Four mass shootings this past weekend: What do we know about mass shooters?

• Scott LaMar
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 Matt Rourke / AP Photo

People pray outside the scene of Saturday's shooting at a supermarket, in Buffalo, N.Y., Sunday, May 15, 2022. The shooting is the latest example of something that's been part of U.S. history since the beginning: targeted racial violence.

Airdate: Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Ten people were killed in a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York Saturday. The victims were Black and investigators say the shooter was motivated by racial hatred.

The Buffalo shooting was one of four nationwide this past weekend.

For many years, criminologists Jillian Peterson, Ph.D., and James Densley, Ph.D., have studied mass shootings and the people who carry them out.

Their research has shown and they point out in their 2021 book THE VIOLENCE PROJECT: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic is that those who carried out mass shootings share four common characteristics, including grievances and exposure to violence.

Dr. Peterson and Dr. Densley appear on Smart Talk Tuesday to offer insights into their research and a hopeful look at stopping the violence before it happens.

Listen Now