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The Hidden Factors Behind A Mass Shooter

Ever since the early 2000s, school shootings have steadily increased, with 783 attacks occurring in this timeframe.¹ With these statistics on the rise, it raises the question of what influences this phenomenon of mass shootings. Looking towards Sandy Hook will reveal some answers as this tragedy became a turning point with the first elementary targeted in a shooting it reopened the discussion over the need for more gun legislation. In the study, “Understanding the Factors”, the authors suggest five factors: Personal, Group, Community, Sociopolitical, and Ideological characteristics behind the causes of mass shootings with a handful being connected to socioeconomics.² The authors believed that certain conditions influence an individual to commit mass crimes since most mass shooters tended to exhibit these commonalities. Understanding what can influence these attackers can help identify individuals in need of help to minimize future victims of such tragedies.

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What Might Cause People to Lose Their Humanity?

While the community in which perpetrators live is not necessarily a decisive factor, it influences those who become mass shooters. The social environment and relationships of the perpetrator within the community, whether online or in person, can make a difference.³ It is common to find online platforms, like Steam, Reddit, and Discord, used for malicious conversations for these killers. When it comes to school shooters, they tend to target one of their prior schools. The Sandy Hook offender experienced mental health instability early in his life, yet he did not get support from his social environment. He isolated himself in online forums with a social group that influenced him to plan the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary, that he had attended.⁴ The social circle of any individual does shape each of us, whether in positive or negative ways. Neglect present early in life with no intervention can cause individuals to slip further into despair. When we miss opportunities for intervention, this opens more possibilities for an individual to explore killing as an option.

Additionally, the ideological beliefs an individual holds serve to justify their actions. Many of these ideologies are influenced by socioeconomic situations that an individual experiences, which is discussed later. School shooters are seen to have radical beliefs to justify their attacks by dehumanizing individuals, such as Nazism which is present within at least 7 of these killers. Psychologist Peter Langman proposed that these radical ideologies are latched onto to support their fragile self-identity.⁵ In other cases, psychotic breaks influence the mind of the killer into rationalizing their actions. The Sandy Hook mass murderer had exhibited radical beliefs on top of a psychotic break that drove him to kill. Events early on in his childhood later revealed his dehumanizing ideals and could have foreshadowed his future psychotic break. Understanding the signs of these factors can help prevent future shootings from occurring. Ideological beliefs that can provide the best sign will be examined in a later section.

 

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Can We Enter the Thinking of These Perpetrators and Their Perspectives?

Demographic and socioeconomic factors of perpetrators add to their psychology. Understanding these ‘Personal Factors’ uncovers the most commonalities between mass murderers. The similar psychology of school shooters comes from trauma and subsequent mental health issues. Bullying tends to be common among the shooters which presents the highest impact when compared to other countries. Mental health challenges, erratic mood swings are present in 54% of shooters.

Other pressing mental ailments include depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.  The Sandy Hook shooter showed signs of a mental health decline through his poems where he revealed his negative self-image through his descriptions of being an ‘ugly loser’. On top of this, his psychotic tendencies were revealed much earlier in childhood through his book filled with images and narratives based on macabre and graphic death drawings.⁶ There were many signs of Sandy Hook’s killer’s mental health decline, yet none of the help he received effectively prevented the mass slaughter of victims.

External events and social networks also influence mass murders.  They yearn for the admiration from previous shootings to the point of obsession with the Columbine shooting being ‘credited’ by many killers. The fixation would lead shooters to congregate online to find other like-minded individuals to befriend.⁷ These online platforms fuel their morbid obsessions while providing a sense of community. For instance, Sandy Hook’s killer became increasingly isolated after graduating high school, investing his time and efforts online nurturing his morbid fascination with mass shootings even creating a spreadsheet of data of the topic.⁸ He spiraled further when he joined a chat forum full of admirers of the Columbine Shooting and this became his only source of interaction to the ‘outside world’. This network of individuals validated his urge to kill and convinced him to perform atrocities .

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Is There a Solution to This Cycle of Violence?

While seemingly, this cycle is never-ending, solutions to fight against this growing problem exist. Advocacy makes the biggest contribution following tragedies with outspoken leaders like Kimberly Rubio, a St. Mary Alumna, fighting for change after the Uvalde school shooting that robbed Kimberly’s family of her young daughter, Lexi.

In addition, there are also non-profit organizations, such as the Sandy Hook Promise, that posts regularly on diverse social media to share information and educate on the prevention of school mass shootings. Furthermore, advocates visit educational institutions to bring awareness and increase safety and discuss options with school leadership, while also assisting students to become community leaders. The program has grown with 26.5 million participants nationwide and always looks for volunteers.⁹

Professionals are combating this is through legislation as well. After the tragedy of Sandy Hook, legislators started proposing bills, however, many of them started taking effect after 2020. The Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act was signed into law recently in 2021 to implement and expand suicide prevention training with victims who have evidence of intention.¹⁰  On top of this, reforms for gun control and gun violence are pushing through legislation, such as the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that expanded background checks by broadening the restrictions and new criminal offenses.¹¹

While most legislation targets gun reform, Texas has effectively resisted all such attempts. Governor Greg Abbott signed an act for at least one armed security officer to be at each campus. This action has professionals debating whether such a this solution can be effective. Many of these legislations have recently been enacted, requiring time to assess the long term positive effects if any. The new climate after the elections leaves the importance of what the nation’s leaders will do to protect the educational system with the hope that the tragedies will never repeat.

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“Those Who Cannot Remember the Past are Condemned to Repeat It.” – George Santayana.

The Sandy Hook Promise organization has recently paid homage to the surviving students of Sandy Hook who graduated this year in 2024. These students graduated without their peers but with trauma that will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. This tragedy has harmed the town of Sandy Hook.

 Despite the new reforms, the topic of mass shootings and killers also came with a new side of misconceptions. Each factor combined can influence an individual, yet people still believe these factors are a cause-and-effect relationship. It is important to note that these factors are a more complex connection that should be analyzed rather than one single cause. Professionals tried to pinpoint one thing to be the reason for mass shooters like video games, communities, and trauma. This regressive mindset leaves much room for understanding to avoid repeating history. The fight for change and improvements in school safety has followed the path of growth as the number of shootings has exploded. People are not only fighting for change in Connecticut, but also very close to us here at home in Texas, whether in Houston, Dallas, or Uvalde.

Another similar shooting took place on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. 21 victims, 19 students, and their 2 teachers were slaughtered. One of the victims being Lexi Rubio, the daughter of St Mary’s University alum, Kimberly Rubio. Ms. Rubio has advocated for school safety reforms since the death of her daughter. The mass shooter from Uvalde revealed many signs of his unfortunate plans to copy Sandy Hook’s events. His mental health had been declining, had posted his plans on social media, and demonstrated a radical mindset within his community, and his obsession with violence was tracked by the FBI. Despite all the clear signs of the five factors, history repeated itself. Lexi Rubio and the other 18 students flourished with life. However, on the day Uvalde Elementary celebrated her success by giving her an award, her life was cut short. Ms. Kimberly Mata-Rubio stood up with courage through her pain and grief to speak out at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024

“She wears a St. Mary’s sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room […] 30 minutes later, a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers. We’re taken to a private room where police tell us she isn’t coming home.”

Her voice cracks, her pain overcomes us. Are we hearing the suffering of every parent, teacher, sibling, grandparent, friend, family members, and classmates whose lives are forever shattered following these school shootings? If you or someone you know needs help, please reach out