Mass killings are often a family affair
Mass killings are often a family affair
By Fredreka Schouten,, Meghan Hoyer and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY
More than 900 people died in mass shootings during the past seven years, and a majority of them were killed by people they knew, according to a USA TODAY analysis of gun-related slayings.
The 934 deaths account for less than 1% of all gun-related homicides, and 40% involve a suspect slaying a family member, the examination shows. USA TODAY combed through FBI records and news accounts to identify 146 mass shootings since 2006 that matched the FBI definition of mass shooting, where four or more people were killed.
A separate analysis of 56 mass shootings since 2009 provided to USA TODAY by a group of mayors promoting gun control reaches similar conclusions. More than half -- 57% -- of cases examined by Mayors Against Illegal Guns involved domestic violence. The group, co-founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is made up of more than 850 U.S. mayors.
"Mass shootings … are the tragedies that capture the public's attention. But every day, 33 Americans are being killed, mostly with handguns and distressingly often, by a family member or intimate partner," said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
The new data come as policymakers attempt to address gun violence in the wake of the Dec. 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Public revulsion over the massacre has spurred Congress to weigh a renewal of the federal assault-weapons ban and consider other gun-control measures.
The mayors' group, which has joined other gun-control organizations to push for sweeping changes to federal and state firearms policies, views extending background checks on all gun buyers as a key tool in reducing gun violence. The goal is to reach private gun sales not covered by the current system, which applies only to federally licensed dealers.
The plan is opposed by the National Rifle Association.
Although they account for just a minuscule share of all homicides, mass killings occur about once every two weeks. More than three quarters involve a gun.
In all, 934 people have died in mass shootings over the past seven years, the USA TODAY analysis shows. In the 71 shootings that involved someone killing a family member, 376 victims died. Most were killed at home. Dozens more were killed by acquaintances, neighbors and co-workers.
The mayors' study also notes that just three of the 56 incidents examined by their researchers took place in schools or colleges.
The USA TODAY analysis included all the events in the mayors' study, but also dozens of others.
FBI homicide records, supplied by local police, are incomplete and do not include cases from states such as Florida, which the newspaper added to its study.
Experts say finding the right policies to end the violence is hard.
"The only consolation is that it is a rare event," said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2013-02-22-Mass-shootings-a-tiny-minority-of-gun-killings_ST_U.htm