A paper released in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and conducted at Columbia University has unveiled that most mass shootings are not caused by people with severe mental illness.
The Columbia University research team focused on data from the Columbia Mass Murder Database (CMMD) involving more than 14,000 murders.
Out of 82 incidents of mass murder centered on firearm use involving academic settings, severe mental illness was not associated with the majority of perpetrators.
“Our findings suggest that mass school shootings are different from other forms of mass murder, and that they should be looked at as a distinct phenomenon,” according to the study’s authors.
“The question of whether perpetrators of such incidents may perceive their actions as a kind of final act might enhance policy development and/or how law enforcement intervenes.”
