An Introduction to Active Shooters
An active shooter is an individual who is actively involved in killing or intending to kill people situated in a populated confined place. Law enforcement and the civilians have the potential to determine the outcome of the scenario depending on how they respond. Most active shootings are premeditated with time before their occurrence. The active shooters demonstrate unusual behaviors and are said to experience a variety of stress. The active shooters focus on assaulting and harming people whom they come across, the intention is to cause bodily harm as an expression of hate. Active shooters events are unpredictable and evolve quickly because the active shooter situations are over within ten to fifteen minutes before the law enforcement gets on the scene. The active shooters mostly use firearms and have no method of selecting their victims. Active shooters are not what they are biologically, but some factors drive them in being what they are. There are myths and misconceptions about the active killers, which make it difficult in understanding what models the active killers. My position is, active shooters become what they are because of their unique personal traits, the five stages of becoming a shooter, and some motivation drivers.
The Increasing Level of Active Shootings
The level of active shooting is increasing with time. In 2017 the toll of deaths in attacks was high. Fifty-eight people died, while hundreds were injured in Las Vegas, twenty were killed and twenty hurt in Texas. Statistics have shifted both in the number of deaths and attacks. There were twenty active shooters in 2016 that claimed eighty-three lives. The highest number of fatalities was recorded in 2012 where ninety people lost their lives. The findings of a two-year report about active shooting essential details were revealed. In 2017 there were 30 active shootings and twenty in 2016, 2010 was close to last year because there were 26 cases (Capellan and Joel, 395-413). One hundred thirty-eight people were killed and 583 injured in 2017 in the incidents of actual shooting, the number of deaths fluctuates each year. The shooters in 2016 and 2017 were men, who worked all by themselves but in past reports in 2015 and 2014, there were forty-two shooters including three women. The attacks in 2016 and 2017 were ended in many ways. The police killed eleven gunmen, thirteen committed suicide; eighteen were taken into custody by police officers, and eight were stopped by citizens (Gould et al., 9-20). In some cases, active shooters were reported, six incidents occurred in Texas and Florida happened in Florida and California. It was found that shooters don’t discriminate on the place of their attacks. One attack took place in a mall, seven in schools, two in churches, three in government buildings and many more happened in businesses and workplace, and some incidents happened while the shooter was driving a car. The rising number of active shooting calls for research on what models the shooters in becoming killers. It should be established whether it's biological, something in mind or something influential in the living environment.
Understanding the Mind of Active Shooters
In understanding what makes the active shooters what they are, personnel should be in a position to understand what is in the minds of the killers. The intentions of an active shooter are the expression of rage or hatred rather than the financial gains or motives of other types of crimes. Police tactics of negotiation and containment are an inadequate response to the active shooting. The active shooters are often suicidal; they don't attempt to hide their identity since they rarely escape from the police. Inside the mind of the active shooters there exist three things. Firstly, there is a psychotic individual; this condition explains that the person has lost contact with reality and they have difficulty in distinguishing between the truth and the reality. Psychotic people are not usually violent, but a set of individuals were implicated in shootings like in the incident of Jared who killed the United States representative Gabrielle and harmed others in Tucson (Daly and Sarah, 1-15). In the mind of the shooters, there is a sociopath or psychopath disorder, the person disregards the rights of others. They appear charming, but they are manipulative, irresponsible and prone to emotional outbursts. Finally, in the mind of an active shooter is depression and fascination, these conditions alone cannot motivate the person to commit vengeance act of violence that harms innocent lives, the terms together with a triggering incident like expulsion from school or firing from work can be a motivation. The thing in the minds of the active shooters defines who they become.
Five Stages of Becoming an Active Shooter
There are five stages that one goes through to become an active shooter. The first stage is the fantasy stage; the killer has daydreams of the shooting (Kissiner and Jason, 48-58). They fantasize about the news coverage and idolize the other shooters and might even draw images of the attack and post on the web. At this phase, the shooter may discuss their desires with friends, and someone can share the information with the law enforcement team to prevent the happening of the fantasy. The second phase is the planning stage, and the shooter thinks who, what, where, and how the event will happen. The plans can be put down in writing; the plans will not be disclosed to people. The time and location are planned to ensure they target specific victims. The active shooters select a site for the tactical advantage; they choose a place and have detailed plans for the attack. Weapons to be used are identified and the process of acquiring them. Transporting to the location is put into consideration, the manifestos are hateful and intent filled will impact the length of sentence, depend on the appropriate venue. If the plans are found before the attack lives can be saved. Preparation phase is almost similar and closely related to the planning stage. The items needed are gathered for the success of the plan. The shooter may buy or steal essential tools required for the planned killing and destruction. At this stage, people can note the suspicious behavior of the shooter. The fourth stage is called the approach phase, and it gives an opportunity for alerting the police and citizen because the killer to be is almost reaching the target can be stopped before they get there (Daly and Sarah, 1-15). Finally, here comes the implementation stage, the killers are going for the highest score at this stage immediate, efficient and effective courageous action is needed even while unarmed many potential victims respond by fighting back. The active shooters are who they are because of the plans they make via the five stages explained above.
