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This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.Many have already answered very similar questions, without the political slant.The following is from: Fred Lead's answer to What should be done about school shootings?How can we stop the school shootings?There isn’t anything that will make mass shootings and school shootings end completely, but there are ways we can decrease the frequency and deadliness of such attacks.Learn from Serial Killings and SuicidesWe have been experiencing a massive drop in the number of serial killings in the US for the past three decades and a drop in the number of serial killers. Much like with “gun deaths”, the US has and still does outpace the rest of the world in serial killings. In some decades the US had about 500 more cases than the rest of the world. In every decade since the 1970s and 1980s the US has cut serial killer activity dramatically.http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/S...As serial killings have decline have mass shootings filled the gap?But this perception [that mass shootings are increasing] isn’t because of some unprecedented rise in the rate of mass public shootings—far from it. They’re roughly as common now as they were in the 1980s and ’90s. And the data offer a stark finding: Over the past decade, mass public shootings haven’t become particularly more prevalent, they’ve simply become deadlier.Mass Shootings Are Getting Deadlier, Not More FrequentWhat we see, thanks to a variety of variables, is (mostly) young disturbed men prefer to become mass shooters and not serial killers. The only difference is fewer are successful in acting out their plans. The general profile of serial killers and mass shooters are remarkably similar as well.Then there is this factor,The media's growing obsession with serial killers in the 1970s and '80s may have created a minor snowball effect, offering a short path to celebrity.The decline of the serial killer.The public eye has long moved on from the serial killer shows and news series of the past, placing mass shooters as the surest road to fame. The news reports have become more detailed, more graphic, and often focus on every aspect of the attacker’s life for weeks to months later. This kind of attention is appealing to those that feel nameless, faceless, and voiceless.This has been a phenomenon the FBI identified after a mass shootings in the 1990s,Ever since Columbine, the FBI has been studying what drives people to commit mass shootings. Last fall it issued a report on 160 active-shooter cases, and what Simons could disclose from its continuing analysis was chilling: To a much greater degree than is generally understood, there’s strong evidence of a copycat effect rippling through many cases, both among mass shooters and those aspiring to kill. Perpetrators and plotters look to past attacks for not only inspiration but operational details, in hopes of causing even greater carnage. Emerging research—including our own analysis of the “Columbine effect“—could have major implications for both threat assessment and how the media should cover mass shootings.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterFrom a recently foiled shooting we can see pretty clearly the media attention is a pretty big deal, shooters are motivated by fame, and that they do learn from past shooters. From the journal of a foiled shooter,“I’ve been thinking a lot,” he added, according to the court records. “I need to make this shooting/bombing at Kamiak infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count.“I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings) I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don’t make the same ones.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/n...In addition to a shift in media attention we have also been experiencing a shift in general culture. We know with the advent of social media people have become more isolated and lonely, as well as instilling a preference for instant gratification. It would make sense that deranged people would gravitate toward instant results, but this is a topic I have not seen much research on.Just like with serial killings suicides decreased after media attention was severely curbed. Suicide research provides a pretty clear model of “behavioral contagion”, which may be at play with mass shootings as it most likely was with serial killings, emphasis mine,The media affords the opportunity for indirect transmission of suicide contagion, the process by which one suicide becomes a compelling model for successive suicides.1,2 This means of influence is potentially more far reaching than direct person-to-person propagation. Suicide contagion can be viewed within the larger context of behavioral contagion, which has been described as the situation in which the same behavior spreads quickly and spontaneously through a group.3 Behavioral contagion has also been conjectured to influence the transmission of conduct disorder, drug abuse, and teenage pregnancy.4,5 According to behavioral contagion theory, an individual has a preexisting motivation to perform a particular behavior, which is offset by an avoidance gradient, such that an approach-avoidance conflict exists.6 The occurrence of suicides in the media may serve to reduce the avoidance gradient—the observer’s internal restraints against performing the behavior. Social learning theory also provides a foundation on which aspects of suicide contagion may build. According to this theory, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling.7 Imitative learning is influenced by a number of factors, including the characteristics of the model and the consequences or rewards associated with the observed behavior.8 Consequences or rewards, such as public attention, may lower behavior restraints and lead to the disinhibition of otherwise “frowned upon” behavior.9http://www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/bioethics/nyspi/material/SuicideAndTheMedia.pdfTo me the case looks pretty clear; some troubled people turn into monsters but now have shifted from serial killings to mass shootings in step with the shift in media attention and society in general. Media coverage is an important motivator for most shooters; it allows them to address a perceived wrong in front of the entire world, immortalize their name, and ensure the entire world knows all about their life. Past trends in serial killings and suicide show media restrictions can save lives.Dr. O'Toole, who is Editor-in-Chief of Violence and Gender, calls on the media to stop using the names of mass murders, which only fuels their desire for fame and is "a very powerful motivator," Targeted mass killings can be preventedMental Health ReformMental illness is often cited as the primary motivator in a shooting, but that is a flawed sentiment as there are obviously other motivators. If it were truly due to mental health issues alone mass shootings most likely would be completely random and not planned. Mental health issues are a contributing factor, but not the factor as many make it out to be,In an analysis of 235 mass killings, many of which were carried out with firearms, 22 percent of the perpetrators could be considered mentally ill. Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Mental Illness After Parkland ShootingIf a minority of mass killings the attacker was found to have some sort of mental illness. Why does it seem mental health is such a big deal? We need to understand the motivations of the attackers in order to find any kind of predictable factors. Experts have researched this topic extensively,Although some mass shooters are found to have a history of psychiatric illness, no reliable research has suggested that a majority of perpetrators are primarily influenced by serious mental illness as opposed to, for example, psychological turmoil flowing from other sources. