Mass murder is the act of murdering several people, at least four, mostly through though not limited to simultaneous killings, and in close geographical proximity (Duwe). It is not to be confused with spree killing, which is the murdering of one or two people in different locations. Though every mass murderer is different and has distinct motivations for their killings, patterns have been gathered because mass murder has become a media sensation throughout the years. It is alarming how much bedlam and destruction of lives a small number of offenders can cause (Fox and Levin 407). One of the patterns is the victim selection. The general hypothesis for mass murder is that victims of mass slaying are usually strangers to the perpetrator(s), they
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First, the predisposed suffer a long history of failure and frustration, with a dwindled ability to cope with said frustrations. Fox and Levin elaborate that this may explain why most shooters are middle-aged, because these frustrations and disappointments take years to accumulate. Moreover, there are mass shooters which fit this pattern but are not necessarily middle-aged. An example is, once again, the Columbine shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. They were 17 and 18 years old respectively, but had long suffered frustrations since their early life. Their motivations and early frustrations will be expanded later on. Most shooters, however, are middle-aged men with compiled disappointments. For instance, James Ruppert, mass shooter who took eleven lives in Ohio, was incompetent in social relationships, academic life, lost his father at an early age, was unable to socialise with women and had several health issues, such as crippling asthma and spinal meningitis . George Hennard, 35 year old male and perpetrator of Luby’s shooting, grew up in a troubled family and was known for his violent temper and for hating women and minorities. As a teenager, he was battered by his father and people close to him reported Hennard was never the same after that, keeping to himself …show more content…
Their motives have been widely speculated, particularly because even though Klebold and Harris had journals explaining they were going to carry out a massacre, they did not elaborate why . Dave Cullen, in his book “Columbine”, cites there is evidence Harris revered the Nazis, and in various occasions said he held a deep hatred towards humanity. Harris also believed in the idea of natural selection, and thought the weak should die. In the day of the massacre, he wore a shirt with the words “Natural selection” imprinted on it . One of Harris’ clear motivations for the shooting was bullying. His last journal entry explained he was never invited to any events even though he asked to, and various people who knew Klebold and Harris explained the bullying towards them was “rampant”. They were constantly picked on and had things such as food and, one time, faecal matter thrown at them . Even though Harris was motivated by hatred, Klebold’s case is quite different. Once the journals and tapes are analysed, it is easy to see Klebold was deeply depressed and easily influenced by Harris, while Harris was fuelled by hatred and aggression issues (Kass 127). Some official reports suggest Harris was a psychopath, though no brain scans are available to prove it and no psychiatric
First, the predisposed suffer a long history of failure and frustration, with a dwindled ability to cope with said frustrations. Fox and Levin elaborate that this may explain why most shooters are middle-aged, because these frustrations and disappointments take years to accumulate. Moreover, there are mass shooters which fit this pattern but are not necessarily middle-aged. An example is, once again, the Columbine shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. They were 17 and 18 years old respectively, but had long suffered frustrations since their early life. Their motivations and early frustrations will be expanded later on. Most shooters, however, are middle-aged men with compiled disappointments. For instance, James Ruppert, mass shooter who took eleven lives in Ohio, was incompetent in social relationships, academic life, lost his father at an early age, was unable to socialise with women and had several health issues, such as crippling asthma and spinal meningitis . George Hennard, 35 year old male and perpetrator of Luby’s shooting, grew up in a troubled family and was known for his violent temper and for hating women and minorities. As a teenager, he was battered by his father and people close to him reported Hennard was never the same after that, keeping to himself …show more content…
Their motives have been widely speculated, particularly because even though Klebold and Harris had journals explaining they were going to carry out a massacre, they did not elaborate why . Dave Cullen, in his book “Columbine”, cites there is evidence Harris revered the Nazis, and in various occasions said he held a deep hatred towards humanity. Harris also believed in the idea of natural selection, and thought the weak should die. In the day of the massacre, he wore a shirt with the words “Natural selection” imprinted on it . One of Harris’ clear motivations for the shooting was bullying. His last journal entry explained he was never invited to any events even though he asked to, and various people who knew Klebold and Harris explained the bullying towards them was “rampant”. They were constantly picked on and had things such as food and, one time, faecal matter thrown at them . Even though Harris was motivated by hatred, Klebold’s case is quite different. Once the journals and tapes are analysed, it is easy to see Klebold was deeply depressed and easily influenced by Harris, while Harris was fuelled by hatred and aggression issues (Kass 127). Some official reports suggest Harris was a psychopath, though no brain scans are available to prove it and no psychiatric