UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: Memorial Day is a day meant to commemorate Americans who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military.  Recent acts of gun violence at a Buffalo supermarket and a Texas elementary school have a depressed Life Detective wondering why civilians and children are dying from gunshots more frequently than military personnel! As in the iconic American board game of Clue, Life Detective will follow the facts and conclude with an “accusation” to solve the murders.

It was done in the supermarket, the concert, the church & the school

The last two major mass public shooting events took place at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. A summary of recent mass shootings:

  • 2016: a shooter at a nightclub in Orlando killed 49;
  • 2017: a shooter at a Las Vegas concert killed 58 and injured over 500;
  • 2018: 11 killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue by a gunman;
  • April 2022: a shooter injured 15 people shopping at a South Carolina mall;
  • Since 2014, America has averaged more than one mass shooting per day;
  • Every US state has had at least one shooting with injury or death at a school;
  • Injuries and death from school shootings are at an all-time high, numbering over 100 every year since 2018 (excepting 2020’s pandemic year).

Life Detective’s Clue Accusation: Mass shootings can happen anywhere, at any time.

Las Vegas Shooting Memorial

It was done by Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum or Mr. Green

Let’s see what an investigation of facts can tell us about the profile of the shooters in general and more specifically mass shooters:

  • Over 50% of 2020 US gun deaths were suicides.
  • Mass shooters often may have made a prior suicide attempt, and experts conclude that “Mass shooters design these to be their final acts.”
  • 32 percent of mass shooters in fact conclude the event by suicide.
  • Since 1982, 123 of 126 mass shootings have been done by males. The racial distribution of shooters seems roughly proportionate to the racial distribution of America as a whole.
  • The average age of mass shooters is 33. With respect to mass shooters at K-12 schools, the median age is 16.
  • Nearly all mass shooters since 2009 were males acting alone.

Life Detective’s Clue Accusation: The profile of the mass shooter is a lone-acting male, typically younger, especially if it is a school shooting. The tendency to suicide suggests some mental frailty is involved.

It was done with the revolver/assault weapon

  • There were 1.5 million gun deaths in the US between 1968 and 2017. That is more than the number of military members killed in every US conflict since 1775.
  • Firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the US. in 2020.
  • The US is the only country with more guns than people. Rates of American gun ownership are more than double that of the second highest country on the list, Yemen, home to an ongoing civil war that started in 2015.
  • The US states with the highest gun death rates are among the ones with the highest gun ownership rates.
  • The murder rate in the US is higher than all Western European nations, Canada, China, Australia, and South Korea. In fact, it is 3x higher than Canada and 4x greater than Great Britain.
  • The UK, Canada and Australia all reacted to mass shooting events by enacting various restrictions on assault weapons, gun buybacks, national gun ownership registries, extending gun purchase waiting periods, expanded background checks, and limiting large capacity magazines. Mass shootings in these countries are much more rare than the nearly everyday occurrence they are in the United States.
  • Mass shootings involving assault weapons or high-capacity magazines were far deadlier.

Life Detective’s Clue Accusation: The number of guns in a state/country is proportional to the amount of gun violence. The countries with more controls on gun ownership and purchase have lower numbers of murders, gun-related deaths, and mass shootings.

American Gun Violence: Conclusion

Guns are a part of American culture. (I myself own a handgun and, up until a few weeks ago, was in the market for another as well as a concealed carry permit.) However, guns are presently correlated to increased violence. Gun violence takes place with great frequency and virtually anywhere in the country. It brings with it a great deal of stress on the population. Malls, concerts, supermarkets, and churches are all places of concern. Of particular concern are our schools. Many have fought so hard to get their kids back in school after the pandemic. But instead of protective masks, do kids instead need to be wearing body armor?

Schools are like lockdown zones. Students and teachers are locked in these fortresses. Parents drop their little ones off in carpool lines and feel anxious about the well-being of their kids. Students enter classrooms and then the door is locked behind them. They are taught when and where to hide during “active shooter” drills. Ironically, some students return with a vengeance and are armed with the “recon knowledge” of how schools will react because of such drills.

Some adults believe more restrictive gun laws are not the answer. To protect gun liberties, more restrictions on the freedom of movement in schools and reductions in the simple feeling of “being in a safe place” are tolerated. The answer to the threat of gun violence also includes, ironically, more guns. Some might say “let’s arm teachers or security officers.” Well, the armed supermarket security guard in Buffalo couldn’t repel a shooter carrying more lethal weaponry and wearing body armor. Uvalde’s schools have their own police and and school resource officer but they were not able to stop an 18 year-old with assault rifle. 9-year-olds can’t expect to be armed to defend themselves nor should be conscripted into theaters of war. Adult parents could not intervene to defend their children in Uvalde. Even police failed to break down a schoolroom door for an hour with an active shooter inside. In war-like footing, the best laid counterplans could not be relied upon as the chaos took over.

What are the better solutions? More mental health treatment and interventions are a piece of it. But they are largely insufficient alone. Why? As the President of the American Psychological Association stated, “Just about any ordinary person can slip into madness”. And mental issues cannot always be adequately assessed. The Buffalo supermarket shooter was evaluated at a mental hospital just last year after “generalized threats” against his high school, but subsequently bought weapons after turning 18 and then carried out his deadly attack.

Thus, I believe I can win my game of Clue with this inescapable “accusation”: stricter gun laws are a necessary part of the solution. It has worked elsewhere. Other remediation is insufficient. The freedom of engaging in everyday activities has been damaged. Particularly when it impacts children in schools, all possible preventions must be activated. If you don’t think so, perhaps you can do like I did and get a Clue.