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/appi.books.9781615371099The major issue with mental health reform as a primary mechanism against mass shootings is that mental health is completely voluntary.Even if mental health services are free that does not mean individuals who need them most, from society's perspective, will seek the services out. In fact, the mental health disorders that are most prevalent in violent individuals typically push those individuals away from help if left on their own. Anecdotally, someone in my extended family has some mental health issues that clearly damage the well-being of themselves and their children, but not to the point where Child Protective Services or law enforcement can intervene. This individual refuses to accept help, even though others have offered referrals and to pay for the services. No one can force mental health services on anyone until there is a breech large enough for the legal system to intervene. Oftentimes in the case of a mass shooter the individual is a loner and has no one to advocate for them and do not have any breeches that warrant investigation or intervention by the legal system.When these individuals are forced to use mental health services in many cases it is not like a medical procedure that operates separate of the will of the individual, and prescription drugs alone are not a solution. Psychotropic drugs have actually been shown to increase destructive behavior and the severity of the destructive behavior in many cases. The individual must necessarily want to be better in order for any treatment to be effective. Mental health is also a process, it is not a silver-bullet instant fix. Even if an individual is getting help they may still be a risk to themselves or others at any point during the process; once someone begins to get help that doesn't mean they are immediately fixed and peaceful. In fact, in many cases people become more irate and agitated by facing their issues and giving up destructive coping mechanisms throughout the process. I think many people have a deep misunderstanding of mental health; it isn't like yoga where you go for an hour and feel peaceful and relaxed afterward. Sometimes it works out like yoga, but in some cases it can be deeply unsettling and uncomfortable, but it is required to get to real long-term healing. For severe cases that justify the use of prescription drugs it's as simple as not taking the medication and you now have an individual that is on par with someone that has never had any help.We do need to increase mental health care in the United States and that may decrease the number of cases of violent crime, including mass shootings, but that is a difficult argument to make at this point. I do not believe better funded mental health services will end mass shootings completely, especially if it is viewed as the singular silver bullet fix, but I do believe it will benefit society as a whole. Mental health access in conjunction with other points here can help through a multi-layered approach to help reform people and shift them to a better path, but even that is not foolproof.InterventionWhat we find in the past profiles of mass shooters are preexisting motivations, consistent with the behavioral contagion theory in a previous section, that are obvious “warning signs” after the fact. The problem is there are too many people that have these warning signs that are adequately deterred by a number of conditions for these “warning signs” to have any predictive value. In addition, the actions law enforcement can take against the individuals that display such “warning signs” is quite limited until a breech that is serious enough is committed. In some cases this breech is simple assault, theft, or other petty crimes that could be called “cries for help” or otherwise emotional outlets, in the most rare of cases it is a mass shooting attempt.What can we do about this? We need to be involved as a community with our youth and those in our lives. Parents, family, friends, we are all the first line of defense for a safe society. We know the troubled people in our lives more than anyone else, and we are in positions to not only monitor them but intervene in their lives. We can help them find the help they need to keep their issues from escalating, if they will accept help and want to face their issues. The profile of mass shooters usually includes isolation and estrangement from family, lack of friends, and so on so this isn’t always possible, but it does help us as a society and may reduce the escalation of issues that lead to mass shootings.This idea has been tested and it has worked to a degree, but it is a constant effort,The threat assessment team had to decide just how dangerous Ayala might be and whether they could help turn his life around. As soon as they determined he didn’t have any weapons, they launched a “wraparound intervention”—in his case, counseling, in-home tutoring, and help pursuing his interests in music and computers.“He was a very gifted, bright young man,” recalls John Van Dreal, a psychologist and threat assessment expert involved in the case. “A lot of what was done for him was to move him away from thinking about terrible acts.”As the year went on, the team kept close tabs on Ayala. The school cops would strike up casual conversations with him and his buddies Kyle and Mike so they could gauge his progress and stability. A teacher Ayala admired would also do “check and connects” with him and pass on information to the team. Over the next year and a half, the high schooler’s outlook improved and the warning signs dissipated.When Ayala graduated in 2002, the school-based team handed off his case to the local adult threat assessment team, which included members of the Salem Police Department and the county health agency. Ayala lived with his parents and got an IT job at a Fry’s Electronics. He grew frustrated that his computer skills were being underutilized and occasionally still vented to his buddies, but with continued counseling and a network of support, he seemed back on track.The two teams “successfully interrupted Ayala’s process of planning to harm people,” Van Dreal says. “We moved in front of him and nudged him onto a path of success and safety.”But then that path took him to another city 60 miles away, where he barely knew anyone.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterIntervention works until you stop working at it. Combined with mental health services and the coping skills they can provide intervention and social engagement goes a long way. Sometimes that intervention goes beyond logical discourse, referring to mental health services, and caring. At that point law enforcement must step in,[A]uthorities say that Cathi O’Connor contacted police after reading entries in 18-year-old Joshua Alexander O’Connor’s journal.Grandmother Stops Teen Who Was Allegedly Planning a School Shooting“This is a case where the adage ‘see something, say something’ potentially saved many lives,” Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman said late Thursday in the statement. “It is critically important for community members, to include students and parents, to remain observant and immediately report odd or suspicious behaviors with our children or with fellow students. We were fortunate that a family member believed there were credible threats and contacted law enforcement for further investigation. I’m sure the decision was difficult to make, but fortunately, it was the correct one.