NCJ Number
102600
Date Published
1983
Length
25 pages
Annotation
FBI homicide data and separate data on 33 homicides involving 4 or more victims and committed between 1974 and 1979 formed the basis of an analysis of the characteristics and circumstances of multiple murder and a comparison of multiple murder with murders involving single victims.
Abstract
The smaller sample included 42 offenders. Data for the analysis came from records and from interviews with criminal justice officials, psychiatrists, community members, and researchers from the FBI. Mass murderers committed killings either simultaneously or serially. They were more likely than killers of single victims to be white males and to use rifles. The majority knew their victims; many were family members. Mass murders were often committed as a means to a goal, such as obtaining money or eliminating witnesses. Unlike single-victim homicides, relatively few mass killings occurred in southern States. The subculture of violence hypothesis does not apply to homicides with multiple victims. Data tables.