Common Psycholinguistic Themes in
Mass Murderer Manifestos
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
Introduction
Public mass shootings comprise 15% of all mass homicides in
America, with their seeming randomness and high visibility leading to
widespread fear (Achenbach, 2015; Auxemery, 2015; “Behind the
Bloodshed,” 2016; Eskey, O’Connor, Rush, & Schmalleger, 2015; Lankford,
2016a; O’Toole & Fondacaro, 2015). The frequency of mass murder has
steadily increased over the past few decades, and precipitously so in recent
years (Achenbach, 2015; Auxemery, 2015; Blair & Martaindale, 2013;
Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Bondü & Beier, 2015; A. P. Cohen, Azrael, &
Miller, 2014; Follman, 2015b; Huff-Corzine et al., 2014; Lowe & Galea,
2017; Rocque, 2012; Shultz, Cohen, Muschert, & de Apodaca, 2013;
Towers, Gomez-Lievano, Khan, Mubayi, & CastilloChavez, 2015). Despite
this upswing, psychological research of mass murderers has not kept pace.
Although researchers have conducted a limited amount of retrospective
scholarly analysis on mental illness in the perpetrators (Bondü & Beier,
2015; Dutton, White, & Fogarty, 2013; Eskey et al., 2015; Follman, 2015b;
Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a), examinations of the offenders’
manifestos, or recorded words, is lacking (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü &
Schneithauer, 2015; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b,
2012b; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b).
To grow the scant body of literature in this area, I used the qualitative
method to examine psycholinguistic content within a sample of 12 mass
murderer manifestos, defined as written and video communications
composed in advance by the killers. The foundation for comparison was
Knoll’s (2012b) six psycholinguistic content categories of mass murderer
manifestos: (a) ego survival and revenge; (b) pseudocommando mindset:
persecution, envy, obliteration (pseudocommando mindset); (c) envy; (d)
nihilism; (e) entitlement; and (f) heroic revenge fantasy. The primary
assumption was that offenders only devote time and effort to record the
thoughts that are important to them, thus making their manifestos highly
meaningful. Based on Knoll’s work, I expected the analysis of mass
murderers’ words to afford clues into the killers’ mental states, thought
processes, and motives.
Increasing awareness and understanding of mass murderers’ words
has significant implications for future research and positive social change. In
the future, mental health practitioners may be better able to identify at-risk
individuals and provide them with the psychological help they need before
violence occurs. Eventual benefits to law enforcement may include
improved crisis negotiation tactics, enhanced interrogation practices,
shortened investigation time, and reduced manpower needs. My hope is the
general public will also profit, as early risk identification, intervention, and
more expeditious investigations will lessen fear, suffering, and confusion
within communities. Additional advantages may be apparent through cost
reductions in emergency medical treatment and ongoing health care, missed
wages and lost productivity, property insurance premiums and outlays, and
police investigation and prosecution expenses borne by taxpayers.
In Chapter 1, I introduce and discuss the mass murder problem with
regard to U.S. occurrences, limited understanding, and lasting repercussions.
I explore manifestos, a type of leakage warning behavior, and review the
modest research. The research gap identified is a lack of significant,
scholarly psycholinguistic analysis of mass murderer manifestos. Six
research questions guided manifesto content analysis based on semantic
depictions. As suggested by Knoll (2012b), psycholinguistic analysis should
reveal mass murderers’ motives and mental states. Also in this chapter, I
discuss the constructivist conceptual framework, along with the use of
inductive reasoning to interpret results and draw conclusions. Additional
background for the research questions comes from relevant theories of
crime.
I conducted this qualitative multiple case study to identify themes,
compare text, and analyze specific linguistic content within 12 mass
murderer manifestos. The primary assumption was that psycholinguistic
analysis would lead to increased understanding and insight into the thought
processes of mass killers. In this chapter, I provide a brief list of relevant
definitions, outline primary assumptions, and present the sample selection
process. A discussion of qualitative research limitations follows with regard
to credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.
