shoot

843 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Factors explaining case study of mass murderers

Khadijeh Hamad Soc 221-02 Dr. Marnia Lazreg Sandy Hook Shooting Newtown,Connecticut experienced one of the deadliest school shootings in American history on December 12th 2012. Over the course of 10 minutes, 20-year-old Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and fatally shot 20 children, 6 adult staff members followed by his own self imposed death. This tragic event has spurred countless inquires into, how could somebody do this and what causes these types of events to transcend. Most cases of mass shootings are often classified into two types of causes. The first one interprets the event as an act of revenge. The suspect seeks retribution from those they believe have wronged them, and do so in a violent expositive manner. Often being explained as the person just "Snapped". Another reason is cognitive issues. Claiming that the person holds some mental illness, that renders them unable to regulate their behavior, but also prohibits them from complying with societal norms and thus they react unwittingly violently. There are common characteristics shared among mass shooters. They are typically young Caucasian males in a rural community, who have experienced some feeling of social insignificance. Mass shootings typically end with the suspect being killed by the cops(cop suicide) or committing suicide. While theses classifications do play a role in some mass murders, we find that the societal factors experienced by the shooter are imperative in providing us a deeper understanding of why so many lives were lost on December 12th 2012 and on many other occasions. The theories of French sociologist, Emile Durkheim provides us with a better understa... ... middle of paper ... ...ration. Claiming that "society's pressure to conform to its immoral value system could make any living creature snap, and perhaps commit a mass shooting to express their outrage"(CITE NEWSWEEK). And on December 12th 2012, thats exactly what Adam Lanza did. Fueled by paranoia and social isolation, which transformed into a deep hatred of a society that he believed was manipulating him, Adam Lanza went outside and "expressed his outrage" in horribly violent manner. No longer influenced by societal norms, he killed children who he believed were destined to be apart of the "sick immortal society" and the adults who help create such a community. After expressing his outrage, all that was left was a deranged individual, with weak social ties. Explaining the ultimately Egoistic Suicide. However even after his death Lanza, created a state of anomie.

Show More
Related

  • Gun Control And Suicide Rates

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    have shown the firearm homicide and suicide rates in the US are several times higher than that of any other industrialized country” (Towers 2). The automatic reaction people have to mass shooting is talking about gun control and mental illness policies. Every time a mass shooting occurs both the people and the government go crazy trying to find a solution yet there is no solution. The United States needs to set up mental illness awareness programs to decrease the number of mass shootings.

    Read More

  • The Documentary: Mind Of A Rampage Killer

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    As typical human beings we all want to know why someone could randomly take the lives of several innocent people all at one time. It is frightening and scientists figure if they can figure out why, then it can be prevented in the future. The documentary, Mind of a Rampage Killer, tries to solve the mystery and really dive deep into the minds of people who could potentially create such a horrifying situation. Through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, this documentary concludes that every killer had something in common; they all struggled with mental disorders, depression, or outbursts of violence, all stemming from early childhood or an internal battle throughout growing up, some could have even just been born with a violent rage.

    Read More

  • Raising Adam Lanza Summary

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Frontline documentary Raising Adam Lanza, reporters Alaine Griffin and Josh Kovner from “The Hartford Courant” investigate the possibilities that prompted Adam Lanza to commit the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza didn’t leave behind a trail. Lanza didn’t leave a diary, wasn’t socially involved (had no friends), and destroyed his computer that many believe have the answers as to what induced his character to murder 20 children, six adults, and his own mother.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Crucible Vs Sandy Hook Shooting

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sandy Hook is an elementary school in Connecticut that was invaded by a shooter, Adam Lanza. Twenty-eight people were shot and killed, twenty of them being children between the ages of five and ten. Before Lanza arrived, he shot and killed his mother who was a teacher at this school. The article was published the day of the shooting to the Washington Post. The article was written announce what had actually happened during this tragic event. The article was directed towards parents with kids and adults to inform everyone on the catastrophe and to hopefully make schools as safe as they could possibly be. Additionally the author also states that this is not the right time to try and discuss the gun control laws.

    Read More

  • Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    The deadliest school shooting to have ever happened in the United States at a high school or grade school, happened less than two years ago. On December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza, who was twenty years old at the time, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, four times and then brought firearms to his former grade school Sandy Hook Elementary, and fatally shot twenty children and six adults. Then the shooter put his own gun to his head and fatally shot himself. All of the children were between the ages of six and seven years old, and all six adults who were shot and killed were females who worked at the school. Lanza's father believed that if he were there himself, his son would have had no trouble shooting and killing him too.