Unique Personal Traits of Active Shooters
Unique character traits make the active shooters what they are. Most of the killers are believed to have anti-social personalities and have trouble getting along with other people. They are unwilling to socialize with workers and schoolmates. The antisocial personality isolates themselves from other individuals (Mezar et al., 238-248). The character upsets other people and creates an uncomfortable environment. Victim mentality revolves around the active shooters, they don't take responsibility for the mistakes they make, and they tend to blame others. The tendency of shrinking responsibility while holding other people responsible is an indication of trouble. The shooters have controlling personality traits; they are control freaks in that a small change or issue upsets them. They command the environment at most times, and altered routines make them furious because they believe they are superior to other people and when they feel to have lost control they can try to regain their power dangerously. Most of the shooters have difficulty in holding jobs, and they have unsettling traits. The inability to maintain a position for a long time is a sign that something is not right. Another feature of an active shooter is strange behavior such as uneasiness, and this happens due to lack of social skills (Gould et al., 9-20). These individuals also have unhealthy habits, and some neglect their hygiene, engage in drug abuse and roll in the office late. The sign should be taken in the context of the workplace. The active shooters have violent thoughts, the statements people make, and the behavior they display can tell a lot about an individual. For instance, if someone celebrates the incident of mass shooting, they don't have goodwill for the lives of other people. The other character of the killers is that they have persistent anger; they usually throw tempers by swearing, crying, yelling, and use over-emotional language. Finally, they have extreme paranoia, and they have the wrong perception that other people are trying to harm them. A small thing makes them undermined and mistrustful. The above character traits model the active shooters.
Motivation Drivers of Active Shooters
Massive shooters have a wide range of factors driving them to their actions. Most are seeking fame and infamy. The desire for fame is a motivation that influences human behavior, mostly lousy behavior. Celebrity is considered the ultimate form of prestigious bearing success, and this makes people kill in pursuit of being glorified and seeking fame (Metlz et al., 240-249). Perceived rejection and negativity motivate the active shooters, the shooters are rejected, and they decide to demolish the people who wronged them and act in revenge for the way they are treated. Mental factors motivate the modern era active shootings, and this includes the horrific events in Orlando Florida, Las Vegas among others (Daly and Sarah, 1-15). A history of failure is a motivation in active shooting, and successful people do not commit revenge no matter what kind of grudge they hold. The active shooters seem to have experienced a long-term failure making life miserable. The externalization of blame drives a person to kill; they don't take responsibility for their failures. Access to deadly weapons, the shooters may have access to guns and also have the skills of using the gun. They might decide to practically apply the weapon on the people they hold a grudge against. Vengeance motivation is the common reason for killing; the active killers view themselves as victims of injustice. They seek evening what they think is unfair treatment by targeting those responsible for the misfortunes; the people punished maybe innocent family members, friends, employees, and even the bosses. The factors explained are what make the active shooters what they are.
Myths and Misconceptions about Active Shooters
There are myths and misconceptions about the active shooters. People believe that the killers have low self-esteem. A researcher stated that narcissism is always present in shooters, not low self-esteem. The truth is that the killers have extreme high esteem and can't fit in the world where they are handled and treated commonly. The shooters tend to think that they deserve unique, high attention and praise. Narcissism together with the public grievances laid the foundation for the demand of care and respect and failure in getting it a shooter pursue it via violence (Bushman, 227-239). Another misconception is that shooters decide to commit the crime knowingly, while they may experience it is an inevitable result of actions and conditions outside of their control, the truth is that active shooters subject may experience planning process as something that has been happening to them. There is this myth that a shooter will make threats on targets, most active shooters don't give specific risks that might include time, purpose, method, and location of their attack (Metlz et al., 240-249). Some people also believe that drugs influence dangerous shooters' behavior; there is very little connection between medicine and this type of violence. Finally, there is the myth that the attacks come from nowhere, the media make these statements while the truth is just because a particular individual is not in a position to detect the cautioning signs, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The myths and misconceptions confuse people in the process of knowing what makes the active shooters what they are.
Biological Explanations and Research
There are no biological explanations of what makes the active shooters what they are; therefore, biological factors do not make the active shooters what they are. What scientists think is sheer speculation or wrong since a science of mass shooting doesn't exist. Most of the scientists believe that severe mental disorders drive active shooting. The scientists have not yet come about with relevant information about active shooters. Mental illness requires scrutiny; and it is not linked with the aspect of being violent (Doherty and Mathew, 9-17). However, shooters were assigned with mental illness before performing the attack. There is a wide gap in biological research about the active shooters and scientists are recommended in carrying out the studies.
Conclusion
Primarily, active shooters are persons who intend and kill people in a densely populated place. Many drivers influence the killers in becoming what they are. They possess some unique characters like being antisocial, furious, and irresponsible. The shooters undergo through five stages in becoming what they are. The five stages involve plans and fantasy among others. The reasons that make the active gunmen kill are diverse, including seeking fame and access to weapons. There are myths and misconceptions about active shooters, like the belief about the low self-esteem in active shooters. Science has not researched the issue of active shooting, but they believe that it is fueled by mental illness. We can precisely say that active shooters are made what they are by their traits, the five phases in planning an active shooting attack, and some external factors that motivate active shooters.
Works Cited
Bushman, Brad J. "Narcissism, fame seeking, and mass shootings." American behavioral scientist 62.2 (2018): 229-241.
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Daly, Sarah E. A comparative analysis of active and mass shooters and events. Diss. Rutgers University-Graduate School-Newark, 2017.
Doherty, Matthew. "From protective intelligence to threat assessment: strategies critical to preventing targeted violence and the active shooter." Journal of business continuity " emergency planning 10.1 (2016): 9-17.
Gould, Madelyn S., and Michael Olivares. "Mass Shootings and Murder-Suicide: Review of the Empirical Evidence for Contagion." Media and Suicide: International Perspectives on Research, Theory, and Policy. New York, NY: Taylor " Francis (2017).
Kissner, Jason. "Are active shootings temporally contagious? An empirical assessment." Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 31.1 (2016): 48-58.
Mazer, Joseph P., et al. "Communication in the face of a school crisis: Examining the volume and content of social media mentions during active shooter incidents." Computers in Human Behavior 53 (2015): 238-248.
Metzl, Jonathan M., and Kenneth T. MacLeish. "Mental illness, mass shootings, and the politics of American firearms." American journal of public health
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