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/15/a-would-be-shooter-tossed-a-coin-to-pick-a-school-police-say-his-grandmother-foiled-his-plan/?utm_term=.c4f8a8bf1ab5Law EnforcementIn recent shootings many have placed the blame squarely on failures in law enforcement. Multiple tips were not followed up on, but that doesn’t mean we should stop reporting suspicious activity. To make our communities safer from all kinds of crimes community policing is the answer, as shown in New York City, which has experienced a steady drop in crime to all-time lows,The NYPD credited the stark reduction to its new precision policing approach to fighting crime, in which investigators focus on people who have shown a pattern of committing crimes.In March, several NYPD units, including the department’s detective squads and vice, narcotics, gangs and organized crime investigation divisions, were given new bosses — an “investigative chief” in each patrol borough. The chiefs, in turn, report to Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, officials said.The overhaul — which dismantled the department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau, placing its units under Boyce’s umbrella — has been credited with reducing the number of shootings across the city, officials said.NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016Who could have guessed targeting career criminals would decrease crime? Oh yeah, criminologists,In an email, Pfaff pointed out that Monday’s data matched what scholars already knew. “Crime has always been highly localized,” Pfaff said. “Studies in several cities have shown that about half of all reported crime occurs in under 10 percent of all city blocks, and almost all crime in under half. And those ‘at risk’ blocks remain fairly constant over time. So talking about crime in ‘the U.S.,’ or ‘Illinois,’ or even ‘Chicago’ has always been somewhat misleading.” What the FBI's Latest Crime Report Really ShowsBut New Yorkers knew this already,It’s a very small percentage of the population in New York City that’s involved in crime,” O’Neill said in an interview with the Daily News in September. “If the same cops are there every day, they know who the good people are — which is the vast majority of them. ... It’s going to have a real effect on what goes on. NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016The move to effective policing not only results in lower crime and more lives saved it also frees up resources to conduct more on-the-ground investigations, the lack of which led to the failures by law enforcement in recent shootings. Generally, the community knows who the problem people are and can point police in the right direction. Why don’t all areas use community policing? Many can’t because a career in law enforcement is not appealing, so getting local applicants isn’t really an option. In some areas the local populace feels victimized and abused by law enforcement and so they have a deep level of distrust. This decreases the effectiveness of police and builds up an attitude of “us vs them”, also called police militarization.When people in authority abuse power, trust and connectedness to a community erode. "It leads to a breakdown of that which holds society together," Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told us. "It's that sense of connectedness that has always been such a powerful part of Chicago neighborhoods."When Chicagoans don't trust police, the city suffersJustice officials make the case that building trust and combating crime will be intertwined. "For Chicago to find solutions — short- and long-term — for making those neighborhoods safe, it is imperative that the City rebuild trust between CPD and the people it serves, particularly in these communities," the report says.Chicago police use excessive force, scathing Justice Department report findsSo what does all this have to do with mass shootings? The more connected a community is with police and the more trust that exists the easier it is for police to do their job and the more likely they will do a better job of it as well. As we saw in the example of the grandmother calling on her grandson, the ability to pick up the phone to call the police, and feel safe doing so, goes a long way. If you suspect something call on it; see something, say something.We certainly don’t make it easy for law enforcement to do their job in many cases. The background check system is our most important law enforcement tool in terms of controlling access to guns. Federal gun control legislation in the context of mental health relies on this question on the background check form: “Have you ever been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?”. That would leave out quite a few mass shooters of the past, and did not stop others. Here’s the real problem, though. Even with the laws in place they cannot be effectively enforced,There are an estimated 3 million living Americans who have been involuntarily committed to mental institutions. The NICS database only contains the names of about 90,000 of these individuals. There are only 17 states that provide information on involuntary commitment for inclusion in the NICS database. Many of the noncompliant states simply have not computerized their records on involuntary commitment. However, a large number of the noncompliant states are also grappling with serious health-information privacy issues and are reluctant to provide the required data to NICS before these issues are resolved.Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, mental health records may only be released to medical professionals, health insurance workers and quality-control personnel. Ohio’s attorney general has not yet determined how to gain access to the medical records needed to process CCW applications. Because Ohio has a relatively new CCW law, sheriffs are being asked to assist temporarily in checking courthouse records for involuntary-commitment orders. This exercise is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. It’s also unlikely to produce all of the information needed to verify the accuracy of answers provided on Ohio CCW permit applications.Although federal and state laws establish involuntary commitment as a prohibiting factor for gun purchases, mental health professionals contend that there is no scientific basis for this prohibition.According to Dr. Paul Applebaum, vice president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “checking for involuntary commitments…doesn’t make sense because past mental illness does not predict future violence.”Mental Illness And Gun Ownership - Guns & AmmoWe could take recent events and use it as a rallying cry against law enforcement, but we really need to stand by our law enforcement officers and find ways to help them do their jobs better because our safety is not their job, it’s everyone’s job. We also need to look at some of the gaps and ineffective policies in the current laws we have to make them more easily enforceable and more effective at getting the results we want.ResistanceMetal detectors, harsh punishments for infractions, and general education are all great, but will not stop attacks. These measures all have flaws that can allow an individual to slip through the cracks and do not matter to a motivated monster. The only measure that will save lives when all the preventative measures have failed or been completely skipped over is immediate overwhelming force. Overwhelmingly mass