A spree killer can be operationally defined as someone who commits four or more murders in a single event. Though not many people are spree killers, there have been enough of them to understand some of their common characteristics. For example, it is statistically highly probable that such a person would be of the male gender. One of the most notorious ones was Elliot Rodger, the “virgin killer.” A boy who decided to take out his frustration with the female population by having a shooting spree in Isle vista. Another example is Anders Breivik, who planned out a distraction which killed eight Norwegian civilians, so as to easily kill teenagers at a political camp, were both male. Not to say that there are absolutely no female killers, as there
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The first noted similarity is the style by which these killers kill. The most popular classification is Pseudo commando. This is a rampage style killing that has been meticulously planned by the killer. There is a targeted group that the killer has a vendetta against, and it is usually perpetrated by mentally ill individuals. Again, two examples of this classification are Breivik and Rodgers. Breivik planned out his attack over the course of 2008-2011, while Rodgers planned out his attack from 2012 until May 23, 2013 when he carried out his plan. The targeted group for Breivik was the Liberal party, while the targeted party for Rodgers were women and men of his college life. Breivik can be diagnosed as a paranoid narcissist, while Rodgers is diagnosed as a depressed narcissist with psychopathic …show more content…
For instance, in the Yoruba culture, there is a popular saying “Iku ya j’esin lo,” which translates to, “death is swifter than shame.” Thus, some spree killers kill themselves at the end so as not to have to deal with the backlash of their actions. Elliot Rodgers is a perfect example of this. He was a shy antisocial loner who did not understand the workings of the world around him and could not handle it. He was depressive, and non-confrontational. Right from the start of his rampage, he had noted that he was going on a suicide mission. He knew he would not survive, and he did not want to
The first noted similarity is the style by which these killers kill. The most popular classification is Pseudo commando. This is a rampage style killing that has been meticulously planned by the killer. There is a targeted group that the killer has a vendetta against, and it is usually perpetrated by mentally ill individuals. Again, two examples of this classification are Breivik and Rodgers. Breivik planned out his attack over the course of 2008-2011, while Rodgers planned out his attack from 2012 until May 23, 2013 when he carried out his plan. The targeted group for Breivik was the Liberal party, while the targeted party for Rodgers were women and men of his college life. Breivik can be diagnosed as a paranoid narcissist, while Rodgers is diagnosed as a depressed narcissist with psychopathic …show more content…
For instance, in the Yoruba culture, there is a popular saying “Iku ya j’esin lo,” which translates to, “death is swifter than shame.” Thus, some spree killers kill themselves at the end so as not to have to deal with the backlash of their actions. Elliot Rodgers is a perfect example of this. He was a shy antisocial loner who did not understand the workings of the world around him and could not handle it. He was depressive, and non-confrontational. Right from the start of his rampage, he had noted that he was going on a suicide mission. He knew he would not survive, and he did not want to