Most Shooters Got Their Guns Legally, Didn't Have Diagnosed Mental Illness, New FBI Report Says

[appalachiablue]

Source: USA Today

As mass shootings filter in and out of the news cycle at an almost dizzying pace with each new tragedy, the FBI has continued to probe why these atrocities continue and what can be done to stop them.

In a new report released Wednesday, the bureau shed light on behaviors of shooters before they acted out, finding most obtained a gun legally and did not have diagnosed mental health issues, points that run contrary to some popular beliefs.

Active shooting incidents have continued to plague the nation but last year, there were 30 incidents across the U.S. — the highest number since the FBI began tracking the phenomenon. Last year also broke a record for the highest death toll in any single year.

"Faced with so many tragedies, society routinely wrestles with a fundamental question: can anything be done to prevent attacks on our loved ones, our children, our schools, our churches, concerts and communities?" the study says. "There is cause for hope because there is something that can be done."

More: FBI: More active shooting incidents in 2017 than any other year recorded. MORE...



Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/20/fbi-most-active-shooters-dont-have-mental-illness-get-guns-legally/718283002/

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The FBI could only verify that 25 percent of the gunmen examined in the study had any type of mental illness diagnoses, including disorders affecting mood, anxiety and personality.

[TeamPooka]

1. Just a bunch of good guys with guns, until they aren't.

[MrScorpio]

2. And for some odd reason, we're not supposed to notice that so many guns...

In the hands of so many people is part of the problem.

[appalachiablue]

6. Easy availabilty arms is the trouble, US has the majority of small gun owners by far.

"Report Says Over 1 Billion Small Arms in World, Up From 2007," Washington Post, June 18, 2018

UNITED NATIONS — There are over 1 billion firearms in the world today, including 857 million in civilian hands — with American men and women the dominant owners, according to a study released Monday.
“The key to the United States, of course, is its unique gun culture,” the report’s author, Aaron Karp, said at a news conference. “American civilians buy an average of 14 million new firearms every year, and that means the United States is an overwhelming presence on civilian markets.” Read More, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/new-survey-over-1-billion-small-arms-in-world-up-from-2007/2018/06/18/c60fa03c-7318-11e8-bda1-18e53a448a14_story.html?utm_term=.42993b559ebd

[appalachiablue]

3. Positive: Since Parkland, 10 States Have 'RED FLAG' Gun Laws, Potentially More

*Wave Of 'Red Flag' Gun Laws Shows Power Of The Parkland Effect,* Huff Po, June 16, 2018

In the four months since a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school, the number of states with so-called red flag laws has doubled, expanding the ability of courts around the nation to temporarily remove guns from people who are found to be dangerous.

Amid a reinvigorated debate about firearms in the U.S., the most recent state legislative sessions have delivered a resounding win for gun safety groups, who see red flag laws as a critical legal tool to get firearms away from potentially violent people before they can use them to harm themselves or others. Cont..https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wave-of-red-flag-gun-laws-shows-power-of-the-parkland-effect/ar-AAyIQTT

>10 States now have 'RED FLAG' Laws, with more possibilities (IL, MA, TX): CA, WA, OR, IN, CT, FL, VT, MD, RI, NJ.



- Protesters rally outside the Florida Capitol on Feb. 21 to urge state lawmakers to reform gun laws a week after a mass shooting killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

[RockRaven]

4. In other words, legal gun owners ought to be profiled as potential shooters...

but they won't be...

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. Most mental illness is kept concealed and that's ingrained in...

our American sense of freedom and privacy. That's my own conclusion as a street observer of human behavior for over 50 adult years. Capitalism, consumerism, societal division and fear is driving us toward the point of mass psychosis.

The direction our society is heading into now will make mental issues much worse - both genetic ones and those caused by a stressed-out culture. We need fewer guns and much better mental evaluation and treatment options to survive.

....... ........

[appalachiablue]

7. +1. Men are more reluctant to seek help for problems than women, cuz stigma, etc.

Fewer guns, US mass distress and psychosis is right..

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. Absolutely, we have that damned male ego to protect!

Probably kills more people each year than car wrecks, hurricanes and cancer......

[Turbineguy]

8. Oh dear,

Last edited Thu Jun 21, 2018, 02:58 PM - Edit history (1)

the NRA isn't going to like this....

In a twisted way, they might support Democrats because if Democrats take control of the government they can spout their fear and loathing rhetoric that sells guns. Gun sales have dropped because of trump. "THE GUBMINT GONNA TAKE YO GUNZ AWAY!"

[still_one]

10. I think they won't have any problem with it, because they will use it to justify their argument that

there is nothing that can be done.

