The recent anniversary of the tragic killing of innocent school children and adults caring for them has brought the issue of mass murder to our attention in a powerful way. One response has been an outstanding article by an expert on the topic, J. Reid Maloy, PhD who is a distinguished forensic psychologist. He has studied mass murders in several countries including the U. S.
His article was published in the January 28, 2014 edition of the Psychiatric Times.. In the article he described "The Seven Myths of Mass Murder." I will try to distill some of the important issues explained in Dr. Mallory's article in this blog.
Some people imagine that mass murderers impulsively decide to engage in mass murder. In reality, they generally plan for days to months beforehand. These murders are clearly premeditated although the planning may be triggered by what Dr. Maloy called a "major loss in love or work." The idea of committing mass murder has often been on the mind of the individual for years.
The majority of mass murderers have a major mental illness plus a mixture of pathological personality traits (antisocial, paranoid, narcissistic, and/or schizoid). It is important to understand that the overwhelming majority of people with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent than the general population. It is only a tiny minority that are prone to violence.
It is surprising to many people that mass murders are actually rare events. However, because they are so horrendous, they flood the media and are brought to our awareness in a powerful way that leaves a strong impression in our minds. This makes them seem more prevalent than they really are. Also, the incidence of mass murders is not increasing; the number of such events has been rather constant for many years. It only seems like they are more common now.
The tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary school were so shocking that we may think that it is the worst such event in our modern history. Dr. Maloy notes in his article that the worst mass murder at a school took place in Michigan in 1927 when a bomb killed 45 people, mainly children in the 2nd to the 6th grade.
Guns are the primary weapon used in most mass murders. Limiting the sale of assault weapons will not reduce the incidence of mass murders, but it would likely reduce the number of deaths per episode.
In the case of the murder of one or two individuals, it is common for the murderer and/or the victim to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, mass murders are rarely under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their appalling crime. They may sometimes take a minor tranquilizer at the time of the event in order to calm themselves.
Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to predict who will commit mass murder. This is partly because such events are rare. The vast majority of people who have the profile of a mass murderer do not contemplate such a thing, and they certainly don't do so.
However, most mass murderers tell one or more people about their plans before they act on them. Unfortunately, most often the people they tell think the person is just "kidding" or would never actually do such a thing. In some cases these threats are reported to authorities and a tragedy has been averted. The bottom line is that everyone should take these threats seriously and report them to the police or other appropriate authority. Never ignore such threats whether you learn of them in person, in writing or on social media.
It is probably of little comfort that mass murders are relatively rare and are not increasing in frequency. The typically random selection of victims is frightening, and the massive destruction of life on 9/11 has left an indelible mark on our collective psyche. We must all be aware of what goes on around us and let proper authorities know when we find something suspicious.
