The Violence Prevention Project
By Jillian Peterson, PhD & James Densley, PhD
Published by Abrams Books
Order the Book“A multifaceted study that is alternately horrifying, depressing, and even hopeful”
— Kirkus Reviews
“A sensitive and knowledgeable treatment of one of America's most vexing social problems”
— Publishers Weekly
Academic Publications
Our research has been published in leading scientific journals, contributing to the academic understanding of mass violence and informing evidence-based prevention strategies.
Injury Prevention
BMJ · 2026
Prior violent injury and subsequent homicide involvement: evidence from a linked trauma registry study
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Springer · 2026
The changing nature of homicide in the Twin Cities: an interrupted time series analysis of the police murder of George Floyd
Injury Epidemiology
BMC · 2026
Gang membership, firearm victimization, and mental health in a national sample of U.S. adults
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Elsevier · 2025
Factors associated with secure firearm storage among U.S. gun owners
Nature Mental Health
Nature Portfolio · 2025
Mental health consequences of exposure to mass and non-mass shootings in a national sample of U.S. adults
JAMA Network Open
JAMA Network · 2025
Direct exposure to mass shootings among US adults
Deviant Behavior
Taylor & Francis · 2024
Exploring the overlap: Suicidal thoughts and homicidal acts among incarcerated offenders
Journal of Crime and Justice
Taylor & Francis · 2024
Murder in a time of crisis: a qualitative exploration of the 2020 homicide spike through offender interviews
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
Annual Reviews · 2024
Epidemiology of mass shootings in the United States
Journal of Threat Assessment and Management
American Psychological Association · 2024
An exploration of K–12 school shooting threats in the United States
Social Media + Society
SAGE · 2023
How mass public shooters use social media: Exploring themes and future directions
Preventive Medicine
Elsevier · 2022
US mass public shootings since Columbine: victims per incident by race and ethnicity of the perpetrator
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
American Psychological Association · 2022
Psychosis and mass shootings: A systematic examination using publicly available data
JAMA Network Open
JAMA Network · 2021
Communication of intent to do harm preceding mass public shootings in the United States, 1966–2019
JAMA Network Open
JAMA Network · 2021
Presence of armed school officials and fatal and nonfatal gunshot injuries during mass school shootings, United States, 1980–2019
The Police Journal
SAGE · 2020
Evaluation of 'the R-Model' crisis intervention de-escalation training for law enforcement
Journal of Crime and Justice
Taylor & Francis · 2018
Is Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training evidence-based practice? A systematic review
Current Opinion in Psychology
Elsevier · 2018
Group aggression
Aggression and Violent Behavior
Elsevier · 2017
Cyber violence: what do we know and where do we go from here?
In the Media
We regularly contribute analysis and commentary to major publications, translating our research into actionable insights for policymakers and the public.
The New York Times • 2026
We study mass shooters. Something terrifying is happening online.
Minnesota Star Tribune • 2025
School shutdowns are only a Band Aid solution to gun violence
The Conversation • 2025
School shootings dropped in 2025 – but schools are still focusing too much on safety technology instead of prevention
The Conversation • 2025
Violent acts in houses of worship are rare but deadly – here's what the data shows
MinnPost • 2025
Minnesota can lead on gun violence — if we stop arguing past the evidence
The Hill • 2025
Americans aren't as divided on mass shootings as politics makes it seem
Public Health Post • 2025
The long reach of mass shootings
Minnesota Star Tribune • 2025
Counterpoint: Mass shootings demand layered solutions, and that includes sensible gun laws
Minnesota Star Tribune • 2025
Extreme Risk Protection Orders (red flag laws) in Minnesota — a year of evidence-based prevention
Minnesota Star Tribune • 2025
Isolation, 'psychache,' violence and self-destruction: What research shows
Los Angeles Times • 2024
Here's what is so unusual about the Wisconsin school shooting — and what isn't
Minnesota Star Tribune • 2024
Gun violence in Minnesota: what the numbers show
The Conversation • 2024
Georgia high school shooting shows how hard it can be to take action even after police see warning signs
The Denver Post • 2024
The grim legacy of Columbine after 25 years
CNN • 2023
Crumbley parents lose their appeal. Why that could be a game changer on school shootings
The Conversation • 2023
MSU murders: What we know about campus shootings and the gunmen who carry them out
The Conversation • 2023
Five years after Parkland, school shootings haven't stopped, and kill more people
The New York Times • 2023
We profiled the 'signs of crisis' in 50 years of mass shootings. This is what we found
Los Angeles Times • 2023
Older mass shooters are rare. Here's how they differ from young assailants
The Conversation • 2023
Typical mass shooters are in their 20s and 30s – suspects in California's latest killings are far from that average
The Conversation • 2022
Rampage at Virginia Walmart follows upward trend in supermarket gun attacks — here's what we know about retail mass shooters
The Conversation • 2022
With months still to go, 2022 has already seen a record number of school shootings
Big Think • 2022
The 4 risk factors behind someone becoming a mass shooter
TIME • 2022
The steps we can take to reduce mass shootings in America
Scientific American • 2022
What we know about mass school shootings—and shooters—in the U.S.
