by Joy Dike, PhD
A quick Google search of mass shootings in 2015 will give you an answer ranging from 4 to over 350. That's a startlingly large range. Were there 4 mass shootings in 2015 or were there 300? Or were there 21? Or 294? Or 32? How are we supposed to make sense of this?
The issue at hand is how the term "mass shooting" is defined. Do we include the shooter in the casualties? Do we count only those killed? Or those shot and those killed? Do people even have to die to consider it a mass shooting? Do we include gang shootings? Drug related shootings? Domestic violence shootings? The parameters make a difference.
The issue at hand is how the term "mass shooting" is defined. Do we include the shooter in the casualties? Do we count only those killed? Or those shot and those killed? Do people even have to die to consider it a mass shooting? Do we include gang shootings? Drug related shootings? Domestic violence shootings? The parameters make a difference.
The next time you look at active shooter or mass shooting statistics, think about where the data came from.
Visit the Invictus Consulting blog again in the next few days as we continue this discussion about the meaning behind the statistics.
Visit the Invictus Consulting blog again in the next few days as we continue this discussion about the meaning behind the statistics.
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