A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Active Shooters

This chapter examines biographical information about the shooters in the context of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. By using a qualitative approach to search for patterns and themes, this study offers a comprehensive evaluation of the presence or absence of many important factors that are found in the reporting of active and mass shooters. Rather than focusing on one major contributing factor, this chapter describes a number of factors, offers descriptive, specific accounts about individual shooters, and organizes a wealth of information from over 1200 news articles, books, and journals into a concise study for future research and evaluation.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Bioethical Analysis of Healthcare Professionals' and Healthcare Institutions' Moral Obligations During Active Shooter Incidents in Hospitals — A Narrative Review of the Literature

Active shooter incidents (ASI) have unfortunately become a common occurrence the world over. There is no country, city, or venue that is safe from these tragedies, and healthcare institutions are no exception. Healthcare facilities have been the targets of active shooters over the last several decades, with increasing incidents occurring over the last decade. People who work in healthcare have a professional and moral obligation to help patients. As concerns about the possibility of such incidents increase, how should healthcare institutions and healthcare professionals understand their responsibilities in preparation for and during ASI?

Are the Deadliest Mass Shootings Preventable? An Assessment of Leakage, Information Reported to Law Enforcement, and Firearms Acquisition Prior to Attacks in the United States

This study examined the 15 deadliest public mass shootings in the United States from March 1998 to February 2018 to assess (a) leakage of violent thoughts/intent, (b) leakage of specific interest in mass killing, (c) concerning behaviors reported to law enforcement, (d) concerning interest in homicide reported to law enforcement, and (e) firearms acquisition. We then compared our findings on the deadliest public mass shooters with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) findings on active shooters in general. Overall, the results suggest that most incidents were indeed preventable based on information known about offenders in advance, and that the deadliest mass shooters exhibited more warning signs and were more often reported to law enforcement than other active shooters. Future prevention efforts should aim to educate, encourage, and pressure the public to report warning signs to law enforcement, educate and train law enforcement so that they can more effectively investigate potential threats, and limit firearms access for people who have admitted having homicidal or suicidal thoughts or being interested in committing a mass shooting. These relatively straightforward steps could significantly reduce the prevalence of future attacks.