The role of domestic violence in fatal mass shootings in the United States, 2014–2019

Abstract

Background Fatal mass shootings, defined as four or more people killed by gunfire, excluding the perpetrator, account for a small percentage of firearm homicide fatalities. Research has not extensively focused on the role of domestic violence (DV) in mass shootings in the United States. This study explores the role of DV in mass shootings in the United States. Methods Using 2014–2019 mass shooting data from the Gun Violence Archive, we indexed our data by year and mass shooting and collected the number of deaths and injuries. We reviewed news articles for each mass shooting to determine if it was 1) DV-related (i.e., at least one victim of a mass shooting was a dating partner or family member of the perpetrator); 2) history of DV (i.e., the perpetrator had a history of DV but the mass shooting was not directed toward partners or family members); or 3) non-DV-related (i.e., the victims were not partners or family members, nor was there mention of the perpetrator having a history of DV). We conducted descriptive analyses to summarize the percent of mass shootings that were DV-related, history of DV, or non-DV-related, and analyzed how many perpetrators died during the incidents. We conducted one-way ANOVA to examine whether there were differences in the average number of injuries or fatalities or the case fatality rates (CFR) between the three categories. One outlier and 17 cases with unknown perpetrators were excluded from our main analysis. Results We found that 59.1% of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 were DV-related and in 68.2% of mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed at least one partner or family member or had a history of DV. We found significant differences in the average number of injuries and fatalities between DV and history of DV shootings and a higher average case fatality rate associated with DV-related mass shootings (83.7%) than non-DV-related (63.1%) or history of DV mass shootings (53.8%). Fifty-five perpetrators died during the shootings; 39 (70.9%) died by firearm suicide, 15 (27.3%) were killed by police, and 1 (1.8%) died from an intentional overdose. Conclusions Most mass shootings are related to DV. DV-related shootings had higher CFR than those unrelated to DV. Given these findings, restricting access to guns by perpetrators of DV may affect the occurrence of mass shootings and associated casualties.

Economics and Public Health: Two Perspectives on Firearm Injury Prevention

“…Researchers use police records and Gun Violence Archive data to categorize mass shooting risk factors, such as a prior history of violence and domestic abuse (Geller, Booty, and Crifasi 2021; The Violence Project 2022).…”

Mass Shootings in the United States: Prevalence, Policy, and a Way Forward

“…Several studies have found that intimate partner violence events can result in multiple victims (Kivisto and Porter 2020;Smith, Fowler, and Niolon 2014;Smucker, Kerber, and Cook 2018;Zeoli 2018). Data show that in nearly 70 percent of mass shootings from 2014 through 2019, the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners or had a known history of DV (Geller, Booty, and Crifasi 2021). Further, research on 10 years of intimate partner homicides (IPHs) in North Carolina finds a connection between IPHs by firearm and perpetrator suicide, underscoring the potential to prevent multiple forms of gun violence by disarming domestic abusers (Smucker, Kerber, and Cook 2018).…”

“…Given their statistical rarity, mass shootings present a low base rate of events that makes it difficult (if not impossible) to predict where such events will occur and who will perpetrate them (Rocque 2012). Perpetrators do share certain commonalities including histories of DV (Geller, Booty, and Crifasi 2021; Zeoli and Paruk 2020), suicidality (Lankford 2015, 2018), far-right or jihadi ideologies (Byman 2019; Dickey 2016; Lewis 2019), and other precipitative factors such as job loss, relationship problems, or other adverse childhood experiences (Dowdell et al 2022; Fowler et al 2021; Kowalski et al 2021). Many mass shooting perpetrators also struggle with mental health issues (Metzl, Piemonte, and McKay 2021), though individuals living with mental illness are more likely to be the victims rather than the perpetrators of violence (Choe, Teplin, and Abram 2008; Swanson et al 2015).…”

Prior Drug-Related Criminal Charges and Risk for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Authorized Purchasers of Handguns in California

“…There are strong associations between firearm access and IPV severity (Campbell et al, 2003; Sorenson & Schut, 2016; Zeoli et al, 2016), IPV and other forms of firearm violence (Geller et al, 2021; Kivisto & Porter, 2020; Smith et al, 2014; Smucker et al, 2018), and firearm violence and substance misuse (Branas et al, 2016; Hohl et al, 2017; Kuhns et al, 2014; Wintemute, 2015). This study seeks to contribute to the literature on the association between drug involvement and IPV by assessing risk among a cohort of legal handgun purchasers (i.e., individuals who were not subject to prohibitions on ownership at their times of firearm purchase in 2001).…”