The Conversation • 2022
Accused Buffalo mass shooter had threatened a shooting while in high school. Could more have been done to avert the tragedy?
Washington Post • 2022
Hate is not at the root of most mass shootings
The Conversation • 2022
More mass shootings are happening at grocery stores – 13% of shooters are motivated by racial hatred, criminologists find
Star Tribune • 2021
School closures are costly caution — but are still not enough to prevent tragedies
Education Week • 2021
Assessing shooting threats is a matter of life or death. Why aren't experts better at it?
Los Angeles Times • 2021
The powerful message behind charging the parents in the Michigan school shooting
The Conversation • 2021
School shootings are at a record high this year – but they can be prevented
Los Angeles Times • 2021
The rise in school shooting threats is alarming — and a cry for help
Washington Post • 2021
School shootings are increasing — and changing. Easily accessible guns are to blame
Sun-Sentinel • 2021
One second from Columbine at Lehigh Acres
Tennessean • 2021
Students, teachers must feel safe to report school shooting threats
The Conversation • 2021
Knoxville school shooting serves as stark reminder of a familiar – but preventable – threat
Los Angeles Times • 2021
Why mass shootings stopped in 2020 and are now roaring back
The Conversation • 2020
US gun violence: too many people have died in 2020 – and COVID played a larger part than you think
Los Angeles Times • 2019
Why do people attack places of worship? Here's what we know from our mass shootings database
Los Angeles Times • 2019
There is no single profile of a mass shooter. Our data show there are five types
Education Week • 2019
What school shooters have in common
Los Angeles Times • 2019
We analyzed 53 years of mass shooting data. Attacks aren't just increasing, they're getting deadlier
Los Angeles Times • 2019
We have studied every mass shooting since 1966. Here's what we've learned about the shooters
The Conversation • 2019
Colorado shooting eerily recalls Columbine massacre
The Conversation • 2019
University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting has these things in common with other campus shootings
Washington Post • 2019
School shootings didn't start in 1999 at Columbine. Here's why that disaster became a blueprint for other killers and created the 'Columbine generation'
Star Tribune • 2019
Terrorism is a performance. Don't watch
USA Today • 2019
We can do more to prevent mass workplace shootings like Aurora, Illinois
The Conversation • 2019
School shooters usually show these signs of distress long before they open fire, our database shows
Star Tribune • 2018
Editorial counterpoint: preventing mass school shootings? Here's a key first step
MinnPost • 2018
Police crisis intervention training: we need a new paradigm, not a new building
CNN • 2018
Why the usual approach to school security isn't working
CNN • 2017
How social media sends extremism into overdrive
Star Tribune • 2017
Verdict in police shooting of Philando Castile: the fear defense should have us all afraid
Star Tribune • 2017
Why the trend of posting gruesome acts online?
Star Tribune • 2016
Protest movements, guns, and double standards in America
MinnPost • 2013
After Sandy Hook, 'zero-tolerance' policies are making schools less safe
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