shootings have taken place in gun-free zones. Whether it is the gun-free zone policy that impacts the location picked is up for debate; there is usually a primary motivator beyond just the gun-free zone status, such as some kind of injustice, but with the recently foiled shooting plot we do see a clear case that the location was picked for “maximum damage”. Regardless, making it easier to kill doesn’t help the people in those situations. Armed resistance is a simple way to save lives.This can take many forms. There is the idea of arming school teachers (or simply allowing them to be armed) that are willing or have already become licensed and trained to carry a firearm. Some teachers have already taken the necessary training and licensing to carry a concealed firearm in public, but cannot carry inside the school building. What makes them fundamentally unfit to carry a firearm in a school building when they are deemed fit to carry a firearm in public, sometimes around the same children that are in the school? If the concern is due to a firearm on the teacher’s person there is the idea of securing a gun safe in the room with access to the teacher and an administrator. In the case of a shooting accessing the firearm does not change the lockdown procedure.Since some deem teachers inept and fundamentally too incompetent to carry a firearm upon entering a school building there is the idea of external security, such as security guards. The idea of employing veterans to do this has been tossed around as well. School Resource Officers can be found in some schools but not all, so some argue we should apply the same protection to each school, employing a SRO for security and general order in the school.Each of these ideas have backlash, but the idea is sound. Responding police have the luxury of waiting in safety for backup (and have in many cases in the past), despite going against protocol. When you are faced with an attacker you have to respond, being armed gives you one more tool to respond with, otherwise you are limited to running and hiding and cannot help anyone but yourself.There are many instances where armed resistance has stopped a shooting. Most of the stories are not as well-publicized as the “successful” mass shootings, most likely because they don’t have the same ability to keep viewers (and sell ads).How an Assistant Principal With a Gun Stopped a School ShooterOpinion | Do citizens (not police officers) with guns ever stop mass shootings?These examples are often ignored or even worse said not to exist in the first place. The arguments against immediate armed resistance are head-scratchingly fuzzy, such as Mother Jones arguing because an individual may be wounded or killed by the attacker they should not have the ability to shoot back at the attacker and instead it would be better to be wounded or killed while unarmed or that in some cases the responding individual was a security official or ex-military/LEO. These cases clearly show armed resistance acting immediately can save lives, it doesn’t matter who makes up that resistance. There is also the argument individuals should not be armed because in one case,it was “not clear at all” whether the kid had intended to do any further shooting after he’d left the building.I don’t believe “the kid only killed the people he wanted to and left” is a good reason to keep people that are licensed, trained, and willing to carry firearms from being able to do so.Armed resistance also presents a deterrent effect, although we can’t really measure this effectively for any topic. One of the interesting shifts in programming around serial killers was a move from “we’ll never catch them”, “cold cases”, “mystery murder” shows and news programs to “how we caught them” shows. The messaging changed from “serial killers can’t be caught” to “serial killers will be caught”, changing the way people feel about serial killers, including those that may have considered doing it themselves. This created a deterrent effect that we really can’t quantify. The issue with mass shootings is the attacker is usually motivated enough to not care about dying or actually wants to die, but we also know mass shooters are cowards. We can’t quantify and compare the “coward quotient” compared to the motivation to conduct a shooting, but the potential benefit from armed resistance remains: lives saved.The SolutionThere is no single silver-bullet fix to end mass shootings or school shootings. We need to do the hard work of building up and maintaining a stable and peaceful society. That means being active in our communities (especially with youth), improving access to mental health, supporting our police, calling for effective evidence-backed legislative policies and not “feel good” legislation, and protecting what matters to us all along the way. I wish there were a way to pass a law and end all bad things, but that is not the way it works. Evil will always exist, but we can work in the lives of those around us to integrate people into society and create a sense of belonging. One pattern seems to emerge from the past; whether it be serial killings, suicides, or mass shootings, the people that commit these acts overwhelmingly feel disintegrated from society, isolated, alone, and “other” from those around them. With the prevalence of social media in place of social interaction the main factors that cause negative patterns to develop are only exacerbated. We all need to do the work to keep us all safe, including those that on their own would develop into monsters we could one day hear about on the news.

How can I teach a child to be less racist?First, by BOTH Parents, Grandparents and Family members … NOT or STOP being racist. Not Supporting THOSE that are, or, remaining SILENT whenever Police officer’s Behavior is Beyond the Color of Authority.ACTION By Any Citizen - If / When, you witness”something that doesn’t look RIGHT”, then do these 3 ACTION Step immediately :Use one Mobile phone to Video tape the incident, as it is occurring.Use a 2nd Mobile to call the Non-Emergency Number, and ASK to Speak to “The DESK Sergeant”. Identify yourself, and REPORT what you are witnessing. ASK him or her, if they will send a Watch Supervisor or Commander to the scene, ASAP.Use a 3rd Mobile to Call 911 … REPORT what is happening Right Now. These actions will DRAW a lot of Attention from the Local PD, and they will either Respond to the situation, or Do Nothing. In any Event, THERE is a DEEP Record of the LEO Event’s, in case, it either goes to Court, or invokes a Federal Review for Violation of Civil Rights.THIS ARE 3 STEPS TO END RACISM … It’s a good start, but it’s Not all we can do as American’s that SHOULD have THEIR ‘Moral Compass” in the “ON-Position”.Anglo RACISM in the US - has “acted” as a Family member in many Southern, and in some Northern families too. Racism has been given Breath for 400 years … Around the Kitchen Table, or, Camp fire on a daily to weekly basis … Never Forget That.Moving on …Edit - This answer is my response to the gross In-Experience and Historical in-accuracy’s and IN-competence of Leda Ianich’s posted answer....The IN-experience of never living in the US, especially the Dixie South, is quite stark in your answers and comments.So, I’m going to Correct you, since you live in Italy, and are clueless about the Black Experience in the US, going back 400 years.Your answer that started with “Knowing good black people helps not to be racist, knowing only black criminals leads to being racist. The fight against racism must be collective and must include good people of all kinds who push you discreetly in the right direction, helping