Mass Murders:Mass murder is the killing of multiple people during a single event and includes mass shootings and bombings (Morton, 2005)
Mass murder is the killing of multiple people during a single event and includes mass shootings and bombings (Morton, 2005). A spree killer has multiple victims and may have multiple locations, but the events occur in a very short period and in close proximity (Morton, 2005). Mass murder is intentional, but often the choice of victims is indiscriminate, although mass murders are often associated with specific locations, such as a school, mall, or religious center.
Mass shootings, according to Berkowitz, Lu, and Alcantara (2018), are shootings of four or more people by a single shooter (although a few cases involved two shooters). The shootings cannot be tied to other types of crimes, like it being gang-related or part of a robbery, and it cannot have taken place exclusively in a private home. Most shooters carry more than one weapon, and many of the weapons were obtained legally (Berkowitz, Lu, & Alcantara, 2018), which is one reason mass shootings are a catalyst for discussion around gun control in the United States (another reason is that the number of mass shootings is increasing).
The first modern mass shooting was at the University of Texas (1966) by Charles Whitman, who killed 16 people from a clock tower on the campus. He had also killed both his mother and wife in their homes the previous night. The most deadly mass shooting to date is the Las Vegas shooting that took place in 2017 during the Route 91 Harvest music festival. Stephen Paddick killed 59 people and injured 851 in less than 10 minutes. Law enforcement found 12 AR-15 rifles, 10 AR-10 rifles, and a revolver in his hotel room. It is thought that he shot more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition.
Mass bombings are more common internationally, especially among terrorist organizations who employ suicide bombings as a common means of accomplishing their goals. As with mass shooters, bombings target a location, often a crowded place like a market, religious building, or event like a concert, but the victims are not specific targets. Many of the most notable bombings internationally are associated with ISIS and other extremist groups. However, in the United States, the largest mass bombing was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which killed 169 people, including 15 children who attended day care on site, and damaged 324 other buildings in the blast. It was the worst intentional mass bombing to date in the United States. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were anti-government extremists seeking revenge for the Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge incidents.
Compensation for families or victims of mass shootings or bombings would come through the normal victims’ assistance programs that have been discussed in previous modules. Many mass shooters are killed during the shooting incident and few shooters or bombers ever go free because of the massive media focus on the event. Some, like Timothy McVeigh, receive the death penalty if that is an option in the jurisdiction in which they are tried. Others will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was the location of one of the most tragic mass shootings in U.S. history. On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother in her home. Then he drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first graders and six adult staff members. In the end, 28 people, including the perpetrator, were killed. It is one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history and is among the five most deadly mass shootings. Image: Sandy Hook Elementary School shortly after the shooting. Authored by: VOA. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Police_at_Sandy_Hook.PNG. License: CC-0
Mass murders are not committed just by individuals. State-sponsored mass murder includes the killing of protesters, mass executions, and genocidal massacres. The 20th century is full of mass murders, including cases in Rwanda, Bosnia, Angola, Iraq, and Cambodia, along with the infamous genocides committed by the Nazis during World War II and Stalin in the Soviet Union. Other examples of mass killings include the My Lai Massacre by the United States during the Vietnam War, the Nanking Massacre by the Japanese Army in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Wounded Knee Massacre at the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in 1890. State-sponsored massacres often involve a military force killing a significant number of unarmed civilians, often for political gains for the government. According to Querido (2009), the potential for mass murder against civilians is similar to what could also lead to a civil war. Ethnic minorities in a country are particularly vulnerable to becoming the targets of mass murder because they are often already perceived as a “problem group” and tend to lack political and social power to protect themselves (Querido, 2009).
Although we often think of genocides and state-sponsored mass murder as something that happens “elsewhere,” the history of the United States is littered with examples of state-sponsored mass murder, specifically against Native Americans. Wounded Knee, shown in the image above, is but one example of the U.S. military killing large numbers of unarmed civilians. Other examples include the Buffalo Gap Massacre, Alma Massacre (35 dead), and the Stronghold Massacre (75 dead). Image: Wounded Knee Aftermath. Authored by: Trager & Kuhn. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wounded_Knee_aftermath5.jpg. License: CC-0
Victims of state-sponsored mass murder have little recourse. Because massacres are often associated with other types of internal issues, many victims have to wait until there is some form of peace and stability in the country in order to begin the process for justice and compensation. There are some avenues within the international courts, with the International Criminal Courts having taken on cases for Bosnia and Rwanda, but these need to be brought by other nations, not by individuals or organizations, making it difficult at best to get justice, let alone any assistance to help those who were victims and their families.
As with serial killers, mass murder, regardless of its form, leads to the perpetrators being the focus of both research and the media. This is true even in the case of state-sponsored mass murder, where we hear about Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and Mladic, who were the leaders of their countries when mass murders occurred. Victims are rarely named or described outside of memorials (assuming there is one for the victims) partially because of the sheer number of victims, but also because there is such a great fascination with why someone would choose to become a mass killer.