An analysis of 46 active shooters in schools revealed several common characteristics they tend to share. The majority of active shooters were current or former members of the school, were in crisis and suicidal before the shooting, acquired guns by borrowing or stealing them from friends or family, and the majority of shooters leaked their plans in … [Read more...]
School shootings: What administrators need to know
The Health 202: Trump blamed mental illness for mass shootings. The reality is more complicated.
Mental illness is just one of many factors in why someone might open fire. But talking about the El Paso and Dayton tragedies in a nuanced way isn’t exactly one of President Trump’s strong suits. He largely blamed mental ailments for being the root cause of mass shootings, while backing away from an initial tweeted call for expanding background … [Read more...]
MN researchers’ mass shooter database gets federal funding
The Violence Project's Jillian Peterson spoke with reporters at Kare 11 about the risk factors for mass shooters. While there was no pattern, the number of risk factors people experienced before a mass shooting was consistent. There was also often a trigger before the shooting, and suicidality was common among mass shooters. Dr. Peterson also … [Read more...]
Local researchers compile mass shooting database
The Violence Project's co-founders Jillian Peterson and James Densley sat down with Jana Shortal to discuss initial findings from their mass shooter database. The two talk about the difficulties of creating a profile of a mass shooter, commonalities between shooters, and the relationship of mental health and suicidality to mass shooters. Watch … [Read more...]
‘This shooter is a little different’: Hamline professor studies mass shootings
Professor Jillian Peterson spoke with John Wanamaker on MPR about the differences between the Las Vegas gunman and other mass shooters she has studied. Dr. Peterson is working with Professor James Densley to better understand why mass shootings happen and ways to prevent them. Listen to the segment on MPR here. The Associated Press … [Read more...]