It is a variation on their bullshit that "guns don't kill people, people do"


The fact is, as others have pointed out in this thread is not only are there too many guns, but there are too many guns that have the capability to taking out huge numbers of people.

The report is also misleading. It talks out of both sides of its mouth:

"The study noted, although, that a large portion of shooters, about 62 percent, were dealing with stressors in their lives such as depression, anxiety and paranoia before their attack.
Those symptoms don't mean the suspect was necessarily dealing with a mental illness and the conclusion that all active shooters are mentally ill is both "misleading and unhelpful," the bureau said. "

As far as I am concerned this is the FBIs way to cover their ass they believe, but it doesn't at all. It is NOT "misleading and unhelpful", as the FBI characterized it to include depression, anxiety, and paranoia as symptoms of mental illness. 62%. That number right there speaks volumes.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see anywhere in the report where it takes into consideration how adequate the background checks are, lax or shortened waiting periods, guns being purchased outside the normal process at gun shows which allows circumvention of what exists, etc.

The one unescapable fact is that the U.S. had nearly double the number of mass shootings than all other countries combined, and that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated. The higher the gun ownership rate, the more a country is susceptible to experiencing mass shootings

[Kaleva]

12. Gun ownership rates have decreased significantly in the US

"American gun ownership drops to lowest in nearly 40 years"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/29/american-gun-ownership-is-now-at-a-30-year-low/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e802b05f5ac1

The above refutes your comment which I quote below:

"The one unescapable fact is that the U.S. had nearly double the number of mass shootings than all other countries combined, and that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated."

If mass shootings and gun ownership rates were highly correlated, then we should have seen a major decline in mass shootings.

[still_one]

14. There are more guns in the U.S then its population. I also didn't make up the number of mass

shootings in the U.S. compared to other countries.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-things-to-know-about-mass-shootings-in-america/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/05/guns-in-the-united-states-one-for-every-man-woman-and-child-and-then-some/?utm_term=.5edcac28be2f

What I said refutes nothing:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/249740/percentage-of-households-in-the-united-states-owning-a-firearm/

[Kaleva]

20. Where in your previous post did you talk about # of guns?

This is what you said and I quote:

"The one unescapable fact is that the U.S. had nearly double the number of mass shootings than all other countries combined, and that mass shootings and gun ownership rates are highly correlated. The higher the gun ownership rate, the more a country is susceptible to experiencing mass shootings"

Emphasis mine.

if you had been talking about number of guns, I wouldn't have argued with you.

According to the below article, just 3% of the population owns 50% of all civilian guns in the US.

https://qz.com/1095899/gun-ownership-in-america-in-three-charts/

[Turbineguy]

15. My friend's Wife

who is a psychiatrist says that 10 percent of the population is depressed and 1 percent has more serious mental issues.

Going after people who may turn into shooters is crazy since there are about 40 million of them out there.

[still_one]

17. Most households in the U.S. don't have guns, however, those that do, most have multiple guns, and a

large percentage of those folks, I don't have the figures off the top of my head, say they have it primarily for protection, not hunting. That is according to a PEW survey I believe.


Let's exclude the 10% assessment by your friend's wife of depression, since I suspect any gun violence done in that category would be less likely to involve mass shootings, and more likely suicide.


That leaves 1% who have serious mental issues. Let's assume there s a 200 thousand adult population in the U.S. 1% of that is 20000 people who probably shouldn't have guns.

[Turbineguy]

19. The amount of irrational hate being preached

including on this site, doesn't help either.

Somehow mass shooters reach the to them, logical conclusion that it's a good idea to go out and shoot a bunch of people. We all have things that irritate us from time to time, but most people seem to cope OK.

[ehrnst]

11. People don't need to be as mentally ill as they used to in order to become a mass shooter

They have examples now, and many young men who do this have obsessions with the Columbine Shooting.

[FakeNoose]

13. I guess this is proof that it's the guns that CAUSE the mental illness

.... since the shooters weren't mentally ill until after they purchased their guns.

That's good enough for me, gun control now! No more weapons in the hands of potential mass killers. Then get to work on the domestic abuse gun violations which cause more death than the mass killings each year, but get little media coverage.

Guns kill innocent people, including wives, children, parents, siblings, friends, neighbors, buddies and classmates as well as innocent people on the street.

[Blackjackdavey]

16. Domestic incidents

Not mentioned but the most important piece that needs to answered: How many of these people had a domestic incident report or other police contact in their background? These people don't necessarily have mental illnesses but most, if not all, have personality disorders -- not the same thing, a common misconception.

[Mopar151]

18. Strangling seems to be a strong indicator

That a domestic abuser is already bad, and likely to get worse.