Q1) My initial reaction to the data presented on U.S mass shootings from the article.
I am shocked at the increasing number of mass shootings in the US, as presented in the data. Besides, the number of fatalities seems to be increasing in recent years. For example, between 1999 and 2015, the number of fatalities ranged between 5 and 14, with only two outlier cases. One is the mass shooting that happened in Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, killing 32 people, and the one that happened in Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, Connecticut, in December 2012, killing 27 people.
Between 2016 and 2017, however, the number of outliers seems to have spiked considerably. Two deadliest mass shootings were reported in the two consecutive years, one on Orlando Night Club, Florida, where 49 people died, and the Las Vegas Shooting in Nevada, where 58 people died (Abdalla, 2018). The Sutherland Springs Church, Texas mass shooting, which killed 26 people, and the Majorly Stoneman Douglas High School, Parklands, Florida shooting, which left 17 people dead, cannot be ignored. Based on these statistics, it is evident that the number of fatalities from mass shootings is increasing at a high rate.
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Q2) Do similarities exist in mass shooting incidents?
Yes, a lot of similarities could be viewed from the list of mass shootings. For instance, the least number of people who have ever been killed in a mass shooting is four. Besides, the number of fatalities resulting from mass shootings in most of the incidents range from 4 to 17 (Abdalla, 2018). This is probably caused by the short period that mass shooters have to accomplish their goals. Therefore, it is right to assume that the offenders in the outlier incidents that saw 32, 27, 49, 58, and 26 people died had a lot of time in their hands to accomplish their objective. This probably resulted since law enforcement officers did not counter the incident on time or the victims were in close proximity hence offering the perpetrator an easier time to commit the crime.
Another similarity is based on the age of the victims. Most of the mass shootings that have caught the media's attention and the public happen in learning institutions and entertainment joints. These two places are usually frequented by children, adolescents, and young adults. Therefore, it is safe to believe that children and young people represent most fatalities when mass shootings happen. Also, almost half of the weapons used in the mass shootings were obtained legally, with the AR-15 rifle being used in most mass shootings (Abdalla, 2018). However, the main question regards how the perpetrators get hold of the weapons, considering that most of the offenders are below 18 years. Even more worrying is that the offenders carry out the offenses with weapons belonging to an adult within their circle, mostly guardians.
Q3) Should mass shootings be a relevant concern for homeland security officials and policies?
Yes, mass shootings should be treated as a threat to homeland security, just as terrorism. In 2019, the US marked the 20 th anniversary of the Columbine High School Shooting, where two perpetrators killed 13 people and subsequently committed suicide on April 10, 1999. More than 20 years later, the US has not solved the issue of mass shootings within its borders (Lopez, 2019). Since 2015, about one mass shooting happens daily. In 2019, 115 people were killed and 318 others injured in 91 mass shootings within 109 days. The number of mass shootings keeps increasing since the Department of Homeland Security does not treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
The federal government also portrays laxity in dealing with mass shootings. For example, when a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan attacked a crowd of people, killing eight, President Trump responded immediately and termed the issue a threat to homeland security. The president associated the attacker with the ISIS terror group and urged the Department of Homeland Security to develop an “extreme vetting program” (Watson, 2018). However, when a lone gunman, Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 people in a mass shooting in South Florida, the president did not indicate the need for the Homeland Security department to deal with such culprits. I believe that mass shootings should occupy the center stage when making policy decisions about security problems in the US. Mass shootings are a serious security concern that will cause havoc in the future US if not effectively addressed now.
References
Abdalla, Z. (February 20, 2018). List of mass shootings since Columbine massacre. The Villanovan. http://www.villanovan.com/opinion/list-of-mass-shootings-since-columbine-massacre/article_be837bb6-16ae-11e8-b9dc-bfbfd95854b5.html
Lopez, G. (April 20, 2019). 20 years after Columbine, America sees roughly one mass shooting a day. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2019/4/19/18412650/columbine-mass-shootings-gun-violence-map-charts-data
Watson, K. (February 19, 2018). Should we rethink school shootings as a homeland security threat? CBS New. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-school-shootings-be-prioritized-as-a-national-security-threat/
