Interesting Findings on Mass Shootings

And now for something special: a study on mass shootings that produced interesting findings and did not have an obvious agenda:

Barriers and locks meant to block outsiders and active-shooter drills do little because most attackers already have access and are aware of the procedures, said the authors of the study, Jillian Peterson and James Densley. The university professors have created a mass-shooter database that goes back more than 50 years. [snip]

The most common site for a mass shooting since 1966 is the workplace, Mr. Densley and Ms. Peterson found. In May, a disgruntled Virginia Beach, Va., city employee killed 12 people at a municipal building. Next was a category that includes restaurants, bars and nightclubs, followed by retail establishments, schools, houses of worship and colleges.

There is no single profile of a mass shooter, but the study’s authors found common factors based on the target. School shooters, like the 19-year-old who killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school in 2018, tend to be suicidal white-male students with an interest in guns. College shooters tend to be suicidal nonwhite men with a history of violence and childhood trauma. Workplace shooters tend to be men in their 40s of any race who are having trouble on the job. [snip]

In schools, the cost of active-shooter drills for kids outweigh the benefits. Would-be attackers are learning how to take advantage of drills, which create a fascination for some students, said Ms. Peterson.

“You want the adults in the building to be trained to know what to do,” she said. “But training the kids who are the potential perpetrators doesn’t make sense with our data.”

The last recommendation is surprising; train the adults but don't teach students what to do because would-be shooters would learn too much about school defenses. Instinctively I am skeptical, because withholding knowledge from people for their own protection is an excuse that bureaucracies use to cover up their mistakes and to maintain their authority [only they know the secret, important stuff].

Surely there can be a compromise between knowledge and total ignorance. For example, hidden passages through which police may enter the school can be kept secret. And the students can be taught the general principles of run, hide, fight, which may also be used outside of school.

Nevertheless, more studies like this, please.