you positively to make the right choice.” … is Simply a WRONGFUL Opinion, that is a complete Failure as an “Added Value” Advice to Other People here..Why? Because of a Legacy History, that unlike Italy, the US was in the Black Slave Trade (Buy, Sell & Trade), for white owners of Southern state(s) Plantations, way before the American Revolutionary War (1770’s).What & When? This all lead to the American Civil War - Between The States (1830’s), in part due to Black Slavery, and the notion for their Freedom from Bondage.How? via an Emancipation Laws, via President Lincoln.Next? The Rise of the KKK, and white Supremacists, who Murdered, Maimed, and Publicly Lynched (hanged), thousands of both Free Africans and Slaves, in the South.The Accomplices of the KKK, and white Supremacists? Local, Public Police Departments, State & County District attorney’s, Federal & State Judges, and ALL white Court Jury’s.Who else was Murdered, Maimed, and Publicly Lynched (hanged), besides Blacks? Great question … Thanks for asking it.Who else included ITALIAN Immigrants, and Jews, Before and After the 1900’s !!!!400 Years of Murders, Maiming, and Public Lynchings of Black Peoples - is NOT in Italy’s History, and never has been.So, how can you ever FATHOM, as well as, UNDERSTAND, as a Foreign white person, about our current JUNE 2020 Protesting Events, across the US, regarding Blatant, Public Racism?It’s very SIMPLE … You cannot, so please Stop posting answers about “The American Experience”, when you have a much DIFFERENT historical AUTHOR in your own country. It only results in removing any modicum of authenticity to your answers.Following the tenant ... “Direct experience is the best of teachers.”, applies perfectly.ANY American, can see that.Caveat - just to be crystal-clear, my DNA ancestry / Family Heritage is Roman, and am NOT speaking on behalf of any African-Americans, as they are quite capable of expressing their own opinions and narratives.As an Italian-American, I’m merely just stating the Historical Facts, that are an important part of our current June 2020 Racial Protest Events, regarding Police Departments history of Brutality and Killings, targeting the Black Communities, across the country.E pluribus unumTBC

This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.How can we stop the school shootings?There isn’t anything that will make mass shootings and school shootings end completely, but there are ways we can decrease the frequency and deadliness of such attacks.Learn from Serial Killings and SuicidesWe have been experiencing a massive drop in the number of serial killings in the US for the past three decades and a drop in the number of serial killers. Much like with “gun deaths”, the US has and still does outpace the rest of the world in serial killings. In some decades the US had about 500 more cases than the rest of the world. In every decade since the 1970s and 1980s the US has cut serial killer activity dramatically.http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/S...As serial killings have decline have mass shootings filled the gap?But this perception [that mass shootings are increasing] isn’t because of some unprecedented rise in the rate of mass public shootings—far from it. They’re roughly as common now as they were in the 1980s and ’90s. And the data offer a stark finding: Over the past decade, mass public shootings haven’t become particularly more prevalent, they’ve simply become deadlier.Mass Shootings Are Getting Deadlier, Not More FrequentWhat we see, thanks to a variety of variables, is (mostly) young disturbed men prefer to become mass shooters and not serial killers. The only difference is fewer are successful in acting out their plans. The general profile of serial killers and mass shooters are remarkably similar as well.Then there is this factor,The media's growing obsession with serial killers in the 1970s and '80s may have created a minor snowball effect, offering a short path to celebrity.The decline of the serial killer.The public eye has long moved on from the serial killer shows and news series of the past, placing mass shooters as the surest road to fame. The news reports have become more detailed, more graphic, and often focus on every aspect of the attacker’s life for weeks to months later. This kind of attention is appealing to those that feel nameless, faceless, and voiceless.This has been a phenomenon the FBI identified after a mass shootings in the 1990s,Ever since Columbine, the FBI has been studying what drives people to commit mass shootings. Last fall it issued a report on 160 active-shooter cases, and what Simons could disclose from its continuing analysis was chilling: To a much greater degree than is generally understood, there’s strong evidence of a copycat effect rippling through many cases, both among mass shooters and those aspiring to kill. Perpetrators and plotters look to past attacks for not only inspiration but operational details, in hopes of causing even greater carnage. Emerging research—including our own analysis of the “Columbine effect“—could have major implications for both threat assessment and how the media should cover mass shootings.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterFrom a recently foiled shooting we can see pretty clearly the media attention is a pretty big deal, shooters are motivated by fame, and that they do learn from past shooters. From the journal of a foiled shooter,“I’ve been thinking a lot,” he added, according to the court records. “I need to make this shooting/bombing at Kamiak infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count.“I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings) I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don’t make the same ones.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/n...In addition to a shift in media attention we have also been experiencing a shift in general culture. We know with the advent of social media people have become more isolated and lonely, as well as instilling a preference for instant gratification. It would make sense that deranged people would gravitate toward instant results, but this is a topic I have not seen much research on.Just like with serial killings suicides decreased after media attention was severely curbed. Suicide research provides a pretty clear model of “behavioral contagion”, which may be at play with mass shootings as it most likely was with serial killings, emphasis mine,The media affords the opportunity for indirect transmission of suicide contagion, the process by which one suicide becomes a compelling model for successive suicides.1,2 This means of influence is potentially more far reaching than direct person-to-person propagation. Suicide contagion can be viewed within the larger context of behavioral contagion, which has been described as the situation in which the same behavior spreads quickly and spontaneously through a group.3 Behavioral contagion has also been conjectured to influence the transmission of conduct disorder, drug abuse, and teenage pregnancy.4,5 According to behavioral contagion theory, an individual has a preexisting motivation to perform a particular behavior, which is offset by an avoidance gradient, such that an approach-avoidance conflict exists.6 The occurrence of suicides in the media may serve to reduce the avoidance gradient—the observer’s internal restraints against performing the behavior. Social learning theory also provides a foundation on which aspects of suicide contagion may build. According to this theory, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling.7 Imitative learning is influenced