The significance of this research study also appears in Chapter 1. The
increasing occurrence of public mass murder in the United States calls for
greater understanding about these acts and those who commit them. The
present body of literature is limited, with scant research specific to mass
murderer manifestos. The improved understanding afforded by this linguistic
analysis should be the catalyst for additional studies, which, in turn, may
have multiple positive social implications. In addition to early identification
and intervention are the potentials for more effective investigations, reduced
fear, and improved mental health treatment (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Gordon, Sharan, & Florescu, 2015; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al., 2013; Winter
& Tschudi, 2015).
Background
Since the turn of the 21st century, Americans have seen a marked
escalation in the frequency of public mass shootings (Achenbach, 2015;
Auxemery, 2015; Blair & Martaindale, 2013; Bonanno & Levenson, 2014;
Bondü & Beier, 2015; A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Follman, 2015b; Huff-
Corzine et al., 2014; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Rocque, 2012; Shultz et al.,
2013; Towers et al., 2015). Mass murders result in the loss of multiple lives,
as well as extensive permanent and impermanent injuries, both physical and
emotional (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Fan, 2015; Lowe & Galea, 2017).
Perpetrators of these violent acts command the public’s attention, spreading
fear and confusion (Achenbach, 2015; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Lankford,
2016a; Schildkraut & Muschert, 2014). Current understanding of mass
murder and mass murderers has not kept pace with their upturn, however, as
information often remains vague, contradictory, or even erroneous (e.g., Fox
& DeLateur, 2014a; Fox & Levin, 2014; Meloy, 2014; Walkup & Rubin,
2013).
Numerous researchers have highlighted leakage, or intentionally
revealing one’s intentions to others, as a common warning behavior of mass
murderers (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Follman, 2015b; Fox & DeLateur,
2014a; Knoll, 2012b; Lindberg, Oksanen, Sailas, & Kaltiala-Heino, 2012;
Madfis, 2014a; Meloy, 2014; Meloy, Hoffmann, Guldimann, & James,
2012; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). As manifestos are one type of leakage,
analyzing an individual’s written or recorded communications is a means of
behavioral threat assessment, one that may be useful in preventing mass
murder (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Knoll, 2010b,
2012b; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). Meloy,
Hoffmann, Roshdi, and Guldimann (2014) identified eight warning
behaviors exhibited by those intending to commit mass murder, two of
which, written leakage and directly communicated verbal threats, mirrored
findings from other studies (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Follman, 2015a;
Hawdon, 2012; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Lindberg et al., 2012; Madfis, 2014b;
Meloy et al., 2012; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014; Phillips, 2013).
Auxemery (2015) asserted that mass murderers’ writings could offer
valuable clues into their authors’ motives and mental health. Examining
journals and videos composed by the two Columbine High School killers,
Grobbink, Derksen, and van Marle (2015) recognized different drives behind
each adolescent’s actions. Reviewing writings left behind by mass public
shooters, Lankford (2016a) looked for language indicative of the offenders’
mental states and identified self-protection to be a common message. Healy
(2015) viewed offenders’ writings as a way for them to achieve fame, a
finding with which Lankford (2016b) concurred. Through automated text
analysis, Egnoto and Griffin (2016) identified foreshadowing language in
the e-mails, social media posts, and further writings of school shooters.
Other linguistic similarities in manifestos include elements of hopelessness,
defeatism, retribution, and references to prior mass murders (Bondü &
Schneithauer, 2015; Lankford, 2015b, 2016d).
Apparent from the current body of literature is that identifying,
coding, and revealing semantic clues in mass murderer manifestos warrants
further attention. Despite the insight an examination of mass murderers’
recorded communications can provide, manifestos have not received
significant scholarly analysis (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer,
2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll,
2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b;
Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). Although Knoll (2012b)
conducted direct psycholinguistic analysis of mass killers’ manifestos, he
used an extremely small sample size. He applied his six criteria to the
writings of just two mass murderers, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University (Virginia Tech) shooter Seung-Hui Cho and Binghamton, New
York, shooter Jiverly Wong.
More recently, Murray (2016) evaluated 10 mass murderer manifestos
according to four fantasy ideation scripts: refuge/escape; revenge/targeting;
sexual/misogynistic fantasy; and pride, power, and masculinity. Recognition
of mass killers’ motives and psychological makeups may provide a tool in
anticipating and intervening before future attacks can occur (Bondü &
Schneithauer, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al., 2013;
Winter & Tschudi, 2015).
