October 1, 2017 is now a memberable date of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. The horrific event began when Stephen Paddock checked in at the Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas strip days before, having in his possession 42 guns, 1600 rounds of ammunition, and 90 pounds of chemical explosives. His room was angled towards the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival, where he fired multiple rounds towards the ground killing 59 people and injuring 527. When police arrived to Paddock’s hotel room, they found him on the floor with a bullet to the head, dead. Eric Paddock, his brother said, “He did not have any criminal record, military history, nor was he the ‘type’ of person to do such a horrific action” (BI). What was the cause of Stephen’s …show more content…
Professor John White states, “There’s no mass murder gene, but there are heritable traits, meaning that he inherits some part of the brain that, given the right circumstances, may bring out these behaviors” (RCP). Stephen’s actions could have been linked to those of his father causing him to have such a manic episode for the mass shooting. Another cause that investigators and scientists have come to the conclusion of is his brain. When family and friends heard that Paddock was the one who killed and injured people at the festival they could not believe it because of the type of person they knew him as. They were shocked because just days before the shooting Paddock sent his wife to her home country with money. Now, Paddock’s brain is being sent to Stanford for further dissection to determine if he suffered from a stroke, blood vessel diseases, tumors, multiple sclerosis, or anything that can cause the brain to have fear or aggression (CNN). There is still no explanation for Paddock’s actions, but the night of the incident was a nightmare for the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center just blocks away from the …show more content…
Five chaplains stood by, hoping against the dismal ritual of death” (USA TODAY). On October 1, 2017 Sunrise’s ER treated 199 patients in six hours related to the shooting. The Sunrise Hospital was extremely packed with new patients continuously coming in. Kevin Menes was one of the many doctors helping each and every wounded person from the shooting, but still said “They’ll handle it” (USA TODAY). Besides the fact of the people involved in the shooting, Las Vegas took a toll on their tourist demand. “Electronic billboards that typically promote restaurants, concerts, a topless pool, and other entertainment are now showing a dedicated phone line for victims and their families, along with words of appreciation for first responders and casino employees” (ABC). There is an economic effect, although people are still traveling in and out of Las Vegas, their demand is predicted to decrease because not as many tourists are coming. Morgan Stanley said, “...the shooting will decrease demand for the Las Vegas market for about six months and have a 4-6% economic effect”
October 2002 was the beginning of what seemed like the longest three weeks in the Washington Metropolitan Area. No one wanted to believe that what was happening would change the lives of thousands. What appeared to be a random killing spree by an enraged lunatic, turned out to be part of a massive plan that claimed the lives of ten innocent people in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. When these shootings first began, they were believed to be linked to a white van or truck. It was later discovered that these shootings were being carried out by a man named John Allen Muhammad, and his teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan.
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are two murderers that are known as the Beltway Sniper. Muhammad and Malvo killings are known to be random, which categorizes their killings as a killing spree. During the duration of their killing spree, they caused major panic throughout the United States. This notorious shootings that terrorized the United States took place in 2002. The shootings ended up taking the lives of 10 individuals and injuring 3 others (Blades, 2005, para.1). The shooting at the time it took place is considered unique because their weapon of choice to carry out their plan was a sniper rifle. What is unique about this case is that investigators and criminal theorist
On the night of October 1, 2017, a gunman rained fire down on a crowd of concert goers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 546 injured. There are three key points of interest and discussion about this tragic event that have stuck out to the American and global publics as well as to journalists, politicians and social critics around the world. These are, who was the assailant and why did he do what he did, how did this incident affect people in America and affect America as a whole and
...theorize that serial killers have brain damage or other biological abnormalities that contribute to their actions. Damage to areas like the frontal lobe, the hypothalamus and the limbic system can contribute to extreme aggression, loss of control, loss of judgment and violence. Henry Lee Lucas, who was convicted of 11 murders, was shown to have extreme brain damage in these areas, probably the result of childhood abuse, malnutrition and alcoholism. Arthur Shawcross, another 11-time serial killer, was found to have had several brain injuries, including two skull fractures. While in prison, he suffered from headaches and often blacked out. Bobby Joe Long, convicted of nine murders, stated at one point, "After I'm dead, they're going to open up my head and find that just like we've been saying a part of my brain is black and dry and dead" [source: Scott].
