James Fox
Professor Of Criminology, Law And Public Policy, Northeastern University
Key Findings
- The age range of campus shooters in mult-victim homicides skewed higher than the age of traditional university students.
- More than half of perpetrators of multi-victim homicides on college campuses were more than 25 years-old.
- At four of the 18 schools, the shooter had no relation to the university.
- In two instances, the assailants’ only connection to the university was their relationship to the students killed.
- In two other instances the perpetrators of the homicides were traditional undergraduate students. In the remaining ten cases the shooters were graduate students, professional studies students or members of the faculty.
Description
In the article, “Rampage Killings on Campus,” Fox examines factors in multi-victim homicides on college campuses to find patterns. Historically, the homicide rate on university campuses has been low (a few dozen per year) but highly publicized instances of mass shootings and serial murders at colleges have shifted perception of campus climates from carefree to unsafe. The researchers analyzed data from multi-victim homicides (categorized as at least two victims killed) at 18 universities from 1990 to 2014. The results showed that the age range of campus shooters in mult-victim homicides skewed higher than the age of traditional university students. More than half of perpetrators of multi-victim homicides on college campuses were more than 25 years-old. At four of the 18 schools, the shooter had no relation to the university. In two instances, the assailants’ only connection to the university was their relationship to the students killed. In two other instances, the perpetrators of the homicides were traditional undergraduate students. In the remaining ten cases, the shooters were graduate students, professional studies students or members of the faculty. Fox notes that school shooters of college campuses are responding to the stressors in their lives (they often lack balance and feel immense pressure to succeed in class and work) with violence. He also notes that Asian students who are studying on foreign visas were overrepresented as perpetrators of campus homicide and can be explained by facing additional pressures to succeed due to visas and cultural norms. Fox notes that many colleges increased staff and funding to counseling services after the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007, more can be done. In conclusion, Fox notes universities must focus more on the well-being of students and staff members and not only single out at risk individuals.