Problem Statement
Despite the rapidly growing problem of mass murder in America, few
researchers have conducted psycholinguistic analysis on mass murderers’
recorded words (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et
al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll
& Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer &
Ganzevoort, 2014). Manifestos are of both social and psychological
importance, and they can provide insight into offenders’ motivations and
psychopathologies (Auxemery, 2015; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford,
2015a, 2016a; Meloy, 2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). Mass murderers
rarely incorporate euphemisms in their writings, instead using language that
clearly justifies their actions (Coyle, 2014). They also frequently choose
words and themes that mirror other mass killers’ communications (Bondü &
Schneithauer, 2015; Coyle, 2014; Malkki, 2014; Murray, 2015; Paton &
Figeac, 2015; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). Conducting scholarly
psycholinguistic content analysis of mass murderer manifestos will boost
opportunities for research and intervention, thus potentially minimizing
future loss of life and community panic (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Gordon et al., 2015; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi,
2015).
To better understand mass murderers and their actions, a number of
researchers have conducted qualitative analyses and literature reviews, albeit
without manifesto analysis (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Dutton et al., 2013;
Faria, 2013; Gordon et al., 2015; Lankford, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Neuman,
Assaf, Cohen, & Knoll, 2015; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). Behavioral threat
assessment, including evaluation of advanced communications, is an
important aid in forecasting and preventing mass murder (Bonanno &
Levenson, 2014; Lankford, 2015a; Meloy, 2014). Meloy et al. (2012)
suggested that identifying, coding, and utilizing pre–mass murder warning
behaviors warranted further study. Noting the lack of scientific
confirmability in existing research, Allely, Minnis, Thompson, Wilson, and
Gillberg (2014) also recognized a need for rigorous study regarding mass
and serial murders.
Multiple researchers (e.g., Auxemery, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013;
Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015b,
2016a, 2016b; Leonard, 2015; Malkki, 2014; Murray, 2015; Paton & Figeac,
2015; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014) have noted that mass killers frequently
leave behind some sort of final communication. In the majority of recent
mass murder studies, however, scholars and investigators have focused
largely on the characteristics of crimes and criminals and not on the words
the offenders recorded and disseminated. Although researchers generally
have agreed on the social and psychological importance of mass murderers’
words, scholarly analysis of mass murderer manifestos has been inadequate
(Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014;
Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort,
2014).
Knoll (2012b) proposed six content categories by which to
linguistically analyze mass murderer manifestos, examining the language in
Cho’s and Wong’s communications for evidence of (a) ego survival and
revenge, (b) pseudocommando mindset, (c) envy, (d) nihilism, (e)
entitlement, and (f) heroic revenge fantasy. Meloy (2014) identified warning
behavior types shared by mass murderers, one of which was revealing one’s
intentions to a third party, sometimes a specifically targeted individual. As
written and videotaped manifestos are frequent vehicles for such leakage,
they warrant in-depth study.
A pressing need exists for early identification of would-be mass
murderers and the potential for preventing acts of widespread, catastrophic
violence (Auxemery, 2015; Follman, 2014, 2015b; Huff-Corzine et al.,
2014; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Murray, 2015; Towers et al., 2015). Despite this
apparent, immediate, and persistent demand, little focused, scholarly
research exists specific to mass murderer manifestos (Auxemery, 2015;
Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a;
Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a,
2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014).
Psycholinguistic study and detailed analysis of manifestos are necessary to
address this gap. Applying Knoll’s (2012b) content categories to 12 cases of
mass murderer manifestos aided in this endeavor, expanding the presently
limited research and knowledge base in this area.
