
Most Mass Shooters are Terrorists, Not Mentally Ill
The misperception of gunmen as “crazy” is damaging. Here’s why.
COMMENTARY
There is a common misperception amplified by mainstream media and government officials that people “go crazy” or enter some altered state of consciousness and start shooting. Rather, executing murderous plots such as mass shootings at schools, grocery stores, places of worship, and public events requires a mind that is lucid and capable of producing rational thought, planning, and logical cognitive processing. For example, the
Highly publicized incidents of gun violence certainly impact those who are horrified by its gruesome details, its criminality, and its cruelty. On the other hand, those with malevolent ideas may perceive a different picture: That gun violence is justified and warranted by civilians in some cases. The
It is also important to consider that would-be shooters see what happens when these crimes unfold from execution through legal consequences (if the shooter survives the incident). It may be that the Oxford, Michigan, shooter delivered his preattack messages and
The fact of the matter is that ideology, racism, and perceived injustice trump mental illness in many of these cases. To put it bluntly, racism is not mental illness. Because of our deep-rooted history of mistreating populations of color and the maintenance of these beliefs over decades of American history, there has been a legitimate
We are not saying that some mass shooters are not seriously mentally ill at the time of their violent acts. That is likely the case in some of these horrific events. Some estimates place the number at about
What we are saying is that serious mental illness is not the issue in the majority of these cases. The real problems are easy access to guns, widespread distribution of extremist propaganda and rhetoric, a rise in domestic terrorism, and failure to act by elected officials charged with protecting our citizens. Lastly, quite simply, civilians should not have automatic weapons, and
Dr Norrholm is an associate professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a global expert on psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr Blotcky is a clinical and forensic psychologist in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama.
References
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