Understanding the behaviors and stressors of active shooters is critical to threat assessment teams as they evaluate persons of concern. Yet research focuses on those who commit an attack, which means little is known about how active shooters differ from other high-risk persons of concern referred for assessment. Sixty-three active shooters were matched on age and gender to high-risk persons of concern assessed by a federal law enforcement threat assessment team. Variables measuring past behavior, internal stressors, and behaviors that drew the concern of others were analyzed. Logistic regressions highlight that concerning persons' behaviors appear more worrisome than active shooters' behaviors. Active shooters were less likely to have someone concerned about their anger as compared to persons of concern. Conversely, active shooters were more likely to have experienced a humiliating event. Results are discussed with a focus on being operationally useful. Public Significance StatementThreat assessment teams are tasked with the challenge of assessing the level of concern that a person will go on to commit an act of targeted violence, and offering suggestions to help manage or mitigate that threat. Findings illustrate how difficult this job is, as only a few variables help differentiate between active shooters and persons of concern who do not commit violence, and typically not in the expected direction.
Bystander awareness of concerning behaviors and the willingness to speak up is required for the prevention of targeted violence. This analysis determined if there are any differences in bystander behavior among those around active shooters as compared to high-risk persons of concern assessed by a threat assessment team. Active shooters were matched to high-risk persons of concern on age and gender. Variables measuring subject isolation, bystander actions once concerning behaviors were noticed, and how these behaviors were acted upon were analyzed. Active shooters were less likely to be virtually connected and more likely to have at least one person who did nothing when noticing a concerning behavior. High-risk persons of concern were more likely to have bystanders notice their concerning behaviors via writing. The implications for threat assessment teams and the general public for the prevention of targeted violence is discussed. Public Significance StatementThe public is often implored "if you see something say something" as a way to prevent public attacks. This article reveals how bystander behaviors were different among those persons of concern who did not commit an attack as compared to the bystanders aware of the concerning behaviors of active shooters.
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