The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as tipping point

Shultz, James M.; Muschert, Glenn W.; Dingwall, Alison; Cohen, Alyssa

doi:10.4161/dish.27113

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…9 It has been argued (and, indeed, social media postings have largely corroborated) that the Sandy Hook shootings represented an especially heinous premeditated act of violence given that all of the victims were very young defenseless children or school staff aiming to protect these children. 10 In contrast, less than 2 months prior to the Sandy Hook shootings, a historic storm-Hurricane Sandyravaged the Northeastern United States upon its highly unusual landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 29, 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Content Analysis of Select YouTube Postings: Comparisons of Reactions to the Sandy Hook and Aurora Shootings and Hurricane Sandy

Miller

2015

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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This study details an innovative and methodical content analysis of 2,207 YouTube comments from four different YouTube videos (e.g., breaking news or memorials) related to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School and Aurora theater mass shootings and the catastrophic Hurricane Sandy. As expected, YouTube comments associated with the Sandy Hook shootings (particularly those from a memorial video) were especially likely to feature compassion and grief with lessened hostility. This study highlights differing online contexts by which individuals show grief and related emotions following man-made and natural calamities and how-even in an online environment-powerful situational contexts greatly guide behavior.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Content Analysis of Select YouTube Postings: Comparisons of Reactions to the Sandy Hook and Aurora Shootings and Hurricane Sandy

Miller

2015

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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“…Mass shootings are frequently followed by calls for gun control, whether from politicians (eg, President Barack Obama’s mention of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in his 2013 State of the Union address) or from the public (including student-led activism after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting). 23 , 24 In response, people concerned about potential legislation resulting from this advocacy may be motivated to buy guns or related paraphernalia, especially those that might be restricted. For example, after the 2017 Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, gun stores and distributors also received much higher demands for bump stock accessories of the same types used by the shooter, which were eventually banned in December 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Time-Series Analysis of Firearm Purchasing After Mass Shooting Events in the United States

Liu

Wiebe

2019

JAMA Netw Open

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Importance Increased understanding of public response to mass shootings could guide public health planning regarding firearms. Objectives To test the hypothesis that mass shootings are associated with gun purchasing in the United States and to determine factors associated with gun purchasing changes. Design and Setting In a cross-sectional study, monthly data on US background checks for all firearm purchases, handgun permits, and long gun permits between November 1, 1998, and April 30, 2016, were obtained from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. All mass shootings resulting in 5 or more individuals injured or killed during the study period were also identified. Interrupted autoregressive integrated moving average time-series modeling was used to identify events associated with changes in gun purchase volume. Then, logistic regression was used to identify event characteristics associated with changes in gun purchases. Analyses were performed between June 6, 2016, and February 5, 2019. Exposures For the time-series analysis, each mass shooting was modeled as an exposure. In the logistic regression, examined factors were the shooter’s race/ethnicity, the region in the United States in which a shooting occurred, whether a shooting was school related, fatalities, handgun use, long gun use, automatic or semiautomatic gun use, media coverage level, and state political affiliation. Main Outcomes and Measures Identification of major mass shootings significantly associated with changes in gun purchases, and the identification of event-specific factors associated with changes in gun purchases. Results Between November 1998 and April 2016, 124 major mass shootings and 233 996 385 total background checks occurred. A total of 26 shootings (21.0%) were associated with increases in gun purchases and 22 shootings (17.7%) were associated with decreases in gun purchasing. Shootings receiving extensive media coverage were associated with handgun purchase increases (odds ratio, 5.28; 95% CI, 1.30-21.41; P = .02). Higher-fatality shootings had an inverse association with handgun purchase decreases (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53-1.00; P = .049). Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this study suggest an association between mass shootings and changes in gun purchases, observed on a comprehensive timescale. Identification of media coverage and fatalities as significant factors underlying this association invites further study into the mechanisms driving gun purchase changes, holding implications for public health response to future gun violence.

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“…The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting was a galvanizing — and polarizing —3 event, bringing forth strident calls for gun control and mental health reform. 5 President Barack Obama became personally involved, making repeated visits to Newtown, empaneling a special investigative committee, spearheading progress toward implementation of 23 gun violence reduction executive actions, 6 packing the chambers of Congress with survivors of gun violence as he delivered his 2013 State of the Union address, 7 and actively involving family members of the Sandy Hook victims as advocates for legislation to address this national problem. 8 Nevertheless, the forceful political rhetoric and extensive media coverage of the issue of mass violence has yet to result in policy or behavioral change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 Nevertheless, the forceful political rhetoric and extensive media coverage of the issue of mass violence has yet to result in policy or behavioral change. 5 , 9 , 10 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fatal school shootings and the epidemiological context of firearm mortality in the United States

Shultz

Cohen²,

Muschert

et al. 2013

Disaster Health

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Background The December 14, 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, USA, vaulted concerns regarding gun violence to the forefront of public attention. This high-visibility incident occurred within the epidemiological context of U.S. firearm mortality that claims more than 88 lives daily.Methods National epidemiologic data on firearm deaths over two decades were analyzed along with data registries on school shootings in order to place the tragedy at Sandy Hook in perspective. School shootings were classified as random or targeted.Results The U.S. has the highest rates of firearm deaths, suicides, and homicides among the world’s 34 “advanced economies.” Seventy percent of U.S. homicides and more than 50% of U.S. suicides are committed using a firearm. U.S. firearm homicide rates first declined, and then stabilized, during the past 23 years, 1990-2012. “Shooting massacres” in school settings, a new phenomenon within the past 50 years, are extremely rare events. Over 23 years, 1990-2012, 215 fatal school shooting incidents resulted in 363 deaths, equivalent to 0.12% of national firearm homicides during that time period. Most episodes were “targeted” shootings in which the perpetrator intentionally killed a specific individual in a school setting. Only 25 of these 215 events (11.6%) were “random” or “rampage” shootings, resulting in 135 deaths (0.04% of national firearm homicides). Among these, just three shooting rampages – Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Sandy hook Elementary School – accounted for 72 (53.3%) of these 135 deaths. The frequency of random/rampage shooting incidents in schools has remained within the narrow range of 0 to 3 episodes per year.Conclusions Each year, more than 32,000 Americans die by firearms and more than 70,000 are wounded, representing a volume of preventable deaths and injuries that the U.S. government describes as a “public health crisis.” School massacres, such as Sandy Hook, occur periodically, galvanizing public reaction and bringing forth a collective call for intervention. Epidemiological analyses position these rare, but uniquely compelling, incidents within the broader national patterns of gun violence. The intention is to inform the selection of a balanced, comprehensive set of effective remedies to address the daily death toll from firearm suicides and “targeted” firearm homicides that account for more than 99% of firearm fatalities; as well as the rare, random, and sporadic rampage shootings in school or community settings.

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The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as tipping point

Cited by 29 publications

References 16 publications

Content Analysis of Select YouTube Postings: Comparisons of Reactions to the Sandy Hook and Aurora Shootings and Hurricane Sandy

Content Analysis of Select YouTube Postings: Comparisons of Reactions to the Sandy Hook and Aurora Shootings and Hurricane Sandy

A Time-Series Analysis of Firearm Purchasing After Mass Shooting Events in the United States

Fatal school shootings and the epidemiological context of firearm mortality in the United States

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