Purpose of the Study
I used a constructivist paradigm in this qualitative case study, based
on the tenet that truth is relative and constructed by individual interpretation
(Yin, 2014). Knoll’s (2012b) content categories served as the basis for
identifying and comparing six linguistic depictions within a sample of 12
mass murderer manifestos. The purpose of the study was to provide greater
understanding of the perpetrators’ motives and mindsets, information that
should prompt further research. Law enforcement and mental health
professionals may one day draw upon this knowledge to identify at-risk
individuals and potentially intervene before future acts of mass casualty can
occur (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Meloy, 2014;
Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). The central phenomenon was
the thematic and linguistic content in mass murderer manifestos, as aligned
with Knoll’s categories. Additional phenomena and foundational concepts of
interest included mass murder and murderers, mass shootings and shooters,
manifestos, and psycholinguistics.
Research Questions
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts ego survival and revenge?
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy, obliteration?
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts envy?
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts nihilism?
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts entitlement?
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts heroic revenge fantasy?
Conceptual Framework for the Study
A limited number of researchers have used mass murderer manifesto
content analysis to illuminate offenders’ impulses, rationales, and
psychopathologies (Auxemery, 2015; Knoll, 2010a, 2010b, 2012b;
Lankford, 2015a; Murray, 2016; Neuman et al., 2015). Common themes
within mass killers’ manifestos included envy, entitlement, paranoia,
revenge, hopelessness, and revenge (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et
al., 2013; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015b,
2016b, 2016d). Pury, Starkey, Kulik, Skjerning, and Sullivan (2015) noted
similar themes, such as power, revenge, entitlement, and notoriety. In
comparing messages left behind by the Columbine killers, Grobbink et al.
(2015) found each shooter had conveyed different motives and
psychological disorders, whereas Murray (2015) identified a shared,
underlying theme of destructive fantasy.
The constructivist model served as a guide for gathering, analyzing,
and reporting data, with research findings expected to advance
understanding and awareness within the field of mass murderer manifestos.
The linguistics theory of semiotics was important, as the aim of this study
was to assess how mass murderers’ words conveyed meaning. Once data
were collected and coded, I applied inductive reasoning to draw conclusions
that, although highly valid, cannot be absolute due to the nature of
qualitative research. Also significant were Knoll’s (2010b, 2012b) assertions
that mass murderer manifestos are highly meaningful and their interpretation
may aid in the prevention of future mass violence, sentiments echoed by
other researchers (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Meloy,
2014; Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). I used basic crime
theories as a foundation for better understanding the reasons and motives
behind these killings. A more detailed theoretical discussion appears in
Chapter 2.
Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) can be used, in part, to explain
the copycat nature of mass murder, an approach advanced by numerous
researchers (Auxemery, 2015; Björkqvist, 2015; Follman, 2015a, 2015b;
Follman & Andrews, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Healy, 2015; Lankford,
2016d; Leonard, 2015; Towers et al., 2015; Winter & Tschudi, 2015).
Madfis (2014b) and Phillips (2013) found masculine expectations and
hierarchies in American culture to be driving factors behind mass murder, an
idea that has its roots in strain theory (Agnew, 1992). In line with Eysenck’s
(1977) personality and Kelly’s (1991) personal construct theories,
psycholinguistic analysis of manifestos can provide insight into the
offender’s character and temperament (Dutton et al., 2013; Neuman et al.,
2015). Researchers have identified both biology (Allely et al., 2014;
Church, 2014; Shermer, 2013) and sociology (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014;
Paton & Figeac, 2015; Winter & Tschudi, 2015) as strong influences of
criminal behavior, findings that are in line with Raine’s (2002, 2006)
biosocial theories. These concepts and ideas are thoroughly discussed in
Chapter 2.
To ensure the greatest degree of transferability, a case study
researcher must purposefully select sample cases that are representative of
the population. I used Knoll’s (2012b) linguistic framework of content
categories as a basis for coding and analyzing 12 mass murderer manifestos.
Answering the research questions required identifying specific linguistic
depictions of each content category. I gathered and analyzed data
systematically, with outcomes reported so as to increase understanding of
mass murderers’ motives and mental states. Triangulation came from
immersion in the manifestos, including notetaking, reflecting, coding,
analyzing, and confirming findings. No formal instruments were used.
Nature of the Study
I selected the qualitative multiple case study approach to identify,
compare, and analyze common psycholinguistic themes across a purposeful
selection of 12 manifestos composed by American public mass murderers.
