The idea of mass shootings where a perpetrator exerts gun violence on various unfortunate victims is hard to imagine in a country such as Singapore. However, around the world, gun violence and mass shootings are regrettably prevalent. Across the United States in 2019 alone, it was recorded that there were more incidents of mass shootings than the days in the year (Silverstein, 2020). A key trend amongst the media covering mass shootings is to draw certain links between mass shooters’ mental states as a motive for the shootings. According to Metzl et al. (2015), two assumptions are commonly discussed after a mass shooting, these firstly include that mental illness causes gun violence and secondly, mass shootings are the acts of mentally ill loners. Hence are mass shootings indeed a work of a depressed loner? Or are there different reasons behind such violence? Read on to find out more about the motives of such devastating acts.

There are various mass shooters linked with mental illnesses. In February 2018, a 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at a high school in Florida. His actions lead to 17 murders and 17 others being injured. Cruz was arrested shortly after the shooting. Based on the death toll, Cruz’s shooting was considered the deadliest school shooting in the United States. It was found that Cruz was expelled from school for various disciplinary reasons. Furthermore, interviews with Cruz’s fellow classmates highlighted that he was a social outcast without friends, and he was obsessed with guns. Although no specific motives and reasons were found for his violent spree, his lawyer mentioned that he was depressed (BBC, 2018). Cruz’s description fitted the stereotypical ‘gunman’ that the American media outlets play on, such as an extremely lonely individual having depression which influenced the action of pulling the trigger. However, Metzl et al. (2015) noted that the apparent evidence of the mentally ill, gun-crazed, male loner is a relatively recent trend and there might be other key reasons behind mass shootings.

Aside from the mental states of shooters, most shooters also often showcased significant hatred towards a culture or race that may also contribute to their violent acts. In March 2019, a 28-year-old man entered two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand and carried out mass shooting sprees. The shooter, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, was arrested and subsequently charged with 51 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder. The shooter was described to be a white supremacist and his known strong Islamophobic and xenophobic views were the primary motives behind the shooting. Tarrant was not known to have suffered depression or any mental illnesses prior to the shooting. Tarrant’s case offers contradictory evidence to the assumption that mental illnesses such as depression cause mass shootings. Similarly, as Knoll and Annas (2016) highlighted that indeed some mass shooters have a history of psychiatric illness, however, no significant research has suggested that perpetrators are primarily influenced by serious mental illness. Hence ultimately, it is not always guaranteed that a depressed loner is pulling the trigger and there are various reasons for a mass shooting.

References:

1. BBC News. (2019, June 14). Christchurch attack: Brenton Tarrant pleads not guilty to all charges. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48631488

2. BBC News. (2018, February 16). Nikolas Cruz: Depressed loner 'crazy about guns'. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43067530

3. Knoll, J. L. IV, & Annas, G. D. (2016). Mass shootings and mental illness. In L. H. Gold & R. I. Simon (Eds.), Gun violence and mental illness (p. 81–104). American Psychiatric Association.

4. Metzl, J. M., & MacLeish, K. T. (2015). Mental illness, mass shootings, and the politics of American firearms. American journal of public health, 105(2), 240–249. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302242

5. Silverstein, J. (2019, September 1). There were more mass shootings than days in 2019. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-than-days-365/