The first analysis of medical evidence on domestic mass shooters in the U.S. finds that a large majority of perpetrators have psychiatric disorders for which they have received no medication or other treatment.
“Without losing sight of the larger perspective that most who are violent are not mentally ill, and most of the mentally ill are not violent, our message is that mental health providers, lawyers, and the public should be made aware that some unmedicated patients do pose an increased risk of violence,” according to the report by Ira D. Glick, MD, of Stanford University School of Medicine and colleagues.
In-depth analysis of psychiatric evidence on domestic mass shooters
The researchers identified 115 persons identified as committing a mass shooting in the United States from 1982 to 2019, based on the most comprehensive listing available (the Mother Jones database). The database excluded shootings related to “conventionally motivated” crimes such as armed robbery or gang violence.
“In the vast majority of the incidents identified in the database, the perpetrator died either during or shortly after the crime,” the researchers note. They focused on the 35 cases where the assailant survived and underwent criminal proceedings – providing the best information on their symptoms of mental illness and psychiatric state.
