"With yet another young White man in police custody and charged with first-degree murder after a mass shooting — this time at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday — the police and the public are again asking: Why? Law enforcement officials were quick to label the massacre, which left 10 people dead, a hate crime. The suspect, who has pleaded … [Read more...]
Hate is not at the root of most mass shootings
School closures are costly caution — but are still not enough to prevent tragedies
"On Nov. 30, 11 people were shot, four fatally, at Oxford High School, about 45 miles north of Detroit. The crime scene investigation understandably closed the school for a week. Threats of copycat violence then closed the school again. Shooting threats typically increase after a high-profile school shooting because the public is on high alert … [Read more...]
Assessing Shooting Threats Is a Matter of Life or Death. Why Aren’t Experts Better at It?
"In Davison, Mich., 20 miles north of the site of the mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, a middle schooler sits in prison for threatening a school shooting in 2019. For claiming the “trench coat mafia”—a reference to a debunked 1999 Columbine shooting conspiracy—and drawing up a detailed plan of attack, he was convicted of a 20-year … [Read more...]
Op-Ed: The powerful message behind charging the parents in the Michigan school shooting
"The latest school shooting tragedy, in Michigan on Nov. 30, shares many common traits with those that came before it. The suspect was a young male student at the school in the midst of a noticeable crisis. He had communicated intent to do harm. He got a firearm from a family member who had failed to store it securely. But one crucial thing is … [Read more...]
School shootings are at a record high this year – but they can be prevented
"Whenever a school shooting takes place like the one at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit on November 30, 2021, it is typically followed by a familiar chorus of questions. How could such a thing happen? Why doesn’t the government do more to stop these shootings from occurring? Those questions are even more urgent in light of the fact … [Read more...]