A few years ago my friend M.P. Priestley wrote my favorite-ever book about Jack the Ripper. Now he has a new book out, about the mass shooter phenomenon.
As always, I want my readers to be up-to-date on interesting new books, so I decided to invite Mick for another interview (we already did one a few years ago).
Thank you, Mick, for taking the time to talk to ForenSeek once again!
Your latest book is about mass shooters. Why did you choose this topic?
The whole American ‘active shooter’ phenomenon is such a ‘hot topic’ at the moment, with incidents happening with astounding regularity, and the psychology of it always fascinated me.
The shooter is very different from a terrorist or a serial killer. Unlike a terrorist, the shooter typically has no political or religious motive, is focused solely on killing as many people as possible, and can not be reasoned or negotiated with – and, unlike a (sexually-motivated) serial killer, they are typically motivated solely by hatred, frustration and revenge, with no intention of escaping the scene. The offence itself is often the killer’s ‘last stand’ and after remaining at the scene as police arrive, the majority, if not killed by responding units, kill themselves.
It’s a subject that is almost constantly within the news cycle, but people often seem confused as to WHY such incidents keep happening, and/or why they keep happening specifically in America. Also, with only the very worst ones usually dominating the headlines, people are often unaware of both the sheer number of them that actually take place, and of the real scale of the problem. I felt it was important to write a book to investigate and explain all of that.
Your book illustrates and analyzes well the fact that there are differences between these mass shooting events, but also similarities between the perpetrators and the circumstances. What would you say are the general unifying factors among the perpetrators of mass killings?
The ‘active shooter’ is almost always male, and is a lone, heavily armed stranger in a public or populated place who, often without any warning, begins mass-murdering (or attempting to murder) the strangers around them. Although ‘mental illness’ is often blamed, only a very small percentage of such shooters are actually shown to be suffering from severe mental health problems, and mental illnesses in themselves are only rarely shown to cause violent behaviour.
Instead, in an overwhelming majority of cases, the shooter, while not psychiatrically ill, is murderously angry and driven to despair – seemingly, they feel, through no fault of their own – and is acting out in hatred and revenge against what they see as an injustice. Either rationally or irrationally, they may feel (often through repeated, misleading internet, social media and television content) like failures, that society has unfairly rejected them, that women have rejected them, and that they are being unfairly treated.
These frustrations are often expressed vividly in notes/manifestos/videos etc that the killer leaves behind. Having reached a conclusion that there is no hope for resolving the problem, the shooter then feels that the injustice of this unfair treatment can no longer be tolerated, and must be responded to. In America, with easy access to firearms, and having become desensitised to constant reports of mass murder and gun violence, they then feel justified in initiating violence themselves – and while indiscriminately killing strangers who are ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’, the source of their frustration is typically their ‘primary target’. That target may be a specific individual, a company, a school, or anyone else that the shooter has come to consider a ‘threat’ – be they people of different races, religions, political persuasions, sexualities, or something else.
Is there a kind of “epidemic” nature to these shootings? Do they follow each other in some kind of temporal/other patterns? (I hope you understand what this means, I can’t quite put it into better English)
Mass-casualty ‘active shooter’ events are ‘contagious’ offences – as, whenever they happen, they are usually followed by constant, rolling 24-hour news coverage on television, the internet and social media with the killers, their manifestos, their victims and their deaths reported in vivid and graphic detail. With events happening so frequently, by the time one leaves the news cycle another takes its place, and such constant exposure to this material is shown to both desensitise those watching, and directly inspire the next offence. It’s a phenomenon known as the ‘media contagion effect’, which has also been recognised as a problem for terror attacks and suicides, and has actually been understood for more than a century.
Active shooter attacks are shown to have risen, particularly since the 1980s and 1990s, along with the mass coverage of them; and so, since 2017 in particular, in an attempt to do something about that, media outlets are advised to limit reported details, and have the killer remain anonymous – but that advice often goes ignored. With news and uncensored video now also spreading instantly online some individuals, having decided that they are ‘failures’, unfairly treated and unrecognised, may seek the same ‘fame’ that others have been given. For this reason, some leave videos that they expect to be viewed by millions after their deaths, post material online, or send statements and manifestos to news agencies before they commit their offences – which is something you tend NOT to see, for example, from serial killers or other offenders.
Another fact your book makes clear is that this is not a particularly new phenomenon, despite what some think; this did not start with Columbine. Tell us a bit about the earliest mass shooting incident you cover in your book!
I learned of Gilbert Twigg almost by accident, while searching through an archives website, and it amazes me that he has been largely forgotten. Born in Cumberland, Maryland, Twigg was an ex-US Army soldier, and after moving to various places around the country was living in Winfield, Kansas in 1903. Only moments from his home, a bandstand had been erected in the centre of town, and a travelling band were due to perform. It was a big deal at the time, and some three thousand people turned up to watch, but as the concert played out Twigg arrived, armed with a double-barrelled shotgun, and began shooting into the crowd.
