Welcome to the second of our summer newsletters. I wanted to alert you to the findings of a new study by the FBI that was released this past month, on the "
Pre-Attack Behaviors of Active Shooters".
This was a follow-up to a 2013 14-year study that found an almost 3-fold increase from the first 7 years (2000-2006) of that study to the second (2007-2013), escalating to an average of 16.4 "active shooter" events a year. (This is not slowing down; in 2017, there were
30 such events.)
Our mantra here at CRA is about prevention; we are not the ones whom you should be calling in the middle of an active shooter situation. However, this most recent report includes some significant findings that relate to prevention. This study looked at the
pre-attack behaviors of those shooters.
This is a summary of some of their general findings:
- The study did not find uniformity in regards to demographic factors (race, gender, age, etc.). (And only 25% had been diagnosed with a mental illness.)
- 77% of the shooters planned the event more than a week in advance.
- 62% had a history of acting in an "abusive, harassing or oppressive" manner.
- The average shooter experienced 3.6 significant "stressors", and displayed 4 to 5 observable "concerning behaviors."
- 88% of those under 18, and 51% of the adults, had "leaked" clues about their intent to third parties prior.
- For those with identified grievances, 49% related to an adverse employment or interpersonal action.
- When the "concerning behavior" was viewed by others, 54% did nothing. Only 41% reported anything to law enforcement.
The findings in this report and others consistently support the same critical concepts that are applicable in all situations involving all high-risk individuals - the rules are no different when trying to prevent the carnage of the "active shooter".
In my reading of this report, it reinforces our conclusions that these acts don't just come out of nowhere, perpetrated by ""bad people" who "just snap." We cannot prevent these acts by simply identifying some kind of "profile" or type of person; it is not that easy. But that said, it is not difficult either; there are generally observable behaviors, individuals under stress, and pre-attack planning that is available to our consciousness if we are paying attention.
A review of this recent report can downloaded from the following website:
Marc McElhaney, Ph.D.
Critical Response Associates