by a number of factors, including the characteristics of the model and the consequences or rewards associated with the observed behavior.8 Consequences or rewards, such as public attention, may lower behavior restraints and lead to the disinhibition of otherwise “frowned upon” behavior.9http://www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/bioethics/nyspi/material/SuicideAndTheMedia.pdfTo me the case looks pretty clear; some troubled people turn into monsters but now have shifted from serial killings to mass shootings in step with the shift in media attention and society in general. Media coverage is an important motivator for most shooters; it allows them to address a perceived wrong in front of the entire world, immortalize their name, and ensure the entire world knows all about their life. Past trends in serial killings and suicide show media restrictions can save lives.Dr. O'Toole, who is Editor-in-Chief of Violence and Gender, calls on the media to stop using the names of mass murders, which only fuels their desire for fame and is "a very powerful motivator," Targeted mass killings can be preventedMental Health ReformMental illness is often cited as the primary motivator in a shooting, but that is a flawed sentiment as there are obviously other motivators. If it were truly due to mental health issues alone mass shootings most likely would be completely random and not planned. Mental health issues are a contributing factor, but not the factor as many make it out to be,In an analysis of 235 mass killings, many of which were carried out with firearms, 22 percent of the perpetrators could be considered mentally ill. Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Mental Illness After Parkland ShootingIf a minority of mass killings the attacker was found to have some sort of mental illness. Why does it seem mental health is such a big deal? We need to understand the motivations of the attackers in order to find any kind of predictable factors. Experts have researched this topic extensively,Although some mass shooters are found to have a history of psychiatric illness, no reliable research has suggested that a majority of perpetrators are primarily influenced by serious mental illness as opposed to, for example, psychological turmoil flowing from other sources. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/appi.books.9781615371099The major issue with mental health reform as a primary mechanism against mass shootings is that mental health is completely voluntary.Even if mental health services are free that does not mean individuals who need them most, from society's perspective, will seek the services out. In fact, the mental health disorders that are most prevalent in violent individuals typically push those individuals away from help if left on their own. Anecdotally, someone in my extended family has some mental health issues that clearly damage the well-being of themselves and their children, but not to the point where Child Protective Services or law enforcement can intervene. This individual refuses to accept help, even though others have offered referrals and to pay for the services. No one can force mental health services on anyone until there is a breech large enough for the legal system to intervene. Oftentimes in the case of a mass shooter the individual is a loner and has no one to advocate for them and do not have any breeches that warrant investigation or intervention by the legal system.When these individuals are forced to use mental health services in many cases it is not like a medical procedure that operates separate of the will of the individual, and prescription drugs alone are not a solution. Psychotropic drugs have actually been shown to increase destructive behavior and the severity of the destructive behavior in many cases. The individual must necessarily want to be better in order for any treatment to be effective. Mental health is also a process, it is not a silver-bullet instant fix. Even if an individual is getting help they may still be a risk to themselves or others at any point during the process; once someone begins to get help that doesn't mean they are immediately fixed and peaceful. In fact, in many cases people become more irate and agitated by facing their issues and giving up destructive coping mechanisms throughout the process. I think many people have a deep misunderstanding of mental health; it isn't like yoga where you go for an hour and feel peaceful and relaxed afterward. Sometimes it works out like yoga, but in some cases it can be deeply unsettling and uncomfortable, but it is required to get to real long-term healing. For severe cases that justify the use of prescription drugs it's as simple as not taking the medication and you now have an individual that is on par with someone that has never had any help.We do need to increase mental health care in the United States and that may decrease the number of cases of violent crime, including mass shootings, but that is a difficult argument to make at this point. I do not believe better funded mental health services will end mass shootings completely, especially if it is viewed as the singular silver bullet fix, but I do believe it will benefit society as a whole. Mental health access in conjunction with other points here can help through a multi-layered approach to help reform people and shift them to a better path, but even that is not foolproof.InterventionWhat we find in the past profiles of mass shooters are preexisting motivations, consistent with the behavioral contagion theory in a previous section, that are obvious “warning signs” after the fact. The problem is there are too many people that have these warning signs that are adequately deterred by a number of conditions for these “warning signs” to have any predictive value. In addition, the actions law enforcement can take against the individuals that display such “warning signs” is quite limited until a breech that is serious enough is committed. In some cases this breech is simple assault, theft, or other petty crimes that could be called “cries for help” or otherwise emotional outlets, in the most rare of cases it is a mass shooting attempt.What can we do about this? We need to be involved as a community with our youth and those in our lives. Parents, family, friends, we are all the first line of defense for a safe society. We know the troubled people in our lives more than anyone else, and we are in positions to not only monitor them but intervene in their lives. We can help them find the help they need to keep their issues from escalating, if they will accept help and want to face their issues. The profile of mass shooters usually includes isolation and estrangement from family, lack of friends, and so on so this isn’t always possible, but it does help us as a society and may reduce the escalation of issues that lead to mass shootings.This idea has been tested and it has worked to a degree, but it is a constant effort,The threat assessment team had to decide just how dangerous Ayala might be and whether they could help turn his life around. As soon as they determined he didn’t have any weapons, they launched a “wraparound intervention”—in his case, counseling, in-home tutoring, and help pursuing his interests in music and computers.