Quiet, Almost too quiet

[Kyriakos]

Maybe they aren't needed now due to the current hopelessness of taking the people's guns etc.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

And there has been a shooting in California. Some of the 7 wounded may yet die, but as a preliminary entry we now have,

1) 16 January 2014 Spanish Fork UT, 5 killed
2) 3 February 2014 Cypress TX, 4 killed
3) 6 February 2014 Defiance OH, 4 dead
4) 20 February 2014 Indianapolis IN, 4 killed
5) 20 February 2014 Alturas, CA, 4 killed
6) 24 February 2014 Glade Springs VA 4 killed
7) 26 February 2014 Oak Lawn IL, 4 killed.
8) 2 April 2014 Fort Hood, TX, 4 killed
9) 24 May 2014 Goleta, CA, 7 killed

Total Incidents 9
Total killed 40

By this time last year, there had been 16 such shootings with a total of 72 persons killed.

 

[Gori the Grey]

What's your implication, Paul? That 2014 mass killers are kinda slackin' off relative to 2013 killers?

I find this whole thread grisly. Yes, when you posted back on May 7, there was, sadly, going to be a next one at some point.

Are you congratulating yourself for having predicted that? The "And" of your most recent post suggests so: "And . . . just as I predicted . . . " Or "And . . . at long last we've got one."

Maybe it's just me, but your approach comes across as callous to the horror of these occasions.

 

[KMRblue1027]

Well 2013 was actually statically normal that's what's weird about this year.

 

[Phrossack]

What's your implication, Paul? That 2014 mass killers are kinda slackin' off relative to 2013 killers?

I find this whole thread grisly. Yes, when you posted back on May 7, there was, sadly, going to be a next one at some point.

Are you congratulating yourself for having predicted that? The "And" of your most recent post suggests so: "And . . . just as I predicted . . . " Or "And . . . at long last we've got one."

Maybe it's just me, but your approach comes across as callous to the horror of these occasions.

You're reading too much into a single word, "And."

If anything, his post suggests the grim, disappointed resignation of seeing yet another massacre in this violent and barbaric country. There's seemingly no way to stop them.

 

[JollyRoger]

California's gun laws have been a mess ever since Governor Reagan banned open carry of loaded weapons because he was afraid of a few Blank Panthers exercising the right.

 

[Gori the Grey]

You're reading too much into a single word, "And."

If anything, his post suggests the grim, disappointed resignation of seeing yet another massacre in this violent and barbaric country. There's seemingly no way to stop them.

If you say so, Phrossack. I only know the thread title from cheezy horror movies, so its tone in application to this matter struck me as odd from the start.

But I'm aware I'm in a grumpy mood just now, so maybe I am misinterpreting.

I'll just stay out of this thread.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

Sorry if I am being rude or tasteless. I have been building a list of mass shootings and wanted to share. It is remarkable to me how many of these things happen and how soon they are forgotten. Or to say it another way, isn't it interesting that you most likely have never seen such a list before? It is as if we are ignoring these crimes.

 

[Bootstoots]

I wouldn't say we ignore these crimes relative to other murders - quite the opposite: when 7 people get killed in an inner-city drive-by killing, it does make local media, perhaps briefly national media, but fades pretty quickly. 7 people killed in a nominally safe area by a random crazy person gets far more coverage, and for far longer. This has happened frequently enough lately, though, that it's probably not getting as much coverage as it used to.

Although the murder rate has gone down substantially from its peak in the early 90s, it does seem that the number of spree killings by random crazy people has gone up significantly. This might have something to do with the USA's extremely high rates of both mental illness (Americans consume the majority of the world's antidepressants) and gun ownership (USA #1 by far).

 

[Paul in Saudi]

Crime is down. Gun crime is down. Killings of police officers are down. Mass killings (as listed above, four or more killed in a single "emotional event") are down. The only "unofficial" category that is up is a spree killing of a dozen or more people in a single event (with a gun, by a single shooter). The first case of such a crime in the US was in the 1940s. I think I am correct in saying there has been about a dozen such cases, and their rate is accelerating.

 

[Rashiminos]

As a response to the OP: The massacres in the Ukraine are also pushing the desired stress buttons right now.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

I see my list missed a murder-suicide in California about three months ago. It amazes me that a mass killing can make just the local news. The corrected list is:

2014 Mass Killing in USA

1) 16 January 2014 Spanish Fork UT, 5 killed
2) 3 February 2014 Cypress TX, 4 killed
3) 6 February 2014 Defiance OH, 4 dead
4) 20 February 2014 Indianapolis IN, 4 killed
5) 20 February 2014 Alturas, CA, 4 killed
6) 24 February 2014 Glade Springs VA 4 killed
7) 26 February 2014 Oak Lawn IL, 4 killed.
8) 2 April 2014 Fort Hood, TX, 4 killed
9) 9 May 2014 Pomona, CA 4 killed
10) 24 May 2014 Goleta, CA, 7 killed

