Top Reasons Why School Shootings Occur

The United States of America is currently witnessing a serious increase in the rate of mass shootings, between January and December of 2018, a total of 323 mass murder events have been recorded nationwide.

A study realized by the Harvard school of Public Health revealed that between 2011 and 2014 the mass murder rate has tripled as opposed to other years.

Such an increase in the recurrence of these events pushes to analyze what might possibly be at the root of such dreadful acts of violence. Experts in the field have listed the following possible causes behind mass shootings:

1. The laxity of gun laws

Gun law reform is a key element that could help reduce the rate of mass shootings occurring nowadays.

The ease with which a citizen can purchase a weapon is worrisome. A possible way to remedy this issue would be to create an investigation system, which allows the seller to do a thorough investigation on the customer before he purchases a weapon.

For example, does he have any criminal records, gang affiliations, history of mental illness etc?

1. Mental Illness

Mental illness can also be named as one of the causes of mass shootings. According to a study published on Mother Jones, 38 out of 61 of the mass shooters seen in the last 30 years have been diagnosed with some sort of mental illness. Therefore a mental evaluation should probably be required before allowing a person to purchase a weapon as it could help to avoid a reaction if said person encounters a stressor at a certain point in his/her life.

1. Bullying

School shootings have often been intimately related with school bullying. Kids that have experienced bullying have perpetrated most school shootings that have occurred in the last decade.

They see the attack as a means to exact revenge on those who have hurt them as it allows them to inflict the pain and fear they have experienced.

1. The media

Studies have shown that violent video games and movies, may have an effect on the subconscious causing the human being to become more violent and react in a violent manner if they do are not pleased by a situation.

1. The copycat phenomenon and the desire for fame

Experts have revealed that when a mass shooting occurs it creates this contagious effect where in usually less then 30 days another person will get inspired and want to reproduce such an act and gain fame.

Reducing the rate of mass shootings will not be an easy task; it should be a group effort. The government should start working on serious gun law reform; schools and private institutions should work on providing mental health support and diagnosis. By doing so, we might witness a reduction in the violent outbursts that could lead to mass murder events.