Police, Public Search for Motive in Latest US Mass Shooting

 

A gunman in Texas shot and killed 26 people in a church in the small community of Southerland Springs, Texas on Sunday. At least 20 people were injured in the shooting.

Victims included children and the elderly.

The suspected gunman is also dead.

The event comes weeks after another major mass shooting in the United States. On October 1, Stephen Paddock shot and killed 58 people at a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada and wounded about 500 more. It was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

In both events, the reason remains¹ unclear. The police and the public search for answers.

Jeffery Simon, an expert on mass killings², told CNN that wanting to know why someone would commit such a terrible crime is natural. It is hard to get an answer, however.

What we know about the shooting in Texas

Public safety official Freeman Martin identified the gunman in Texas as 26-year-old Devin Kelley. Martin described him as a white male wearing a bullet-proof vest. Reports say he opened fire with an assault rifle outside of the First Baptist Church, entered and continued shooting.

The names of those killed have not been officially released yet. However, many people in the church knew Kelley.

While Kelley was shooting, a local person with his own rifle approached the gunman. This caused the gunman to drop his weapon and flee in his vehicle.

The citizen reportedly chased the gunmen. Police then joined in pursuing the suspect.

The suspect crashed and was found dead in his vehicle. Officials say he shot and killed himself.

Police have not found any links between Kelley and an organized terror group. They say that his criminal history with the police includes only minor³ driving violations⁴.

However, a spokesman for the U.S. Air Force told VOA that records show Kelley was discharged from the Air Force three years ago. He was charged with assaulting his wife and their child.

The couple divorced. Two years later, Kelley married again. It is unknown whether he and his second wife are still together.

So, why did he do it?

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said the shooting was the worst in the history of the state of Texas. He added that law enforcement officials had “many pieces of a complex puzzle” to put together about the events.

President Trump⁵ called the event “a mental health problem at the highest level.”

Examinations of previous mass shooting events have linked a number of issues to such violence.

After the Las Vegas shooting, CNN reporter Eric Levenson interviewed Michael Stone, a psychiatry⁶ professor at Columbia University. Levenson writes, “In general, mass killers⁷, almost all of whom are young men, are motivated by some combination of paranoia⁸ and mental illness or financial and social problems, he said.”

In the case of the Texas shooter, reports say that Kelley had a troubled relationship with his mother-in-law, who attended the church.

But Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic⁹ psychology¹⁰ at DeSales University, has cautioned against identifying a motive¹¹ too quickly. She points to the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. In that event, two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher, and wounded more than 20 other people. They then killed themselves.

After Columbine, Ramsland says, the media used the information they had to offer an explanation that was not complete or proven. Later studies of the event found more complicated reasons.

In general, experts agree that a single event usually does not cause a person to take violent action. Instead, many things can be involved over a long period of time.

The lack of a single – or simple – explanation has been a hallmark of the Las Vegas shooting in October. The gunman did not seem troubled by money or romantic relationship problems.

And the public is still struggling to understand the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. In that event, a 20-year-old man shot and killed 20 children and 6 adults before committing suicide.

A report from state officials confirmed that the Sandy Hook shooter had mental health problems. But it did not identify a reason for the crime.

Writing in Time magazine, Ari Schulman has said that the lack of a reason defines violence against a large number of strangers. “The mass shooting is a crafted public spectacle, a theater of violence,” Schulman wrote.

Its aim is to cause a public reaction, and to bring attention to the shooter – even if the attention is negative, Shulman said.

And the victims are more than the people who are struck by the bullets. The guns are aimed at society itself.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

church –n. a Christian¹² place of worship

assault rifle –n. a military weapon that can shoot many rounds quickly

assaulting –n. an act or crime causing harm or threatening to do so

divorce –v. to legally end a marriage

paranoia –n. a mental state of believing others are trying to harm you

hallmark –n. something that marks as an example of some quality

spectacle –n. a show meant to attract attention

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

9 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

10 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

11 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。