Most school shooters grew up with guns as key part of social life, study suggests

A new analysis of school shootings in the U.S. suggests that most shooters had a social background in which guns were a key leisure item, with attached meanings of bonding and affection, which also translated into easy access to firearms. Anne Nassauer of the University of Erfurt, Germany, presents these findings in PLOS One.

For U.S. minors, guns are the leading cause of death. Some of these deaths occur in school shootings, where a current or former student fires at people at their school. Discussions of school shootings often cite the unique gun culture of the U.S. as a causative factor. However, few studies have methodically analyzed the role of gun culture in school shooters' lives.

To address this gap, Nassauer analyzed all known U.S. school shootings across U.S. history (83 cases), some of which resulted in no deaths, some in a few deaths, and some in many. Using data from court, police, and media records, she assembled a case file for each shooter and conducted cross-case and statistical comparisons to determine whether any patterns in gun culture emerged.

The analysis suggests that a distinct pocket of U.S. gun culture plays a key role in school shooters' lives. Specifically, most shooters in the study came from a social background in which guns were key leisure items that were often important for family bonding time, often from a young age. Some shooters described guns as being their "only friend" or the "love of [their] life."