometimes it may lead in short circuiting the perpetrator’s thought process, making him lose his conscience and acting fast and wrong on the issue. 

The best way to deal with such cases would be very warmly and calmly. It is always better to have a psychologist as they can assess the subject through their body language and their answers to the questions, which might help devise a solution that may go in accordance to their brain processes leading to the results needed. 

It is always advised that in such situations, a psychologist be confronted first. They are designed to deal with humans keeping in track with their emotions and way of dealing with situations. 

The more calmly one can talk to the perpetrator, the more they will feel it to be a safe environment where nobody will harm or blame or question them. It’s just about saying the right things at the right times. 

Several peaceful ideologies can be shared to the perpetrator, their families can be brought to talk to them, which might lead in them withdrawing themselves from doing anything wrong. This may make them feel protective towards giving their families a better life, away from all the mess already present. 

Creating a sense of protection among them, and portraying that you understand them and care for them will make them think twice about theiractions. Any threat to them or their families will lead to creating even more troubling consequences. 

So, no fixed ideology might work, but what can be the best on calming down the perpetrator. It’s better to work it independently over different individuals as not all of them have the same thoughts. 

What to do if you are in a mass shooting

Though it’s not simple to free yourself from such a situation, but when done calmly and logically, it can result in saving the day for yourself and your family too. Patience is the key here. You must never lose your calm and your patience in this situation, the slow you try dealing with this situation the better. 

Do not haste into running away from the place or away from the perpetrator, as it will result in him taking haste decisions which may be bad. It is always important to not panic and think rationally, even though it is difficult in such situation. 

Firstly, as soon as you are stuck in a mass shooting make sure you take hiding close to where you are, if you can find any. Be it beneath a table or in a shop or a kiosk. It’s better to look for places where you are not in the direct sight of the perpetrator. 

In case you’re unable to find any such stop, make sure you lie down right on the ground as soon as the situation happens and stay immensely quiet. Do not try talking to the perpetrator as this might flay him even more and cause anger reactions.

If you have your family or a friend with you tell them to do the same thing. It is possible that the perpetrator might be continuously threatening, then make sure you’re not having any sort of eye contact with them or even looking at them. If it is possible that the perpetrator cannot see you make sure you very slowly try to wiggle your way out of the place and go as far away from the whole setting as possible. Do not try making a conversation with them it will not go down well. 

If it’s your family on the line, try to help them to reach to an enclosed space first with the perpetrator not noticing. If you have a phone, put it on silent Instantly and call the emergency number. It’s fine even if you are unable to talk at least it will lead them to listen to the ongoing conversation around which might result in them sending immediate help or at least sensing that something is going down.

Make sure to not make rash decisions of running away or trying to tackle the perpetrator it might result in you getting seriously injured and put the other’s lives on line too. 

Mass shootings are sure a very bad and negative thing to happen, but the truth is they do happen and dealing with them must be deliberate and helpful towards them, so as to prevent the devastating consequences. Mass shootings might be happening, but they are gradually and slowly decreasing with better measures to cope with the potential perpetrators so as to avoid any such situation in the future, and save lives better.  CWP

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