Gun Violence and Murder Lecture 4 Susantha Rasnayake > 1,096,021 Guns Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock •Do you like to have a gun, if it is allowed in your country • •Why??????????????? Global Scenario Cont… •Particularly prevalent in many South American and Central American countries, •due to either civil unrest or drug lobbies, which battle both law enforcement agencies and one another. •It is also high in several developing countries in Africa and the Middle East. •Finally, gun violence is considered an epidemic in the United States, which leads the world in mass shootings and has the highest levels of gun violence of any developed country by a wide margin. Rank Country Total Gun Deaths Homicides Suicides Unintentional 1 Brazil 43,200 40,600 1,730 867 2 United States 37,200 12,400 23,800 909 3 India 26,500 11,600 13,400 1,540 4 Mexico 15,400 13,800 841 740 5 Colombia 13,300 12,600 595 160 6 Venezuela 12,800 10,900 959 937 7 Philippines 8,020 7,600 183 239 8 Guatemala 5,090 4,430 107 550 9 Russia 4,380 1,670 1,920 785 10 Afghanistan 4,050 3,150 228 667 Top 10 Countries with the most Total Gun Deaths, 2016 https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-violence-by-country Case of the US •20 Americans die by gun violence every day •45% of men own a gun in the US •The second amendment of the US constitution says •“ A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed” •The majority of all homicides in the US are committed with a firearm, a majority are handguns person holding up signage Mass murder •Mass murder is defined as when someone kills four or more victims in one location at one general point in time •The killings may stretch over a period of hours, but they are all part of the same emotional experience (with no cooling-off period) •In general, mass murders take their lives after their rampage •In the US, very frequent in Schools, Universities, and Workplaces •For more information •https://abcnews.go.com/US/mass-school-shootings-history/story?id=17975571 people walking on street during daytime • Connecticut •Twenty children and six staff members were killed in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. •It was the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in US history. •The 20-year-old (Adam Lanza) gunman also killed his mother that day and shot himself after the massacre • • The New York Times •The Gun Violence Archive has counted at least 531 mass shootings so far this year, through mid-October. •The deadliest mass shooting in the country so far this year was the massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. •692 mass shootings were reported in the last year Number of School Homicides for Students Aged 5–18 • Percentage distribution for school-associated homicides for youth 5-18 by location, 2012-13 Boulder mass shooting: 9 civilians killed before officer, slain after, arrived - ABC News •On March 22, 2021, a mass shooting occurred at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado •The alleged shooter, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa Workplace shooting Incident Fatalities Injured Total El Paso Walmart mass shooting (El Paso, Texas, 2019) 22 26 48 San Bernardino mass shooting (San Bernardino, California, 2015) 14 21 35 Atlanta day trading spree killings (Atlanta, Georgia, 1999) 9 13 22 United States Postal Service shooting (Edmond, Oklahoma, 1986) 15 6 21 Standard Gravure shooting (Louisville, Kentucky, 1989) 9 12 21 Excel Industries mass shooting (Hesston, Kansas, 2016) 3 14 17 Virginia Beach municipal building shooting (Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2019) 12 4 16 Lockheed Martin shooting (Meridian, Mississippi, 2003) 7 8 15 Buffalo supermarket massacre (Buffalo, New York, 2022) 10 3 13 FedEx warehouse shooting (Indianapolis, Indiana, 2021) 8 5 13 Planned Parenthood clinic (Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2015) 9 3 12 Hartford Beer Distributor shooting (Manchester, Connecticut, 2010) 9 2 11 Trends in mass killing, 2006-2020 • Trend of mass killing incidents by type, 2006-2020 • • Characteristics of Mass Killing Offenders What are the characteristics highlighted ???? •Causes of Mass Murder •PiE Our Approach | Seeds of Hope Causes of Mass Murder •Easily accessible weapons •Cyber Abuse/Bullying •Environmental Impact •School environment-50 of teenagers believe schools are becoming more violent •Increasing the number of students in gangs by 24% •Neglect and abusive family life > Blood stained world map - Royalty free World map - Stock map photo Homicides by Weapon Type, 1980–2008 • Firearm Homicides, 2010–2014, by Type of Gun y types of guns, 2010-2-14 • •Case examples •Doug Williams—who eventually went on a workplace killing rampage—was a known racist and often taunted and threatened