NCJ Number
172681
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Dated: November 1997 Pages: 317-337
Date Published
1997
Length
21 pages
Annotation
One hundred six incidents of mass murder that occurred in public places in the United States during 1965-95 were studied with respect to the characteristics of the offenses and the murderers.
Abstract
Data were collected from accounts in newspapers in 11 major cities. Newspaper accounts were used due to the lack of detail in other sources such as the Supplementary Homicide Reports. The 106 incidents involved 139 offenders; each event involved at least three homicides. Examination of the accounts revealed that 12.2 percent of the offenders sought revenge against specific persons. An additional 12.9 percent of the offenders targeted a specific location for revenge, but not specific persons. A total of 7.1 percent were also motivated by anger, but chose targets that were essentially diffuse and often convenient. Some of these murderers targeted particular categories of people. Five percent of the offenders initiated the homicide event against family members or a romantic interest. Other mass murders resulted from an immediate conflict, gang situations, and terrorism or other political motivations. The largest category of mass murders was felony murder,involving 36 percent of the offenders. Findings did not support the stereotype of mass murder as a random act committed by an insane person. Instead, most of these homicides involved sane offenders who had identifiable motives and did not target random victims. Most important, mass murders varied greatly in circumstances and motivations. Further research should focus on mass murders in other settings and on the role of the media in the formation of stereotypes about multiple murder. Tables, notes, and 28 references