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Mass murder

This article is about killing of multiple people by individuals and non-state groups. For killing of people by governments, see Mass killings.

For broader coverage of this topic, see Massacre.
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Mass murder is the violent crime of killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in proximity.[1][2] A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more persons kill several others.[3][4]

In the United States, Congress defined mass killings as the killing of three or more persons during an event with no "cooling-off period" between the homicides.[5] The Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012, passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, clarified the statutory authority for federal law enforcement agencies, including those in the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, to assist state law enforcement agencies, and mandated across federal agencies a definition of "mass killing" as three or more killings during an incident.[6][7][8][9]

This Airbus A320, registration D-AIPX, was destroyed while operating Germanwings Flight 9525, having been intentionally crashed into the Alps by its co-pilot, killing all 150 people on board.

Mass murderers differ from spree killers, who kill at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders and are not defined by the number of victims, and serial killers, who kill people over long periods of time.[10]

  1. ^ Duwe, Grant (2007). Mass Murder in the United States. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7864-3150-2.
  2. ^ Aggrawal, A. (2005). "Mass Murder". In Payne-James JJ; Byard RW; Corey TS; Henderson C (eds.). Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine (PDF). Vol. 3. Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-547970-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  3. ^ "Serial Murder – Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2005. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Clues to Mass Rampage Killers: Deep Backstage, Hidden Arsenal, Clandestine Excitement, Randall Collins, The Sociological Eye, September 1, 2012
  5. ^ "Definitions of 'mass shooting' vary". WTHR. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Krouse, William J.; Richardson, Daniel J. (July 30, 2015). Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999–2013 (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 26.
  7. ^ Booty, Marisa; O’Dwyer, Jayne; Webster, Daniel; McCourt, Alex; Crifasi, Cassandra (2019). "Describing a "mass shooting": the role of databases in understanding burden". Injury Epidemiology. 6 (47): 47. doi:10.1186/s40621-019-0226-7. PMC 6889601. PMID 31828004.
  8. ^ Ye Hee Lee, Michelle (December 3, 2015). "Obama's inconsistent claim on the 'frequency' of mass shootings in the U.S. compared to other countries". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Albright, Mandi (March 17, 2021). "Spa killings another grisly chapter in Georgia history". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  10. ^ Peña, Pablo A.; Jena, Anupam (September 16, 2021). "Mass Shootings in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic". JAMA Network Open. 4 (9): e2125388. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.25388. ISSN 2574-3805. PMC 8446816. PMID 34529068.