The deadliest school shooting to have ever happened in the United States at a high school or grade school, happened less than two years ago. On December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza, who was twenty years old at the time, shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, four times and then brought firearms to his former grade school Sandy Hook Elementary, and fatally shot twenty children and six adults. Then the shooter put his own gun to his head and fatally shot himself. All of the children were between the ages of six and seven years old, and all six adults who were shot and killed were females who worked at the school. Lanza's father believed that if he were there himself, his son would have had no trouble shooting and killing him too.
Over the past years media has been overwhelmed with news about mass shootings happening around America and if mental illness is the primary cause of the violent act. On February 2014, Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish published their article “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms” in the American Journal of Public Health that addresses the issue that mental illness has very little to do mass shootings which is commonly used on the aftermath of the shooting
The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the death of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention leading to a push to find the cause of these events. Out of this research a variety of possible causes came to light consisting of arguments stating that high school bullying, availability of guns, mental illness, violent movies and video games are the cause of mass shootings. However, these researchers and debaters tend to ignore the role of massive media coverage in the increase of copycat shootings in the United States.
As us Americans we are actually making the stereotype of we always carry guns around sound true to the rest of the world considering that, we are the “31% percent of all public mass shootings which at least four people are killed.” (TheWeek.com) But under a broader definition USA counted 346 mass shootings including shooting deaths of four or more victims in a 17- year period. The worst part about this information is this year we already have recorded 249 mass shootings in about 7 months close to the same amount USA counted over 17 years! This is a problem that must be solve for the safety in this country but also prevent more mass shooting from happening. “According to a Mother Jones study: Only 23 percent have been treated for mental illness.” ( Gallagher )
"Shootings Costing U.S. $174 Billion Show Burden of Gun Violence." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.
Mass shootings have become a common occurrence in the United States society and have brought our society's safety debate to the attention of American politics. Both sides of the debate agree that we need more safety precautions but neither side can officially agree on what is to be done. What can we do about the raging number of mass shootings? There is no definite solution for mass shootings but there are precautions the United States can take to try to overcome the overwhelming number of mass shootings occurring. Gun Control is a major topic in the debate of how we can keep our society safer but how is what remains a mystery but we can start with altering the second amendment, and having stronger gun laws and background checks.
“That could never happen in my school.” This is one of the first thoughts that goes through a students mind when they hear about a school shooting. The fact is though, it can. School shootings can happen at any school at any time. Lack of security is only a small part of the problem. The major issue lies in the low morality of students and warning signs overlooked by administration.
Eighty-nine people die from gun violence in the United States every day according to the Brady Campaign , from school children to victims of domestic violence to people going about their daily lives. As we mourn the lives of those killed in incidents of gun violence across the country, we need to take action. We should all do everything in our power to keep tragedies like this from happening again. When it comes to addressing mass shootings, we need new answers
Only a few days ago, an incident occurred where there was shooting in Las Vegas near an open area across the Las Vegas Strip from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. The gunman open fired at a festival and at least 59 people died including him and about 527 were injured. The latest information about the shooter is that he is a 64 year old resident of Mesquite, Nevada named Stephen Craig Paddock. I think that the incident was uncanny because, what would a 64 year old man want by killing hundreds of people. From the information gathered by the police, the man fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. At least 23 weapons were found in his room. Authorities also searched his room and found even more weapons such as rifles and bombs. “The
With the media shining so much light upon this topic, it is evident that mass murders in the United States of America are more frequent and deadly. In fact, studies have found that the USA has more mass public shootings than any other country (Christensen). These numbers have only been increasing in the past decades. This is shocking because the USA holds only 5 percent of the world’s population, but as a nation, contributes to 31 percent of mass murders (Christensen). Although these murders continue to be a rare phenomenon, weak gun laws, the need for fame, and issues with societal views are the main causes of the increase in cases.
The television comes on everyone puts their hand to their mouth in shock. Another mass killing has happened. As a nation we feel this is happening more than it used to, but how much is it really happening? The images of Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech are burned into the minds of Americans. Since 2006, there has been more than 200 mass killings in America (Overburg). Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech capture the nations attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny (Overburg). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) qualify a mass killing as the death of four people or more. With gun control and mental illness becoming a large topic due to these mass killings USA Today set out to find out who commits these killings, the weapons they use and the forces that motivates them. USA Today examined FBI and local police data and found that mass killings in America happen far more often than the government reports. Also the circumstances surrounding the killings are far more particular than most people think.