Whenever there’s a mass shooting, like the three last week, we ask ourselves two questions: Why? And, how can we keep it from happening again? The Violence Project, a nonpartisan think tank, strives to answer those questions. Under a grant from the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Violence … [Read more...]
Trying to understand and prevent mass shootings
Mass shootings can be contagious, research shows
Are mass shootings truly contagious? According to expert, Dr. Jillian Peterson, it's a form of social contagion, somewhat like a suicide contagion - that's when a high-profile suicide leads to more people to take their own lives. For example, following the suicide of actor Robin Williams, researchers documented a 10% spike in suicides in the months … [Read more...]
School shootings: What administrators need to know
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...]