Mass shooting contagion

Mass shooting refers to a firearm-related incident occurring in a public setting, resulting in the death of three or more people within one event.[1] Although occurring globally, majority of mass shootings occur in the United States, with 5 of the most fatal incidents in their national history occurring from 2007 onwards.[10] In accordance to contemporary research, the definition of 'mass shooting' is indicated by (1) the perpetrator committing an act of mass homicide in a 24-hour period, (2) use of a fire-arm and, (3) the motive of the shooting having an absence of a political agenda or terrorist-group affiliation.[11] Mass shooting's repeatedly occur in a public setting, however, in recent history, numerous shooting's between 1990–2018 in the United States have taken place in schools.[12] A contemporary study conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that between 2016–2017, fifty active shooting incidents occurred in the United States with approximately 943 casualties (221 people murdered and 743 severely injured), with 20 of those meeting the defining parameters of a 'mass killing'.[7] Mass shootings warrant global concern with recent figures reflecting that, on average, a mass shooting in the United States will occur every 12–13 days, whilst school shootings will frequent every 32 days, however, of these incidents, a mimicked shooting will occur within an estimated 2 week period.[3]

The term "copycat effect" refers to the replication of any violent offence, a sub-categorical theory that is closely related to the study of "mass shooting contagion".[13] Although copycat crime is similarly influenced by media coverage of mass violent crimes, this term refers to the potential for mimicked criminal behaviour.[10] Distinguishing these theories, 'mass shooting contagion' theory indicates that all forms of media coverage of mass homicidal events, such as televised coverage, radio broadcasting, editorial and more recently, social media circulation, have a culminated effect in influencing the rise of these crimes.[3] The copycat effect not only relates to the potential emulation of violent offences, however, is used to describe the mimicking of famous criminals themselves, with aims to receive a similar type of fame and social influence.[10]

The shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 remains one of the most referenced shootings in US history, with studies indicating that an estimated 10,000 articles were published following the incident.[2] Another study found that in the year that the Columbine shooting occurred, approximately 319 stories about the incident were aired in evening news broadcasts.[3] The Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, expressed their desire for worldwide recognition in ‘basement tapes’ recorded prior to the mass homicide, stating that they aimed for “The most deaths in U.S. history…We’re hoping. We’re hoping.”[14] These tapes circulated numerous media outlets, with stations such as CNN airing coverage of the aftermath of the incident for over a 6-hour period.[2] A study conducted in 2015 suggest that the Columbine shooters inspired a minimum of 21 mimicked shooting and 53 attempted plans to commit such an act in the U.S. over a 15-year period.[10]

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting killed 27 people, numerous media outlets covering the event by focusing on the shooter's identity, connections with the school and relationship with family members.[1] The Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was active in online commentary about U.S. mass shootings, posting in forums about his studies into the personality, recognition the mass shooters received, posting spreadsheets of over 500 rampage shooters, with the accompanying caption "my favourite mass shooters".[1] Minutes following the mass shooting, media coverage of the event began.[10] Misinformation in the media resulted in numerous media outlets identified the shooter as Adam Lanza's brother, resulting in the circulation of pictures and video footage sourced from Ryan's social media.[13] Investigations conducted by the FBI's Behaviour Analysis Unit found that the Sandy Hook shooter had begun investigation into active shooters in U.S. history in 2011, with the search indicating that infatuation and primary inspiration for his mass homicide included the Columbine, Aurora, and Virginia Tech shooters.[1]

The shooting of United States Representative Gabby Giffords in 2011 appeared on 19 front-page stories (21.3% of coverage), with majority of these news reports directly referencing the identity of shooter, Jared Lee Loughner.[3] Posting online prior to the shooting incident, the Tucson shooter said "I'll see you on National T.V.!" and continued with "I have this huge goal at the end of my life: 165 rounds fired in a minute!"[10] Although many media outlets published information about the mass shooting and identification of the offender, coverage focused primarily on debate surrounding reforming gun control laws within the United States.[3]

The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting received widespread media attention immediately following the incident, with a death toll double that of the Columbine shooting.[3] A study conducted in 2007 by Pew Research Centre suggests that the Virginia Tech shooting was one of the most broadcast events in 2007 year, despite significant events such as the events leading up to the presidential election in 2008, struggles in the Middle East and Hurricane Sandy. A total of 181 articles were published in the New York Times in the first 30 days following the shooting with numerous media companies, particularly NBC news, broadcasting the gunman's manifesto, leading to much discussion about the impact of violent media, particularly exposure to students.[3] A 2017 study found that 32 perpetrators of mass homicide identified the Columbine shooters as role models in mimicking their attack, whilst the Virginia Tech shooting inspired 8 mass shooting attempts.[10] The rampage shooter of Virginia Tech made reference to the Columbine shooting in his video manifesto prior to the act of mass murder.[14]

The Aurora movie theater shooting in 2012 is recognized as the third most referenced shooting in United States history, resulting in the death of 12 and 58 others severely injured.[13] The shooting instigated the ‘No Notoriety’ movement, with parents of a shooting victim, Tom and Caren Teves pushing for media outlets to limit coverage of homicide events to why and how the crime was committed.[16] Coverage of the shooting focused primarily on gun control laws, with 14 references made towards improving gun control and access policies, found in a total of 12 articles.[13] Despite majority of media focus oriented around gun laws, this type of stricter fire-arm related legislation has yet to be enacted, instead indicating that the broadcasting of this shooting inspired the shooter of Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.[17]