Violence Preserving Perverted Sense of Belonging: Case Studies of Adolescent Mass Shooters

In the developed world, gun violence is a uniquely American epidemic. Since 2020, gun violence has been the number one cause of death of children and adolescents in our country. Not surprisingly, states that have stricter gun laws have lower firearm-related pediatric mortality rates (Goyal et al., 2019, p. 23). Exposure to firearm violence gives rise to cycles of trauma and fear within our communities, contributing to the nation’s mental health crisis. The majority of American adults say that they worry about a loved one being a victim of gun violence. Similar to many of our children who have now survived two school shootings, the author, while doing humanitarian work, also survived two terrorist attacks. These traumatic events catalyzed a desire within the author to more deeply understand the origins of destructive aggression.