Tag Archives: psychopath

Are These People the Next Mass Shooter?

19 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in Crime, Government, Gun control, Health, History, Internet, Mass Shootings, Medicine, Mental Health, Politicians, Politics, Social Interactive Media (SIM), United States, Violence in the Workplace

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Are one of these people in the picture below, the next mass shooter? According to gun extremists, law enforcement should already know who will be the next mass shooter by his or her behavior. The idea that we can stop the person before they pick up a gun based on behavior is absurd.

Are one of these people the next mass shooter?

Lots of Potential Killers, But Are They Real Killers?

A 2008 study determined that 1.2% of a random sample of people tested high enough to be considered potential psychopaths. In the United States, that means that there are about 3.876 million psychopaths. Do we lock all of them up to stop the mass shootings?

What about those who post hateful things on social media? Do review everyone’s post and lock up anyone who posts something that could be construed as an indication of violent behavior? How many trillions of dollars would it take to monitor all of social media and act on anyone who is suspicious?

What about tips to law enforcement? Florida Governor Rick Scott demanded that the FBI director resign because one call was made to an FBI tip line about Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people at a South Florida High School last week. Of course, his accusation had nothing to do with his support of Donald Trump. Governor Scott conveniently ignored that the Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said in a news conference that in regard to Cruz, they had received:

…20 calls for service over the last few years …

Florida Broward Sheriff Scott Israel

Do we lock up people if someone calls law enforcement? Can anyone make an accusation about someone and have him or her locked up on just a tip? What about the worst shooting? The shooter in Las Vegas gave no warning signs. It seems he was killing for pleasure just because he had a lot of guns.

The Solution

Assault-type rifles were banned in 1994 and the Republican Congress allowed that ban to lapse in 2004. The five worst mass shootings have occurred since the ban ended. There is only one solution. Eliminate easy access to weapons of war.

Mass Shooters Not Criminals Before They Picked Up A Gun

18 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Crime, Government, Health, History, Mass Shootings, Medicine, Mental Health, Politicians, Politics, US History, Violence in the Workplace

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Gun extremists like to portray the perpetrators of mass shooters as known criminals that should have been identified and stopped. That is a damn lie. Like millions of people in the United States, mass shooters often have anti-social behavior and/or involve themselves in hate-filled social media posts. Almost all of those people will not become a mass murderer. None of the mass shooters are identified as criminals until after they have picked up a gun and killed people.

Here is a list of the 20 worst mass shootings and indicators of instability prior to their crime:

TABLE 1.0 Worst 22 Mass Shooter Events in the USA

Millions of People Are Mentally Ill, Only a Few Kill

In some of the instances listed above the mental illness was known but was not an accurate predictor of the actions taken by the perpetrator. Almost all of the perpetrators were U.S. citizens, male, had easy access to guns, and/or was obsessed with gun ownership.

The five worst events have occurred after the ban on assault rifles was allowed to expire in 2004. Half of the top 22 mass shootings have happened in the last 18 years and the other half occurred in the 50 years prior.

More Guns, More Deaths

The simple fact is the explosion of gun ownership in the past three decades has resulted in an explosion of gun deaths. We are not safer now than we were 50 years ago, and while the funding for mental illness treatment is a factor, if guns weren’t easily accessible, the mentally ill would not have the opportunity to use them.

There are only three mass shooting events among the top 22 where the guns were not legally obtained. In two cases the guns were obtained because the criminal records of the perpetrator were not on record as they should have been. In the Columbine High School shooting, the two teenagers used friends to buy them guns. The other 19 events were people who had easy, legal access to the guns and if they hadn’t had that access, I wouldn’t need to write this article.