WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FBI analyzed 154 killing sprees in the United States between 2002 and 2012 in which three or more individuals were shot by one or more attackers participating in a random or systematic mass murders.
Almost all (96 percent) of the killers were men and an equal percentage acted alone, but nothing in the report suggested violent video games or movies contributed to the proliferation of violence. Instead, the most common identified motivations were workplace retaliation, domestic disputes or responses to humiliation among students.
“Mental illness is commonly referenced as a potential contributing factor, but its causal impact on the attack can only be speculated,” according to the report. “Very few active shooters had previous arrests for violent crimes.”
More than half of the active shooter events chronicled occurred in a workplace (37 percent) or school (17 percent), according to the analysis.
