Everyone is looking for answers in the wake of the latest tragedies in El Paso, Dayton, and at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California. However, it isn’t the first time researchers have been asking the questions.
The Violence Project is a think tank that received funding from the Department of Justice to research mass shootings (defined as shootings in a public place killing four or more people). Their database included over 150 such shootings between 1966 and 2018.
The project’s findings clearly showed that almost all of the mass shooters were exposed to violence as children, including physical abuse and sexual abuse. Without the opportunity to heal, children who have experienced trauma typically have life-long effects, including an average of two mental disorders. They also account for high percentages of suicidal tendencies and homelessness, two other factors shared by most mass shooters.
Research has shown that other factors contribute to these violent acts, and less than 1% of adult survivors of childhood violence will resort to mass killing. However, the pattern has emerged since 1966 of shootings increasing along with the rising epidemic of child abuse.
One in five children today will be abused or neglected by the age of 18. The Violence Project findings serve as yet another reminder we need to be pro-active and that ending the epidemic of child abuse and helping all children to grow in stable, healthy environments, benefits us all.