Public Shootings by the Numbers

PUBLIC SHOOTINGS B Y T H E N U M B ER S An estimated 654 mass murders took place in America between 1976 and 2010, leaving a total body count of 2,949. " The rate of mass killings has increased since the mid-2000's.2) What are the commonalities shared by more recent crimes? 2007 ||////// Virginia Tech Massacre3,41 On April 16th, 2007, 33 including the gunman, were killed in the deadliest armed history. people, rampage in Americ The shooting took place on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Students were lined up In many cases, students scrambled out of windows to escape. against the wall and shot point-blank. > The massacre took place at two separate times. The first two murders More than two-and-a-half hours later, occurred at 7:15 in the morning when 23-year-old student Seung-Hui Cho 30 students additional killed two classmates in a dorm room. were murdered in locations around the campus. By the time the police responded to the second shooting, Cho had already taken his own life, ending the carnage. 2008 ||////// On September 2nd, 2008, Alger, Washington Shootings5 Isaac Zamora opened fire, killing and injuring two in the small town of people Alger, Washington. Zamora had a history of The killer lived off and on One of the first killed was in the woods for years leading up to the shooting. local deputy untreated mental illness Anne Jackson, and had been in previous (non-violent) legal The first shootings were reported just after 2 p.m. who had tried to help Zamora and his family for years. trouble. » Following a series of shootings in Alger, the shooter took to the interstate at speeds in excess of 90 mph, opening fire on construction workers and other drivers. Three hours after the shootings began, Zamora turned The motive for the murders was never himself in. discovered. 2009 /|////// Samson, Alabama Shootings 6 On March 10th, 2009, 28-year-old Michael McLendon shot and killed 10 before taking his own life in a metals plant in Samson, people Alabama. He set his mother on fire, killing her and burning down her home. McClendon began killing As he fled the scene, he also killed four dogs. 3:30 in the afternoon. After the first killing, McLendon drove a The gunman then shot a deputy's wife and daughter, as well as his own grandmother. McLendon then drove dozen miles and killed three more relatives. toward the metals plant, killing three more along the way from his vehicle, At the plant, the shooter injured a police officer before taking his own life. Although the killer's journal was found to contain lists of people who had wronged him, no clear motive for his actions was ever found. 2010 //////// Hartford Distributors Shooting In the morning hours of August 3rd, 2010, Omar Thornton opened fire at Hartford Distributors in Manchester, Connecticut. Thornton killed 8 and injured two before taking his own life. people The shooter worked as a driver with the company for about a year prior to the murders. During his rampage, Thornton Thornton was asked to Thornton continued his resign half an hour before the shooting began after being caught on tape stealing beer from the company. killing spree until the police arrived, after which he turned his handgun set a fire in the company, adding more chaos to the on himself. situation. 2011 |||///// On January 8th, 2011, Tucson, Arizona Shooting Representative Gabrielle Giffords was meeting constituents at a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. In attendance was 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. Loughner opened fire on both Roll and Giffords. Chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona John M. Roll approached to greet Giffords. Roll was killed; Loughner then shot an additional sixteen people, One of the victims was killing five in addition Giffords was critically injured. a 9-year-old girl. to Roll. Police suspect political motives Loughner was taken into custody after the attack. drove the attack. 2012 ||////// On July 20th, 2012, Aurora, Colorado Shooting (®,91 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes walked into a sold-out movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and opened fire on the audience. 12 58 people were killed; were injured Holmes released noxious gas into the theater before using a variety of weapons on the crowd. Holmes The killer was in the process of withdrawing from the University of The murderer boobytrapped planned the attack his apartment with a mix of incendiary devices and gases which took police days to remove safely. Colorado-Denver medical school's neuroscience program. for months. After the police arrived, the killer willingly Surrendered. > Commonalities in Public Shootings 79% edian age of 17. of mass murderers are 22 mass, public shootings have taken place since 2007. (10) white males, with a The majority of mass killers prefer isolation Most mass killers have a history of reclusive, over socializing with friends and family. non-violent behavior. Mass killers are often motivated by revenge fantasies, instilled through feelings of powerlessness and humiliation. Some claim the media's coverage of mass murders Only 23% fuels the flame, of mass murderers have any documented psychiatric history, but many have undiagnosed psychiatric issues. [1) making murderers infamous by not adhering to ethical journalistic practices. 12) Itotal criminal defense Sources [1]http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/colorado-shootings-add-chapter-to-long-unpredi ctable-story-of-us-mass-murder/2012/07/24/9JQAK6XE7W_story.html [2]http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/mass-shootings-investigation [3]http://www.nytimes.com [4]http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3048108&page=1#.UJAz93WCnPs [5]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26517411/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/killing-rampage-ends-surrender -gunman/#.UJFPCnWCnPs [6]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/alabama-shooting-spree-le_n_173724.html [7]http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/hartford_cty/manchester-shooting-#.UJKS5XWCNPS [8]http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/20/12850048-cops-weeks-of-planning-went-into-shootings-at- colo-batman-screening?lite [9]http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/20/nation/la-na-nn-dark-knight-shooting-20120720 [10]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica a/9414540/A-his ory-of-mass-shootings-in- the-US-since-Columbine.html [11]http://brainblogger.com/2011/04/18/mass-murderer-psychology-the-patterns-of-horror/ [12]http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/07/disrupting-the-infamy-game-how-to-change-the-co verage-of-mass-shootings/260165/