"In America, unthinkable violence has become routine. In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, David Remnick speaks with the researchers Jillian Peterson and James Densley, whose book, “The Violence Project,” is the most in-depth study of mass shooters to date. Pro-gun politicians may continue to block any measures to … [Read more...]
What Makes a Mass Shooter?
3 things to know about America’s relentless gun violence
"Densley and Peterson write that the “overwhelming number of shootings and shooting threats” have left schools struggling to respond, resulting in a patchwork of different measures that have failed to slow the frequency of attacks across the states. The two scholars contrast this local response to school shooting in the U.S. to the national … [Read more...]
What Do Most Mass Shooters Have in Common? They Bought Their Guns Legally.
“'The infuriating part is that we seem to be going backward,” said James Densley, a co-founder of the Violence Project, a nonpartisan research center that compiled the data used in the National Institute of Justice report. While it is hard to make broad generalizations, Mr. Densley and his partner, Jillian Peterson, discerned several patterns … [Read more...]
Mass shootings cannot, need not be the nation’s default
"Densley and Peterson point out that, in the aggregate, perpetrators are angry with the world and in search of a reason and a way to manifest it. "Hate comes late along this pathway," the professors write. Perpetrators' understanding of their cause is typically "shallow and contradictory" and "simply convenient."" In this article, the authors … [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...]