The definition of a mass shooting according to Stav Ziv is, "using the FBI's definition of mass murder -- four or more people killed" (Ziv 20). In the mid-20th Century a mass shooting was relatively unheard of. Every month in the U.S there is a story about a mass shooting occurring that involves the death of many people. Through the use of statistics and formulas we can see how and why this trend is taking place.  The inclination of shootings in America has sky-rocketed for many reasons. American citizens have become less sensitive to the violence portrayed in the media. Parents enabling their kids to play violent videogames could affect their psych, causing developmental problems in the brain, leading to mental illness. Secondly, the media's depiction of the shooter causes a copycat syndrome for future shooters that want fandom. The media is putting the shooters names in big, bold text that offers him a sense of martyrdom for the acts he committed. Lastly, the availability of guns and gun control could affect the shooter's ability to obtain these deadly weapons to carry out the crime. Gun control would play an important role in disallowing the culprit from easily obtaining a gun. With proper background checks, many schizophrenics wouldn't even be able to obtain guns. A great deal of research, however, suggests that behavioral scientists don't have an explanation as to what drives people to committing mass shootings and violent rampages, or why they've increased in recent decades. Some scholars say they are contagious, due to mental illness, or the lack of gun control. The reason why mass shootings have been on the rise and commonly occurring in the United States in the past few decades is due to the inability to address mental illness, the media's portrayal of the shooter, and the lack of gun control. 

Mental health is a major facet in determining why mass shootings are becoming more prominent in today's society. The idea of mass shootings in America are increasing astronomically, and are a threat to our society according to Stav of Newsweek, and that these incidents are occurring at an overwhelming pace, "Mass shootings in schools, movie theaters and other public places have left scores of victims in their wake. And an overwhelming number of them have occurred in the United States" (Ziv 20). The random nature of these shootings could be traced back to the mental instability of the perpetrator. According to Mark Follman, a large percentage of these shooters have displayed some sign of a mental illness and identified correlations that seemed popular amongst the statistics,  "We identified and analyzed 62 of them ...  at least 38 of them displayed signs of possible mental health problems prior to the killings" (Mother Jones). These mental illnesses result from either mental abuses, trauma or even substance abuse. A large portion of these shootings could have been prevented by better treatment of these mental disorders. By receiving the proper care they needed at the appropriate time, these shootings may not have occurred due to their problems being handled in a timely matter and not swept under the table for someone else to worry about. The built up stress and being socially ostracized will cause the person to seek revenge or take his frustration out on those who are innocent. We can see this example put into action in the Virginia Tech Shooting of 2007: "gunman Seng-Hui Cho killed 32 individuals and then himself ...  [Was] being treated for mental disorder" (Wallace 162). If this student was able to get the help he desperately needed, the likelihood of that tragic event would have been reduced. The pressure he was under from his finals and studying broke him past his stress level, which provoked him to commit that heinous crime. To treat these individuals, there are options that are available. According to Josh Sanburn of The Breif, "assisted outpatient treatment allows courts to impose treatment on adults considered a risk to themselves or others" (Sanburn 12). This would dramatically help reduce the mentally ill from obtaining guns and receiving the care they need. This is a pro-active way of dealing with those that are afflicted by a mental illness. 

The media has an effect on whether or not a future shooter will carry out a mass shooting in the future. The media also has the ability to incite fear into the nation by covering the story in a way that will lean one either towards blaming it on the guns, or the mental illness itself. According to Wallace, "Most individuals learn of mass shootings through mass media. As a result, the media can shape how the general public perceives and reacts to these events" (161). The media's portrayal might cause one to go out and buy a gun to feel more protected. A cause for this feeling is due to large public schools and how they are a cesspool for bullies and school violence. For example, the Sandy hook shooting caused the NRA association to exponentially rise in number, highlighting the increase in gun support, but sales as well. The media has the ability to alter the public's mind and shape their thinking towards their bias. The media relies on emotional accounts, rather than facts to develop their story, which in results leads to a skewed interpretation of their account. According to Stav of Newsweek, the "U.S. accounts for less than 5 percent of the world's population, it had nearly 31 percent of global mass shootings between 1966 and 2012" (20). The news media's over-sensationalism of a mass shooting causes those who watch to succumb to the fear factor. The factor of whether a mass shooting receives little coverage such as regionally, or nationally could affect the nation's ability to react a different way. A gang shooting that results in four deaths is likely to receive little coverage in just that region compared to the shooting of Columbine, Colorado. This effect will cause future shooters to aim for the national appeal and aiming for more casualties. To remove this motive of achieving national infamy the media should not name the shooter says a University of Alabama Criminologist, " ...  a desire for notoriety ...   -- helps drive some people to commit mass shootings" (Sanburn; Adam Lankford 12). The act of removing the criminals name eliminates the perpetrator's national infamy and reduces the chance of copycat tragedies. 