Total Incidents 10
Total killed 44

 

[Bamspeedy]

I suppose 11 would be high. But look the temporal varation

2014 Mass Killing in USA

1) 16 January 2014 Spanish Fork UT, 5 killed
2) 3 February 2014 Cypress TX, 4 killed
3) 6 February 2014 Defiance OH, 4 dead
4) 20 February 2014 Indianapolis IN, 4 killed
5) 20 February 2014 Alturas, CA, 4 killed
6) 24 February 2014 Glade Springs VA 4 killed
7) 26 February 2014 Oak Lawn IL, 4 killed.
8) 2 April 2014 Fort Hood, TX, 4 killed

Total Incidents 8
Total killed 33

Do not make too much of two events on one day. That happened last year too (29 October). But look how insanely bloody February was. Last February had only two mass killings. (October on the other hand, had four events last year.)

I am unschooled on statistics. Perhaps this all quite normal. Perhaps the gruesome weather we had earlier this year had some impact on all this.

Looking back to 2006 to now, nothing looks unusual about this year.

There has, even before this year, been other months with 0 mass killings and months with more cases than February had.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/mass-killings/index.html#frequency

(Though this report seems to require 4 victims without counting the shooter, or else it's missing several from this year).

 

[Paul in Saudi]

There have now been 11 mass shootings meeting the FBI definition. This one was a murder-suicide. I wonder how many of these were family-murders (the most common sort) and how many were killings of strangers (as that kid in California did).

11) 28 May 2014 Mission Viejo, CA 4 killed

Total Incidents 11
Total killed 48

 

[Farm Boy]

Crime is down. Gun crime is down. Killings of police officers are down. Mass killings (as listed above, four or more killed in a single "emotional event") are down. The only "unofficial" category that is up is a spree killing of a dozen or more people in a single event (with a gun, by a single shooter). The first case of such a crime in the US was in the 1940s. I think I am correct in saying there has been about a dozen such cases, and their rate is accelerating.

Do we have any statistics on recorded killings by the police in the line of duty? I'm curious. I would think that would be a relevant statistic when people have the argument on whether or not to mandate outsourcing to state power the final line.

 

[warpus]

I don't think you can really look at just one year and draw any meaningful conclusions here. But that's just me.

 

[Paul in Saudi]

I misread your question and thought you were asking about number of policemen killed while on duty. That number peaked in 1974 at 280. 2013, oddly, recorded exactly 100 such deaths.

Neat Table

Now turning to your question, we seem to be running about 400 citizens killed by policemen a year. That is to say 4,081 such killings for the ten-year period ending in 2010.

Wonderful site

Go to "Homicides" as the top item on the left. Select "Felon Killed by Police." It is not clear how the site handles "people killed by the police by mistake."

 

[Farm Boy]

Thank you!

 

[Paul in Saudi]

Again, I find my list to be incomplete. How can four people be shot to death and it get so little media coverage that I missed it? In this case, I have added two. Here is the up-to-date butcher's bill.

We are approaching the midyear. At this time last year, we had 16 mass killings meeting the FBI requirement.

2014 Mass Killing in USA

1) 16 January 2014 Spanish Fork UT, 5 killed
2) 3 February 2014 Cypress TX, 4 killed
3) 6 February 2014 Defiance OH, 4 dead
4) 20 February 2014 Indianapolis IN, 4 killed
5) 20 February 2014 Alturas, CA, 4 killed
6) 24 February 2014 Glade Springs VA 4 killed
7) 26 February 2014 Oak Lawn IL, 4 killed.
8) 2 April 2014 Fort Hood, TX, 4 killed
9) 3 May 2014 Jonesboro AK 4 killed
10) 9 May 2014 Tampa FL 4 killed
11) 9 May 2014 Pomona, CA 4 killed
12) 24 May 2014 Goleta, CA, 7 killed
13) 28 May 2014 Mission Viejo, CA 4 killed

Total Incidents 13
Total killed 56

 

[Bamspeedy]

Again, I find my list to be incomplete. How can four people be shot to death and it get so little media coverage that I missed it?

When one of these events happens every 10 days or so do you really expect each of those events to be front page national news? Local news certainly, but not national, because in any particular local area it is happening far rarer than once every 10 days. And I'm guessing most of these are people shooting their own family and/or friends, not strangers. Not that it is right to think this way, but there is more of a shock factor to the media consumer of "that could have been me" if the shooter shoots random strangers than if he kills his family "I know my family/friends and none of them would do something this" (even if they are being naive, that is how most people feel) or a drug deal goes bad "I don't do drugs, so I'm not likely to be a victim"

And your count includes the shooter himself, which most people don't care about him and would prefer him to be dead anyways since he did such a thing. 80%+ of your list meets the minimum requirements and I suspect is one factor (of many) in whether or not a story goes national (the more victims the more newsworthy it is).