Rampage School Shooting Sociology

The Sociology of Rampage School Shootings Adam Lanza killed twenty first graders, six adults, his mother, and himself during a tragic school shooting in 2013 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut (Murdock, 2013). More recently, On a Friday evening in Munich, Germany, a teenager opened fire at a McDonald’s attached to the Olympia Einkaufszentrum shopping center killing nine people, himself and injured many more (Bruton & Eckardt, 2016). What do these two shootings have in common? Both of these shooters did extensive research on previous school shootings, possibly had some sort of mental illness, and committed suicide; among other things. While the shooting in Munich was not inside of a school, elements can be compared to other

In order to get this acceptance from his/her peers, family, and/or community, he/she has to get their attention. In the case of school shootings, the perpetrators use violence and homicide to gain their attention and acceptance. Katherine Newman has done countless research into this theory. “In a small town,” Newman says, “there often aren’t that many options, it’s hard to find a place where you can feel socially comfortable. These smaller towns are extremely stable—that’s what makes them such wonderful places to raise a family. But that very stability can often feel like a death sentence to those at the margins” (Plumer, 2012). “Think about what the shooter wants to accomplish—trying to get the attention of their peers, trying to change how people around them think about them,” Newman says. “If you’re looking to attack a community and change the way people think about you, the school is the place where you’ll have the most devastating impact” (Plumer, 2012). However, how does this desire for acceptance drive them to something as violent as killing

“Studies have shown that violent media does produce an increase in aggression (Anderson and Bushman, 2001; Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2005; Reiner, 2007; Rocque, 2012, p. 308). “Research has found a correlation between the amount of time school children spend watching television and using video games and aggressive behavior such as fighting, the early use of alcohol and other illegal drugs, and even trouble sleeping” (Macionis, Tiemann, McNeal, Lucal, Ender 2014, p. 127). Along with video games, other say bullying can impact one’s motive to commit violence. “Research by Vossekuil, Fein, Reddy, Borum, and Modzeleski (2002) finds that a large majority of school shooters are the victims of bullying (Larkin, 2007; Newman et al., 2004; Rocque, 2012, p. 308). A violent home and/or school life could prompt one to turn to violence to sort out his/her anger and