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Mass Shooting Research Paper

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Stories of mass shootings have been broadcasted via media coverage for many decades, with the number of shootings increasing rather than decreasing. The question of why such mass shootings continue to occur more frequently has provoked many thoughts to circulate society regarding why this happens, raising questions about what is best for the public’s safety as well as how to inform the public about what has occurred. According to Mark Follman, the national affairs editor who leads a team which is researching and reporting gun violence for a renounced magazine, “Mother Jones”, “there is a growing body of forensic evidence that mass shooters emulate their most infamous predecessors...there are now clear indications that some individuals who plan and carry out these crimes are influenced by sensational news …show more content…

While the disorder could be present prior to viewing mass shootings via media coverage, previous mass shooters’ fame and accomplishments acknowledged by the media acts as the final trigger and inspiration for potential shooters’ actions.As Follman states,“Most of us are disturbed or repulsed by images of a killer posing with a gun or sporting a maniacal grin. But aspiring copycats see an antihero who’s gone from being a miserable nobody to a world-famous somebody with a few pulls of a trigger.” By the media releasing all the information regarding the shooter’s identity, the chances of the number, as well as the magnitude, of attacks increasing is much higher, as copycat killers will use a predecessor’s fame as a source for inspiration and justification. By decreasing the amount of information released about the shooter and increasing the coverage on how the victims are overcoming the attack, copycat killers won’t be able to obtain the inspiration they seek, as the predecessor will obtain lesser fame than the actual crime and its

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