SOCI 3410 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13,14&20: Federal Assault Weapons Ban, Serial Killer, Mass Shooting
14 Jun 2018
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SOCI3410 Week 5 Reading Notes
CHAPTER 3: THEORIES OF MULTIPLE HOMICIDE
*Refer to Week 3 Reading Notes
CHAPTER 13: FOR LOVE, MONEY, OR REVENGE
Relative Obscurity
• Julio Gonzalez case (Happy Land murders) obscure bc…
o Crimes committed against members of minority groups receive same level of
attention or interest as those affecting White, middle-class Americans
o Many believe arson associated w mass murder in the way that guns are
o Mass killing/massacre rather than a serial murder
• Factors responsible for uneven attention to serial murder > mass murder
o Massacres pose much of a challenge to law enforcement agencies
▪ Mass killers typically found at crime scene, killed or ready to surrender
▪ Perp welcomes his arrest or suicide, having achieved his mission through
murder
▪ Mass killing may be used as cover up for other criminal activity
• Ex. 7 ppl murdered in Chicago restaurant in 1993, motive =
robbery
o Massacres generate same level of public fear & anxiety
▪ Though catastrophic, is a single event
▪ May be widespread horror, but little anxiety
o Limited availability of primary data
▪ Many mass killers survive… doubts re: motive & state of mind
o Cannot compete w sensational character of serial murder
▪ Sensationalism plays a critical role in level of interest
Trends in Mass Murder
• Associated Press’s year-end poll of news editors placed mass shootings as leading news
story of 2012
• Possible reasons behind the rise of mass murder:
o Number of schizophrenics going untreated
o Expiration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban
o Americans not armed & ready to overtake an active shooter
• Moral panic & sense of urgency surrounding mass murder fueled by various claims that
mass murder was reaching epidemic proportions
o Ex. Mother Jones news organization reported surge of incidents & fatalities of
mass shootings from 1982-2012
• Mother Jones data was inaccurate
o Reflected a fairly restricted range of cases (i.e. shootings by lone gunman in
public places not involving robbery)
o Database assembled from archived news reports
o Overlooked fair number of incidents
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SOCI3410 Week 5 Reading Notes
• FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) provide official data on mass murders (by
firearm & other weaponry) in which 4+ victims killed by 1+ assailants
o SHR part of FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program
o Offer fairly good picture of trends in mass killings over past 4 decades
• Mass Murder Incidents by Weapon, 1976-2016
o Annual average of 28 mass murder generally & 20 for those involving firearm
o Slight increase in number of incidents in recent years
o Trajectory accounted for by increase of population
o No increase in incident rate per 100 million pop.
• Mass Murder Victims by Weapon, 1976-2016
o Spikes in victimization traced to few cases w extreme death tolls
o Large spike in non-gun victimization stems from 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
o More modest spike corresponds to NY’s Happy Lands massacre by fire
o Mass shooting victimization risen in recent years mostly due to large death tolls
associated w the 2012 shooting sprees at the Colorado theater + Sandy Hook
• Facts illustrate clearly that there has been no significant increase in mass shootings & no
epidemic, only largely random variability in annual counts
• The public’s fear, anxiety & widely-held belief that the problem is getting worse has
increased
o Perception linked to style & pervasiveness of news-media coverage
o Today, the American public can watch live coverage of mass-shootings on TV
• Emotional impact of Sandy Hook slaughter intensified by immediacy of news reports
Profile of Mass Murderers & Their Crimes
• Mass murder:
o 4+ victims
o 1+ assailants
o Single event, lasting from a few min to several hours
• Most publicized type of mass murder = indiscriminate shootings of strangers in a public
place by lone gunman
• Other kinds of mass killing = more common
o Ex. disgruntled employee who kills boss & coworkers after being fired
o Ex. estranged husband/father who massacres his entire family then kills himself
o Ex. racist hatemonger who sprays schoolyard of immigrant children w gunfire
• Motivations for mass murder can range (i.e. revenge, hatred, loyalty, greed)
• Victims can be selected individually as members of a particular category/group or on a
random basis
• ~ 1/3 of mass murders reflected in the SHR involve weapons other than firearms
o Some of the largest incidents have been perpetrated by fire or explosives (ex.
Oklahoma City bombing)
• Majority of mass killings are not random or don’t occur in public places
o Mass killings in families or those designed to further some criminal enterprise just
as worthy of discussion re: prevention & response as public shootings
• SHR not completely accurate
o Some cases missing due to a few noncompliant reporting agencies
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
SOCI3410 Week 5 Reading Notes
o Small jurisdictions inappropriately included all homicides for the year in one
record… appears as if there’d been one incident w multiple victims
o Record contains relatively little detail on the cases themselves
• Advantages of the USA Today database
o Most complete collection of mass murder cases over time frame (2006-onwards)
o Broad range of information
▪ Scope of variables incl. host of offender, victim & incident characteristics
o Includes variables addressing more than just basic offender/victim demographics
& weapon info
• Enhanced USA Today database contains info on 317 incidents, 355 offenders & 1600+
victims in the Us from 2006-2016
Characteristics of Mass Murders
• USA Today database features high level of completeness (i.e. case inclusion) & accuracy
(i.e. data quality)
• Not all mass murders are alike re: motivation
• Possible to determine whether massacres differ enough from single-victim homicide that
they ought to be regarded as distinct & separate phenomenon deserving their own
theoretical framework
• Mass Murder Trends by Incident Type, 2006-2016
o Substantial fluctuation in incident counts for all types (i.e. family, felony, public
& other)
o No appreciable increase or decrease over time
• Characteristics of Incidents of Mass Murder
o 30 of the 317 mass killings remain unsolved
o ~90% clearance rate for mass murder > 60% for all US murders
o Majority of solved cases (54%) = family related
o Almost always (89.7%) a private home… victims infrequently survive attack
o 2/3 of incidents occur in small cities or towns
o ~50% occur in the southern states
o Felony-related massacres (>20%) generally designed to cover up robbery or
further some criminal enterprise (i.e. drug selling)
▪ Makes up a sizeable share of unsolved cases… very few victims to testify
▪ >1/3 take place in cities w pop. 250000+
o Public massacres (>20%) = usually solvable
▪ Occur w relatively high frequency in western states
▪ Occur on avg. >6 times/annually
▪ Tend to involve much higher number of casualties (avg. 8 dead, 8 injured)
▪ Large number of ppl at risk (public setting)
▪ Escape routes far more available than in family & felony-related
massacres
• Characteristics of Mass Murderers
o Family annihilators
▪ Tend to be older than mass killers (~70% 30+, ~1/3 40+)
▪ Tend to be White & male
▪ ~50% take their own lives
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Profile of mass murderers & their crimes: mass murder: & weapon info: enhanced usa today database contains info on 317 incidents, 355 offenders & 1600+ victims in the us from 2006-2016. 250000: public massacres (>20%) = usually solvable, occur w relatively high frequency in western states, occur on avg. >6 times/annually: tend to involve much higher number of casualties (avg. & coworkers) based on a clear-cut & calculated motivation: hempel et al. (1999) half of the rampages of 30 mass killers precipitated by problems at work + ~1/4 involved discordant personal relationships. Hermino elizalde killed all himself & all his children to ensure they would not be taken from him, but instead be reunited in a better life after death: ex. Robert mochrie killed his wife & kids then hung himself due things going wrong (i. e. depression, bankruptcy, no more intimacy, autistic children) Patrick henry sherrill killed his supervisor & coworkers after being reprimanded for poor job performance: ex.
