you come up with a universal definition for “mass shooting,” rather, a set of definitions.
FBI defines “mass murder” as one where at least four people are murdered during the same incident. People base “mass shooting” off that definition by saying that a mass shooting is when four or more people are shot during the same incident.
That’s like saying a person living in poverty thinks the same about a five dollar bill as a billionaire.
If you asked anyone on the streets to attach a number to the word “mass.” No one is going to say one, two, three, or four.
Take a step back from all the news you’ve read in the last 10 years. Now think about all the times you read or saw “mass shooting.” Was it really mass?
I think the FBI and laypeople can learn something from the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory System. They have levels of risk alerts. Instead of stating there will be a terrorist attack, they rank the possbility.
Or maybe the FBI can pull from the Fujita Scale. A scale that classifies the level of severity of a tornado. For example, a tornado producing gusts of 90 mph would be considered an “EF 1.”
Imagine if you switch “mph” with “deaths” in the Fajita Scale. Then you substitute each EF 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 with something that expresses the range of deaths in that category.
Which “X” would you substitute with “mass shooting”?
Certainly not them all.
1. Why not call the situation what it really is. If four people died, it’s a four person killing spree. If 36 died, it’s a 36 person killing spree. Now we don’t have to deal with which is a mass shooting and which isn’t. Calling a four person killing spree a mass shooting then calling a 36 person killing spree a mass shooting is insensitive to those closely connected with the 36 person killing spree.
2. If it’s a matter of word count or syllables to the media, I would rather have a lengthy accuracy than a short generalization. Wouldn’t you?
3. Notice how throughout this article, you felt the same for a “mass shooting” that involved four people versus a “mass shooting” that involved 36 people. Just because you get specific, doesn’t lose the impact. Any number of people dead hits those closest to them the same.