Such a thing was essentially unheard of at the time, and with Winfield being such a tiny town there was only one police officer on duty. With a revolver, he made his way through the back streets to confront him, and when he finally reached him Twigg drew a handgun from his clothing, held it beneath his jaw, and killed himself. It was very much like a modern-day incident, and was extremely unusual for its time. As far as I’m aware, nothing like that had happened before, and it wouldn’t happen again for another thirty years.
How well are police departments trained to deal with this phenomenon, in your opinion?
With the ‘active shooter’ being such a constantly looming threat within the United States police departments are well trained, heavily armed, and constantly ready. American police officers undergo shooter training as standard, and, especially since such events as Columbine, Sandy Hook, and the Parkland Massacre are always on high alert. Active shooter training is constantly evolving too, and many schools and workplaces now have their own training programs for students and workers, some of which are controversial. Regardless of their training levels, however, emergency units only arrive, of course, after the shooting has already begun.
I read somewhere that there is a hypothesis (some would say “conspiracy theory”) that SSRI medication can “trigger” potential mass shooters to go ahead with their plans. Did you investigate this topic? What are your thoughts?
Theories like that tend to be put forward not by doctors, but by the same (usually right-wing) politically motivated/pro-gun TV pundits and politicians who cite ‘mental illness’ as the cause behind the shooting problem. Critics, in turn, often point out that rates of people taking SSRI medication/antidepressants are no higher in the US than in other countries, and that those blaming mental health/medication etc are simply trying to shift the focus away from the more politically sensitive issue of gun control. That stigmatises people who might be suffering from mental health/depression problems, and gives the public a distorted perception of how dangerous such people actually are. PsychologyToday.Com actually have a good article on that called ‘The Misperception of Antidepressants and Mass Shootings’, if anyone might want to check it out!
Social media provides a kind of echo chamber where it’s easy to start believing in the most insane conspiracy theories. Do you see a threat for the increase in mass shootings when people get more and more lost in their political rabbit holes?
Absolutely, as unverified, false or exaggerated information online creates a distorted view of reality for those viewing it – and, also, with more of daily life continuing to take place online, increasing numbers of individuals are becoming increasingly isolated. A recent study by the Survey Center for American Life, for example, shows that the number of young men with ‘six or more close friends’ has dropped dramatically since the 1990s, and there has been a five-fold increase, in the same time, in those reporting no close friends at all.
Many people now simply don’t leave the house, and fewer than ever before experience social interaction at bars, churches, or social events. With all physical interaction removed, even finding romantic partners has become an online activity – in a shallow, two-dimensional world where ‘acceptable’ levels of attractiveness, achievement and financial standing are now distorted through misleading social media information. Constantly viewing the hand-selected, carefully edited ‘highlight reels’ of other users creates the illusion that everyone is happier, and doing better than you are – with more success, greater popularity, more money and more sexual attention – and this leads to angry, frustrated individuals who feel unfairly left behind, unable to compete, and rejected by both women and society.
In response, however, these people then return to the internet, online pornography and social media – which has seen, as a result, an explosion in conspiracy theories, misogynistic material and extreme political content from others who feel the same way. Consuming this material can be comforting, or even satisfying, as deeply unhappy users find others to blame for what they see as their unfair treatment. All of this, it is noted, can then create ‘a one-track significance focus that can ultimately precipitate a mass shooting’, as the shooter seeks to both punish those that have wronged them and satisfy their own frustrated demand for significance.
What (if anything) can regular people do to fight the mass shooting phenomenon? Lobby for changes in law? Donate to non-profit organizations dealing with mental health care?
There are a number of prominent anti-gun violence groups that people could be involved with – Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, Americans for Responsible Solutions, the Violence Policy Center and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence being among them. Those concerned about gun violence should also look closely at the politicians they vote for – as a number of (mostly Republican) candidates receive large donations from pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association, have deep ties to the gun industry, and may have THEIR concerns, and not yours, in mind while passing and endorsing legislation.
Of all the mass shooting incidents you cover in your book, is there any one case that has stayed with you?
There are dozens of different cases in the book, many of which the reader may not have heard of, and they’re all bad – but one that stood out to me in particular was Robert Stewart’s 2009 Nursing Home Shooting in Carthage, North Carolina. Stewart was a painter and decorator by trade, though he hadn’t worked in a while, and his estranged wife worked at a nursing home close to where he lived. On the 29th of March that year he arrived with a rifle, a semiautomatic handgun and a shotgun, and after shooting a man in the parking lot walked in through the front door.
Once inside, he began walking from room to room, indiscriminately murdering the elderly patients, many of whom were suffering from various stages of dementia; and, with Carthage being such a tiny town, there was only one policeman on duty that morning. Armed with only his service weapon, it was up to him alone to stop him – and if Stewart had killed him, there was nobody else coming. Another case that I felt was particularly outrageous was Stephen Paddock’s 2017 shooting in Las Vegas. Paddock had put a huge amount of planning into his offence, and was armed with considerably more firepower than any other killer before or since.
Where can people keep up with your work?
It’s best to find me on Instagram if you have it – @mppriestley is me. Drop me a line! I’ll always reply. If you were to visit ripperworld.net, too, you can download a free chapter of my book – “Active Shooter : The American Mass Murder Phenomenon” directly onto your phone!