The intent was to achieve a deeper understanding of their motives and
mindsets as revealed through their words (Riffe, Lacy, & Fico, 2013).
According to Yin (2014), a case study is based on a constructivist paradigm,
which presupposes that truth is relative and constructed by individual
interpretation. Despite the subjective nature of meaning, using empirical
inquiry heightens researcher objectivity. The case study approach was the
best means for analyzing and coding mass murderer manifestos because of
its focus on process, discovery, and context (Yin, 2014). As both content and
context are crucial elements in written and spoken language, the case study’s
strength was essential for manifesto analysis.
The key concept in this qualitative study was that psycholinguistic
analysis of mass murderer manifestos would provide insight into the
offenders’ motivations (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Malkki,
2014; Oliffe et al., 2014). According to the semiotics perspective,
individuals use language to convey meaning in specific contexts, such as
manifestos. I used a constructivist paradigm to structure all stages of data
gathering, coding, and analyzing, as well as to present findings and enable
in-depth understanding of the manifestos. Psycholinguistic analysis of the 12
selected mass murderer manifestos was in line with Knoll’s (2012b) six
content categories.
I used the document analysis method for reading manifestos, research,
reports, and articles relevant to mass murder in America. Data gathering
came from coding language from the 12 selected manifestos, according to
the six criteria outlined in the research questions. This process involved
careful reading, notetaking, rereading, coding, and analyzing the linguistic
content of each manifesto. To confirm or deny the presence of Knoll’s
(2012b) linguistic content categories, I assessed data collected from each
case independently, and then compared these data across the sample. The
explanatory method of analysis allowed for answering the research questions
and identifying how the six linguistic categories were represented in the
manifestos.
Definitions
Active shooter events are in-progress, attempted mass murders
committed against multiple unknown victims in public places (Blair &
Martaindale, 2013). These are similar to mass public shootings, except no
deaths need to have occurred.
Basic linguistic theory incorporates grammatical descriptions of
language and linguistic typology (Dixon, 1997).
Ego survival and revenge is seeking vengeance as a way of
broadcasting one’s pain. In crafting this criterion, Knoll (2012b) drew upon
Menninger’s (2007) list of events causing individuals to express rage-fueled
violence.
Entitlement is an attitude involving an extreme lack of empathy, in
which the individual feels he or she has a right to what others have, and is
thus justified in engendering harm (Knoll, 2012b).
Envy is a state in which the individual not only wants what others
have, but is willing to destroy their enjoyment of the coveted thing or state
as a result (Knoll, 2012b).
Heroic revenge fantasy is a conviction that, by performing an act of
violence, an individual will be freed from persecution (Knoll, 2012b).
Leakage occurs when individuals reveal their malevolent intentions to
others, either third parties or specifically targeted individuals (Knoll, 2010b,
2012b; Meloy, 2014).
Manifestos are linguistic forms of communication, such as journals,
diaries, blogs, letters, diatribes, and videos, which are published in advance
or left behind by mass murderers (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b).
Mass murder, as defined by the Investigative Assistance for Violent
Crimes Act of 2012 (Violent Crimes Act, 2013), is the act of intentionally
killing three or more people during the same event, not counting the
perpetrator. I have used the terms mass murder, mass shooting, public mass
murder, and public mass shooting interchangeably to mean a
pseudocommando act committed in a public place with a firearm against
victims who are random, symbolic, or a combination of both.
Mass shooting is an act of mass murder in which one or more firearms
are used (K. Cohen, Johansson, Kaati, & Mork, 2014). I have used this term
interchangeably with mass murder.
Nihilism is an extreme form of self-centeredness driven by severe
hopelessness and meaninglessness that, when externalized, may result in
violence against others (Knoll, 2012b).
Pseudocommando is an individual who uses one or more firearms to
commit mass murder in a public place (Dietz, 1986; Knoll, 2010a, 2010b,
2012b; Lankford, 2016a). By extension, pseudocommando mindset is a
cognitive perspective incorporating innate distrust and a persecutory
worldview, which then creates a combination of narcissism and paranoia
(Knoll, 2012b).