“He was a very gifted, bright young man,” recalls John Van Dreal, a psychologist and threat assessment expert involved in the case. “A lot of what was done for him was to move him away from thinking about terrible acts.”As the year went on, the team kept close tabs on Ayala. The school cops would strike up casual conversations with him and his buddies Kyle and Mike so they could gauge his progress and stability. A teacher Ayala admired would also do “check and connects” with him and pass on information to the team. Over the next year and a half, the high schooler’s outlook improved and the warning signs dissipated.When Ayala graduated in 2002, the school-based team handed off his case to the local adult threat assessment team, which included members of the Salem Police Department and the county health agency. Ayala lived with his parents and got an IT job at a Fry’s Electronics. He grew frustrated that his computer skills were being underutilized and occasionally still vented to his buddies, but with continued counseling and a network of support, he seemed back on track.The two teams “successfully interrupted Ayala’s process of planning to harm people,” Van Dreal says. “We moved in front of him and nudged him onto a path of success and safety.”But then that path took him to another city 60 miles away, where he barely knew anyone.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterIntervention works until you stop working at it. Combined with mental health services and the coping skills they can provide intervention and social engagement goes a long way. Sometimes that intervention goes beyond logical discourse, referring to mental health services, and caring. At that point law enforcement must step in,[A]uthorities say that Cathi O’Connor contacted police after reading entries in 18-year-old Joshua Alexander O’Connor’s journal.Grandmother Stops Teen Who Was Allegedly Planning a School Shooting“This is a case where the adage ‘see something, say something’ potentially saved many lives,” Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman said late Thursday in the statement. “It is critically important for community members, to include students and parents, to remain observant and immediately report odd or suspicious behaviors with our children or with fellow students. We were fortunate that a family member believed there were credible threats and contacted law enforcement for further investigation. I’m sure the decision was difficult to make, but fortunately, it was the correct one.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/15/a-would-be-shooter-tossed-a-coin-to-pick-a-school-police-say-his-grandmother-foiled-his-plan/?utm_term=.c4f8a8bf1ab5Law EnforcementIn recent shootings many have placed the blame squarely on failures in law enforcement. Multiple tips were not followed up on, but that doesn’t mean we should stop reporting suspicious activity. To make our communities safer from all kinds of crimes community policing is the answer, as shown in New York City, which has experienced a steady drop in crime to all-time lows,The NYPD credited the stark reduction to its new precision policing approach to fighting crime, in which investigators focus on people who have shown a pattern of committing crimes.In March, several NYPD units, including the department’s detective squads and vice, narcotics, gangs and organized crime investigation divisions, were given new bosses — an “investigative chief” in each patrol borough. The chiefs, in turn, report to Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, officials said.The overhaul — which dismantled the department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau, placing its units under Boyce’s umbrella — has been credited with reducing the number of shootings across the city, officials said.NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016Who could have guessed targeting career criminals would decrease crime? Oh yeah, criminologists,In an email, Pfaff pointed out that Monday’s data matched what scholars already knew. “Crime has always been highly localized,” Pfaff said. “Studies in several cities have shown that about half of all reported crime occurs in under 10 percent of all city blocks, and almost all crime in under half. And those ‘at risk’ blocks remain fairly constant over time. So talking about crime in ‘the U.S.,’ or ‘Illinois,’ or even ‘Chicago’ has always been somewhat misleading.” What the FBI's Latest Crime Report Really ShowsBut New Yorkers knew this already,It’s a very small percentage of the population in New York City that’s involved in crime,” O’Neill said in an interview with the Daily News in September. “If the same cops are there every day, they know who the good people are — which is the vast majority of them. ... It’s going to have a real effect on what goes on. NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016The move to effective policing not only results in lower crime and more lives saved it also frees up resources to conduct more on-the-ground investigations, the lack of which led to the failures by law enforcement in recent shootings. Generally, the community knows who the problem people are and can point police in the right direction. Why don’t all areas use community policing? Many can’t because a career in law enforcement is not appealing, so getting local applicants isn’t really an option. In some areas the local populace feels victimized and abused by law enforcement and so they have a deep level of distrust. This decreases the effectiveness of police and builds up an attitude of “us vs them”, also called police militarization.When people in authority abuse power, trust and connectedness to a community erode. "It leads to a breakdown of that which holds society together," Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told us. "It's that sense of connectedness that has always been such a powerful part of Chicago neighborhoods."When Chicagoans don't trust police, the city suffersJustice officials make the case that building trust and combating crime will be intertwined. "For Chicago to find solutions — short- and long-term — for making those neighborhoods safe, it is imperative that the City rebuild trust between CPD and the people it serves, particularly in these communities," the report says.Chicago police use excessive force, scathing Justice Department report findsSo what does all this have to do with mass shootings? The more connected a community is with police and the more trust that exists the easier it is for police to do their job and the more likely they will do a better job of it as well. As we saw in the example of the grandmother calling on her grandson, the ability to pick up the phone to call the police, and feel safe doing so, goes a long way. If you suspect something call on it; see something, say something.We certainly don’t make it easy for law enforcement to do their job in many cases. The background check system is our most important law enforcement tool in terms of controlling access to guns. Federal gun control legislation in the context of mental health relies on this question on the background check form: “Have you ever been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?”. That would leave out quite a few mass shooters of the past, and did not stop others. Here’s the real problem, though. Even with the laws in place they cannot be effectively enforced,There are an estimated 3 million living Americans who have been involuntarily committed to mental institutions. The NICS database only contains the names of about 90,000 of these individuals. There are only 17 states that provide information on involuntary commitment for inclusion in the NICS database. Many of the noncompliant states simply have not computerized their records on involuntary commitment. However, a large number of the noncompliant states are also grappling with serious health-information privacy issues and are reluctant to provide the required data to NICS before these issues are resolved.Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, mental health records may only be released to medical professionals, health insurance workers and quality-control personnel. Ohio’s attorney general has not yet determined how to gain access to the medical records needed to process CCW applications. Because Ohio has a relatively new CCW law, sheriffs are being asked to assist temporarily in checking courthouse records for involuntary-commitment orders. This exercise is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. It’s also unlikely to produce all of the information needed to verify the accuracy of answers provided on Ohio CCW permit applications.Although federal and state laws establish involuntary commitment as a prohibiting factor for gun purchases, mental health professionals contend that there is no scientific basis for this prohibition.According to Dr. Paul Applebaum, vice president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “checking for involuntary commitments…doesn’t make sense because past mental illness does not predict future violence.”Mental Illness And Gun Ownership - Guns & AmmoWe could take recent events and use it as a rallying cry against law enforcement, but we really need to stand by our law enforcement officers and find ways to help them do their jobs better because our safety is not their job, it’s everyone’s job. We also need to look at some of the gaps and ineffective policies in the current laws we have to make them more easily enforceable and more effective at getting the results we want.ResistanceMetal detectors, harsh punishments for infractions, and general education are all great, but will not stop attacks. These measures all have flaws that can allow an individual to slip through the cracks and do not matter to a motivated monster. The only measure that will save lives when all the preventative measures have failed or been completely skipped over is immediate overwhelming force. Overwhelmingly mass shootings have taken place in gun-free zones. Whether it is the gun-free zone policy that impacts the location picked is up for debate; there is usually a primary motivator beyond just the gun-free zone status, such as some kind of injustice, but with the recently foiled shooting plot we do see a clear case that the location was picked for “maximum damage”. Regardless, making it easier to kill doesn’t help the people in those situations. Armed resistance is a simple way to save lives.This can take many forms. There is the idea of arming school teachers (or simply allowing them to be armed) that are willing or have already become licensed and trained to carry a firearm. Some teachers have already taken the necessary training and licensing to carry a concealed firearm in public, but cannot carry inside the school building. What makes them fundamentally unfit to carry a firearm in a school building when they are deemed fit to carry a firearm in public, sometimes around the same children that are in the school? If the concern is due to a firearm on the teacher’s person there is the idea of securing a gun safe in the room with access to the teacher and an administrator. In the case of a shooting accessing the firearm does not change the lockdown procedure.Since some deem teachers inept and fundamentally too incompetent to carry a firearm upon entering a school building there is the idea of external security, such as security guards. The idea of employing veterans to do this has been tossed around as well. School Resource Officers can be found in some schools but not all, so some argue we should apply the same protection to each school, employing a SRO for security and general order in the school.Each of these ideas have backlash, but the idea is sound. Responding police have the luxury of waiting in safety for backup (and have in many cases in the past), despite going against protocol. When you are faced with an attacker you have to respond, being armed gives you one more tool to respond with, otherwise you are limited to running and hiding and cannot help anyone but yourself.There are many instances where armed resistance has stopped a shooting. Most of the stories are not as well-publicized as the “successful” mass shootings, most likely because they don’t have the same ability to keep viewers (and sell ads).How an Assistant Principal With a Gun Stopped a School ShooterOpinion | Do citizens (not police officers) with guns ever stop mass shootings?These examples are often ignored or even worse said not to exist in the first place. The arguments against immediate armed resistance are head-scratchingly fuzzy, such as Mother Jones arguing because an individual may be wounded or killed by the attacker they should not have the ability to shoot back at the attacker and instead it would be better to be wounded or killed while unarmed or that in some cases the responding individual was a security official or ex-military/LEO. These cases clearly show armed resistance acting immediately can save lives, it doesn’t matter who makes up that resistance. There is also the argument individuals should not be armed because in one case,it was “not clear at all” whether the kid had intended to do any further shooting after he’d left the building.I don’t believe “the kid only killed the people he wanted to and left” is a good reason to keep people that are licensed, trained, and willing to carry firearms from being able to do so.Armed resistance also presents a deterrent effect, although we can’t really measure this effectively for any topic. One of the interesting shifts in programming around serial killers was a move from “we’ll never catch them”, “cold cases”, “mystery murder” shows and news programs to “how we caught them” shows. The messaging changed from “serial killers can’t be caught” to “serial killers will be caught”, changing the way people feel about serial killers, including those that may have considered doing it themselves. This created a deterrent effect that we really can’t quantify. The issue with mass shootings is the attacker is usually motivated enough to not care about dying or actually wants to die, but we also know mass shooters are cowards. We can’t quantify and compare the “coward quotient” compared to the motivation to conduct a shooting, but the potential benefit from armed resistance remains: lives saved.The SolutionThere is no single silver-bullet fix to end mass shootings or school shootings. We need to do the hard work of building up and maintaining a stable and peaceful society. That means being active in our communities (especially with youth), improving access to mental health services outside a mental illness diagnosis, supporting our police, calling for effective evidence-backed legislative policies and not “feel good” legislation, and protecting what matters to us all along the way. I wish there were a way to pass a law and end all bad things, but that is not the way it works. Evil will always exist, but we can work in the lives of those around us to integrate people into society and create a sense of belonging. One pattern seems to emerge from the past; whether it be serial killings, suicides, or mass shootings; the people that commit these acts overwhelmingly feel disintegrated from society, isolated, alone, and “other” from those around them. With the prevalence of social media in place of social interaction the main factors that cause negative patterns to develop are only exacerbated. We all need to do the work to keep us all safe, including those that on their own would develop into monsters we could one day hear about on the news.