    Read More

  • The Psychology of School Shooters

    1993 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but only in cases of self-defense and hunting for food. However, the use of guns has drastically changed since 1791 when the amendment was implemented. Today, guns are not solely used in their intended ways. Since 2010, over eighty-seven school shootings have occurred within American grade schools, high schools, and universities, resulting in approximately 107 injuries and 109 murders of innocent students. The two most deadly shootings in the world occurred in the United States: the Virginia Tech University Massacre which left thirty-two dead and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left twenty-eight dead. Each new shooting prompts a debate about gun control laws and leaves citizens wondering about the accessibility of guns; any United States citizen over the age of twenty-one that does not have any previous felonies is able to easily receive a gun license. Forty-nine out of the sixty-one school shootings that occurred between 1982 and 2012 legally obtained firearms. The statistics become even more outstanding: seventy nine percent of all shooters have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disability, including the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza. Cho and Lanza were diagnosed with mental illnesses and disabilities, depression and autism, respectively. Even so, they were still able to acquire the guns they needed because extensive mental health background checks did not and still do not exist; Cho purchased his own weapon and Lanza stole his mother’s guns. Although the case studies of Lanza and Cho are only two out of the many school shootings, they should be considered prime examples to illustrate the necessity to add stri...

    Read More

  • Media's Role in Mass School Shootings

    2224 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the deaths of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, the rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention, leading to a push to find the cause of these events.

    Read More

  • History of School Shootings in US

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the world recovers from recent school shootings, people wondered why these events have occurred. They are focused on drug use, violent society, video games, bullying, and mental issues to try and explain an unexplainable event. The idea that a person would shoot others for little or no reason gave little relief to the survivors.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Shootings

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is a sad time in American history when one can easily recount recent school shootings in their own area. This ease stems from a sharp increase in the number of firearms brought into elementary and middle schools across the country, with an intense focus on the issue beginning after the shooting of 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Most school shooters are male, white, and often upper middle class. They are also more, often than not, under some type of mental stress that is causing them to create this type of violence in our communities. In fact, many school shooters are never suspected of doing any harm to their peers and teachers until it is much too late.

    Read More

  • We Must Work to Prevent Mass School Shootings

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although no one can be entirely sure what motivates teens to commit mass shootings, there are theories that must be examined to develop solutions. One theory states that there are ten factors that contribute to the likelihood of a teen committing murder. These factors include an unstable home life, being bullied at school, obsession with violent entertainment, being suicidal, involvement with drugs or alcohol, involvement with gangs or cults, and mental illness. Usually at least four of these qualities are present in homicidal teens (Khadaroo). While many of these causes stem from home lif...

    Read More

  • Serial Killers and Mass Murderers

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    If a mass killer’s murders are committed in more than just a single location, then they are part of a continuous action (Murder 1). Their victims are usually chosen at random, not just killed at first sight. Their targets may also come in specific groups. More than occasionally, a mass murderer will take his own life after his urge to kill is over. This is possibly because authorities recognize the killer is unstable and are likely to shoot the killer in order to protect themselves. A typical mass murderer uses a semi-automatic weapon and plots his murders to be made in a school, university, or restaurant (murder 1).

    Read More

  • Mental Illness And Gun Violence Essay

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    They suggested that not only mental illness but other factors such as social relationships, firearm access during emotional moments etc also lead to gun violence. However, they failed to cite this with strong facts, numbers etc. Reports suggest that up to 60% of executioners of mass shootings in the United States since 1970 displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their crimes[4,5]. In another article “Rates of Household Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988–1997”[6], the authors emphasized on the “association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide across the United States, by age group”. In this analysis, they failed to take gender, mental health and other factors into consideration which helps more to analyze that which type of people (mentally ill) and/ or which gender are doing these cruel

    Read More

  • Gun Violence in America

    1787 Words  | 4 Pages

    On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza, a 20 year old with asperger’s syndrome, shot his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut . According to the final report by the states attorney’s office he got in the school at 9:30 AM in the morning and shot the principal and the school’s psychologist that went out to the hallway to check loud bangs they heard. He then moved on to class rooms where innocent children were learning and started shooting and by 9:40 AM, just ten minutes later, he took the lives of twenty six people, including twenty children age twelve and below and six adults, before taking his own life (State Report on Sandy Hook Elementary shooting).

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of School Shootings

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    On April 16th, 2007 Cho had created one of the most deadly school shootings in America. ( "Virginia Tech Shootings Fast Facts." CNN.) It was unfathomable to think that in the close future, America would encounter many more detrimental school shootings. This is including the shooting of elementary students in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza had shot and killed 27 children and faculty. Lanza had been known to have significant health issues that had kept him from living a normal life. (Sanchez, Ray, Chelsea J. Carter in Atlanta, Yon Pomrenze in New York, and The CNN New York Bureau Staff. ) Both of these shooters had killed themselves shortly after their attacks. School violence has become a nation-wide issue.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Mental Illness And Gun Violence

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the past years media has been overwhelmed with news about mass shootings happening around America and if mental illness is the primary cause of the violent act. On February 2014, Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish published their article “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” in the American Journal of Public Health that addresses the issue that mental illness has very little to do mass shootings which is commonly used on the aftermath of the shooting

    Read More

More about shoot

Open Document