Psycholinguistics is an approach used to examine the psychological
relevance of language (Hörmann, 1971). Psycholinguistic analysis is based
on the principles of basic linguistic theory (Dixon, 1997).
Public mass murder is a mass shooting in a public location, largely
directed toward random strangers (Lankford, 2016a). I have used this term
interchangeably with public mass shooting.
Public mass shooting is a mass murder in a public location, largely
directed toward random strangers (Lankford, 2016a). I have used this term
interchangeably with public mass murder.
Assumptions
The primary assumption was that mass murderers only take the time
to record written or video communications if those words are highly
meaningful to them (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014). In
addition, verbalizing one’s violent intentions in some ways makes them real,
increasing their likelihood of occurrence (Leonard, 2015; Presser, 2012).
Analysis of these communications can help reveal the offenders’ mental
state and motives. Casting such light on mass murderers is expected to
increase understanding, treatment, and intervention (Bondü & Schneithauer,
2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al.,
2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). Using psycholinguistic analysis to compare
content within 12 mass murderer manifestos required assuming that the
linguistic structure of these documents was psychologically relevant, in line
with Knoll and Meloy’s (2014) assertion that manifesto content is significant
to the mass murderer.
These assumptions are well researched and commonly accepted
(Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Knoll & Meloy, 2014;
Lankford, 2015a, 2016b, 2016d; Malkki, 2014; Pury et al., 2015). Such
suppositions were necessary components of this study for two reasons. First,
if manifesto content were not personally important to the mass murderer, it
would be a worthless endeavor to examine these words. Second, there would
be no reason to identify common psycholinguistic content in manifestos if
the findings would not be of academic, professional, and societal benefit.
Based on these assumptions, identifying common linguistic content in mass
murderer manifestos is an important tool to better understand the motives
and psychological makeups of mass murderers. Recognizing the potential
risk relayed through linguistic communications may ultimately lead to the
identification of vulnerable individuals and planned attacks before they
occur.
Scope and Delimitation
I conducted this study to address the knowledge gap in
psycholinguistic analysis of mass murderer manifestos. The population was
public mass murderer manifestos, as defined in the Introduction of this
chapter, which were available from the Internet, government agencies, or
museum collections. I used the U.S. Congress definition of mass murder
(Violent Crimes Act, 2013) as three or more people killed to identify eligible
mass murders. Qualifying acts were single- and multiple-location massacres,
including spree killings, rampage killings, and school shootings.
Nonpseudocommando mass murders, such as acts of familicide, terrorism,
and homicide committed within the course of robbery or gang activity, did
not qualify, nor did workplace massacres, in part due to the scarcity of
manifestos published by these shooters.
I selected a purposeful sample of 12 manifestos based on importance,
relevance, information richness, variation, and population representation,
with a prioritization of high-profile shooters. Excluded from consideration
were communications fewer than two pages, or those composed by mass
shooters outside the United States. Because Knoll (2012b) examined Cho’s
and Wong’s manifestos according to his six content categories, I did not use
their communications.
I restricted the study’s population to mass murderer manifestos that
were or have been made public and are presently available. The inherent risk
in using this limited population was that important communications may be
overlooked due to a lack of accessibility (Huff-Corzine et al., 2014;
Sarteschi, 2016). Further limitations may come from restricting the
population to public mass murderers in the United States; thus, I did not
intend the 12 cases to be representative of mass murderers worldwide. To
best minimize these risks, careful assessment of all available manifestos
preceded sample selection.
The goal of a qualitative study is to illuminate a specific population
sample or phenomenon (Creswell, 2012). Due to the smaller sample size and
typical absence of statistical computations, qualitative results are not directly
transferable to broader populations. Findings may not be applicable to other
contexts, such as manifestos written by mass murderers outside the United
States or by pseudocommandos who failed to kill three or more people.
Detailed documentation of research methods, assumptions, and processes
served to heighten transferability.
Limitations
Due to a narrow focus and modest sample size, qualitative case study
results are not generalizable to a broad population (Creswell, 2012).
Limitations exist with regard to credibility, transferability, dependability,
and confirmability (Yin, 2014). Because the present case study involved a
sample size of 12, the findings were not statistically representative of the
entire population of available American public mass murderer manifestos.