African American employees at the Lockheed plant where he worked. In fact, many of his coworkers had predicted that he would one day do something terrible. • •Matthew Beck, who killed four of his superiors at the Connecticut State Lottery, had filed a grievance contending that he was being assigned jobs outside of his work classification and that he deserved a raise. Just days before his killings, he told coworkers that he planned to sue the lottery. Larry Hensel was given various warnings about his inappropriate comments and rants about religion and politics, and when layoffs were forced on the company by hard economic times, Hensel was let go Guns, Culture and Violence •Gun remains a part of US history, pride, sport shooting, hunting, slavery, personal protection •Some collect various types of guns as a hobby •Gun owners prefer to have a variety of guns •White males prefer to own a gun than women and nonwhite males •Follow the links •https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxGrsxpcqeA •https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPb0f9wCwQ •https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/06/22/americas-complex-relationship-with-guns/ > Hunters with German Shorttip Pointer - Royalty Free Hunting - Animal Sporte Stock photo Do increases in gun availability actually lead to more violence •Many research demonstrate that they do •For example, one study found that increases in gun density did increase the rate of robberies with guns and the rate of robbery homicides •Also, studies found that the presence of a gun in the house greatly increases the likelihood of successfully attempting suicide •Some have argued that, instead of increasing rates of violence, guns allow citizens to protect themselves against predatory criminals Hyper individualization •The real culprit in explaining mass murder can be found in society itself and in a trend that has affected almost everyone. During recent years, there has been an eclipse of community, a dwindling of the social relationships—family ties and neighborliness—that had protected former generations of Americans from succumbing to disaster. . . . For too many Americans who suffer, their misery has no company (Alvarez & Bachman, 2017) More talks, little actions- lack of political will •Gun regulation is a hot political debate in the SU senate from time to time •But little success is achieved •Federal government and states follow various regulations •“After the rash of shootings in the fall of 2006 at Amish school, the White House held a conference on school safety on October 10, where many topics were discussed, including metal detectors, school bullies, the value of religious beliefs, and good communication between parents and schools. There was not one mention by the panelists or from President Bush of guns or gun control •(Alvarez & Bachman, 2017) •“We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future.” •https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence •Gun control is frequently debated after a mass shooting like school or workplace shooting, but the debate rarely leads to action •This inaction motivated President Obama to enact a series of executive actions designed to help reduce gun violence. The actions are really quite modest with the most significant actions being the following: •1 Provide “federal guidance” that seeks to clarify who is “in the business” of selling guns; the goal is to increase the number of “private sellers” who must run background checks. •2. Provide funds for the FBI to hire new examiners to process background checks to prevent delays. •3. Provide funds to research smart gun technology. •4. Provide funds to improve mental health care • • • Gun regulations •People who have been convicted of crime, which sentence is over one year •Fugitives for justice •People addicted to illegal substances •Illegal immigrants •People subject to restraining orders Gun Images – Browse 854,020 Stock Photos, Vectors, and Video ... Offender and offense characteristics of a nonrandom sample of mass murderers by A G Hempel , J R Meloy, T C Richards (N=30, In Canada and the US) •Research findings •such individuals are single or divorced males •Suffered from anxiety disorders ( such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder) and personality disorders •The mass murder is triggered by a major loss related to employment or relationship. •A warrior mentality permeates the planning and attack behavior of the subject •Alcohol plays a very minor role. •20 percent directly threatened their victims before the offense. •Death by suicide or at the hands of others is the usual outcome for the mass murderer. Number of executions 1976-2015 Discussion •Do you think the death penalty is a suitable method to control homicide ??? • •THANK YOU