Having more readily available officials on campus to address shooters would lessen the chance of a successful mass shooting to happen. By allowing more school resource officers to be placed in school there is a chance to reduce shootings occurring from occurring. After the shooting of Columbine the FBI create a behavior-analysis team that works with local law officials and school officials which helps prevent these incidents from occurring. According to Sanburn this analysis team has been effective in reducing these incidents from occurring, "has responded to more than 400 cases, and then Attorney General Eric Holder said it prevented 150 attacks in 2013" (12). This is one of many effective strategies in effectively reducing the chance of these mass shootings to occur in school. The media's portrayal of a shooting is highly influenced by the regional factors, the region's culture, and the ability to incite fear into the public. These effects persuade the public in making irrational biased decisions and by excluding the shooter's name can we reduce the chance of copycat attacks in the future. 

The cause of mass shootings in recent decades to escalate could also be related to gun control, or lack thereof. In a recent survey carried out by Stav, he found that the most statistically strong factor that relates to mass shooting is the firearm ownership rate, the, "U.S. was the world leader in civilian firearm ownership, with roughly 270 million firearms for 300 million people" (20). The U.S, being the leader in civilian firearm ownership, was in the top 15 for mass shootings, the U.S being number one. This statistic cannot go unnoticed in the sense that this proves why so many shootings occur because the shooters have easy access to obtaining a deadly weapon. This deadly weapon could be obtained by stealing it from parents, a black market trade or even purchasing one on one's own discretion. According to Wallace, she found that about half those who owned guns were only owned for self-defense and that a third of those who responded had a gun in their house or garage. "approximately 46% of the survey respondents report that their primary reason for owning a gun is self-defense ...  in 2012, 34% said they had a gun in their home or garage" (162). The availability for guns is unyielding to those who wish to obtain it. Adam Lanza of the Newtown Massacre obtained his guns through his parents. The ability for shooters to obtain guns directly relates to those statistics pointing to that a third of those who took the survey had guns readily available. Guns are to easily available for those who want one. This can be backed up by the gun control bills being unable to pass in congress "The background check amendment, similar to the gun control legislation that failed to pass the Senate in 2013 after the Sandy Hook school shooting, failed with 48 senators in favor and 50 against"(Arkin Web). This shows that even after a national tragedy like Sandy Hook, gun control will not be enacted any time soon because of America's love for readily available firearms, deeply vested in America's 2nd amendment right. Many quotes were made after these shootings such as, "guns don't kill people, people kill people," and " the only way to kill a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun." States have already begun flagging those posed as potential suspects for mass shootings states Sanburn, "states have begun allowing authorities to flag people they deem too dangerous to own guns ...  members can seek a firearm restraining order if a relative who owns a gun shows signs of potential violence" (Sanburn 12). This has already been in effect in Connecticut where 100's of firearms have been seized that have shown signs of hurting themselves or others. (Sanburn 12). These gun control measures will effectively reduce the amount of mass shootings that occur by limiting those with problems from allowing them to obtain guns. Other also argue to hold the gun manufactures liable for the perpetrator's actions. Buy selling automatic rifles to the public that were designed for war, such as the AR-15 are negligent and are fully aware of the consequences that come out from it. This will enact financial incentives to include safety precautions and track the sale of these firearms to prevent them from getting into the wrong hands. 

The ability for mass shooters to cause mass shootings is deeply vested in the mental psych of the shooter, the media' portrayal of the shooter, and the lack of gun control in the United States. We can only do so much to stop these events from unfolding and even recent studies have suggested there is no correlation to what we can do to prevent these incidents from happening again. ""taking guns away from the mentally ill won't eliminate mass shootings" unless such efforts are linked to larger prevention efforts that have a broader impact on communities" (Metzl 246). There are some research studies that say we don't know when and why these mass shootings happen and that there is no correlation. All in all, these shootings are determined by the shooters motive, not some math equation or statistic thought up in a lab.