Document accessibility was another limitation, as many of these manifestos
have been withheld from the public and, due to public safety concerns, not
released despite Freedom of Information Act requests (“Judge Rules Police,”
2016; Sarteschi, 2016). Another validity drawback of qualitative studies
comes from the way in which data are gathered, coded, and analyzed. By its
nature, coding is a subjective activity without clear guidelines or statistically
proven results. As such, vulnerabilities are possible due to researcher error
and misrepresentation of findings (Yin, 2014). One way to minimize errors
is to follow an organized coding process, with a focus on clarity, depth,
analytic methodology, and themes (Zickmund, n.d.).
One way of strengthening qualitative reliability is to use two or more
coders and triangulate their findings (Brink, 1993). However, when a single
person is conducting data analysis, the risk of bias, omission, or
misinterpretation is higher. To achieve the greatest degree of validity and
reliability, I conducted multiple rounds of data coding and analysis, while
adhering to established criteria and processes (Brink, 1993). Vigilance to
preconceptions and prejudices was present during all phases of data
collection and analysis, as these may have biased results. Conscious or
subconscious expectations based on Knoll’s (2012b) psycholinguistic
analysis or other researchers’ work could also skew the findings. Mitigating
prejudice required maintaining detailed documentation, conducting regular
self-checks, and continually challenging personal assumptions and
techniques.
One potential bias is making assumptions based on manifestos I have
read but not selected for the present study. Expecting the 12 cases to display
some or all of the six psycholinguistic themes, or coding words and phrases
only peripherally related to these themes, could also bias data collection,
consideration, and findings. Too much or too little detail might have skewed
results and conclusions, as could overreliance on Knoll’s (2012b) findings.
Means of addressing these limitations included conducting multiple rounds
of reading, coding, and analysis, as well as frequently examining and
challenging personal opinions and assumptions.
Significance
Although many researchers have cited broad traits among mass
murderers (Allely et al., 2014; Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer,
2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Knoll, 2013; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford,
2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Shermer, 2013), there has been little research
conducted with regard to these violent offenders’ manifestos (Auxemery,
2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur,
2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford,
2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014).
Improved thematic understanding of mass murderers’ motives and mental
states lays a foundation for future research and application, which may
subsequently help with identifying high-risk individuals. Developing a list of
specific words, phrases, grammar, themes, and tone in mass murderer
manifestos may also play a role in improved mental health treatment for
would-be killers in need of intervention (“FBI: We’ve Prevented,” 2013;
Sarteschi, 2016).
Mental health care providers and government agencies can draw upon
the findings of this and future manifesto analyses when assessing individuals
who display warning behaviors suggestive of intended mass murder.
Awareness of manifesto themes may spur psychology professionals to
conduct more comprehensive evaluations, refer a greater number of clients
for specialist treatment, or exercise additional community mental health
holds. Incorporating psycholinguistic awareness into threat assessment may
help law enforcement personnel focus their investigations on individuals
who show the greatest potential for violence (Meloy, 2016). Consequently,
government organizations could better facilitate behavioral analysis and
mental health services, possibly intercepting gun violence before it occurs
(“FBI: We’ve Prevented,” 2013; Sarteschi, 2016).
Multiple acts of mass murder have been prevented because people
reported hearing or observing oral or written threats of violence (Follman,
2015a; Knoll, 2012a; Sarteschi, 2016; Shermer, 2013). In examining 57
cases of threatened or attempted mass murder in the United States, Sarteschi
(2016) found manifestos were prevalent among would-be offenders who
made threats deemed highly credible. Nearly one sixth of threats were
observed online. In 2013, a high school teacher in Alabama gave police a
journal in which a student wrote about plans for committing mass violence
against his classmates (Shermer, 2013). Also in 2013, a likely Netherlands
school shooting was averted when 4Chan readers alerted police to threats on
the social media site (“Possible Mass Murder,” 2013). Made aware of leaked
threats, Oregon police stopped an adolescent from carrying out a school
shooting in 2000 (Follman, 2015b).
Obtaining a better understanding of mass murderers’ motives and
mindsets will spark further scholarly and practical research. Over the long-
term, application of this accumulated knowledge may mean fewer mass
killings, expedited police investigations, and reduced taxpayer burden.
Citizens in at-risk communities might be favorably impacted, as better
identification of potential mass murderers would make each person less
likely to become a victim. Finally, through professional analysis of their
words, potential mass murderers are more apt to receive the psychological
treatment they need, which could save not only the lives of others, but also
their own.
Summary
After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the U.S. Congress
passed the Violent Crimes Act (2013) defining mass murder as a single-
incident, multiple homicide during which three or more persons are killed. In
the United States, the frequency of mass murder has escalated in recent
decades (A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Follman, 2015b; Greene, 2014; Lowe &
Galea, 2017; Towers et al., 2015). Although the broad classification of mass
murder includes familicide, robbery, and gang activity, the most severe
repercussions come from mass killings in public places. As such, these
perpetrators’ writings were the focus of this study.
As researchers have suggested, the gravity of pseudocommando
multiple homicide highlights the critical need to better understand these
offenses and offenders. Knoll (2010b, 2012b) noted mass murderers have
often left behind written messages, or manifestos, which hold clues to their
mental states and motives; however, these documents have received little
scholarly analysis (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton
et al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b;
Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b;
Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). Findings from this study illuminate the
intentions and cognitive states of mass murderers, laying a foundation for
future manifesto research. Such knowledge may eventually be applied to
understanding, investigating, intervening in, and solving acts of mass
homicide (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Gordon et al., 2015; Knoll, 2010b,
2012b; Meloy, 2014; Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015).
In Chapter 2, I present recent and seminal research, with a focus on
reviewing mass murder definitions and frequency, summarizing current
knowledge, discussing potential motives, and examining leakage. A review
of mass murderers is included. I differentiate between the types of offenders
used in this study, discussing recent research on each. Explored are offender
motives, among them revenge, suicidal ideation, copycat actions, and fame
and notoriety. Also in Chapter 2 is a look at media coverage, including the
way information is presented and the resultant societal repercussions. As
part of a discussion on American culture, I address firearm ownership, gun
laws, and masculinity.
An in-depth synthesis of existing research on mass murder, mass
murderers, and mass murderer manifestos also appears in Chapter 2, with a
focus on manifesto dissemination and the cursory content analysis conducted
to date. I examine the use of the World Wide Web in the communication and
distribution of ideas, particularly with regard to school shooters, and present
a review of warning behaviors, along with a closer look at individual threat
and risk assessment. There is also an overview of the 12 mass murderers
whose manifestos I coded and analyzed in this study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction
Despite the rapidly growing problem of mass murder in America, few
researchers have conducted psycholinguistic analysis of mass murderers’
recorded words (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Healy,
2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016b;
Meloy, 2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). Obtaining a better understanding
the motives and mindsets of individuals who commit mass murder warrants
a closer look at their words. I conducted a thorough qualitative
psycholinguistic analysis of 12 manifestos, written or video communications
disseminated in advance or left behind by American public mass shooters.
Identification of common themes in content helped illuminate individual
reasoning and psychological makeup. The purpose of the study was to
provide greater understanding of the perpetrators’ motives and mindsets,
inspiring future research that one day may be used for intervention in and
investigation of mass homicide.
Although researchers have noted mass murderers often leave behind a
final communication, manifestos have received scant careful analysis
(Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014;
Lankford, 2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort,
2014). Researchers have focused primarily on the characteristics and traits of
mass murders and mass murderers rather than the words the offenders used
(Allely et al., 2014; Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Dutton et al., 2013; Eskey et al., 2015; Knoll, 2013; Knoll & Meloy, 2014;
Lankford, 2016a; Madfis, 2014b; Shermer, 2013). Multiple qualitative and
quantitative analyses have been conducted to better understand the
psychological factors behind mass murderers and their actions (Bondü &
Beier, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Follman, 2015b; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a;
Grobbink et al., 2015; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016b,
2016d; Neuman et al., 2015). However, I found little information specific to
the analysis and comparison of mass murderers’ written or spoken words,
suggesting the need for focused research and detailed manifesto analysis
(Knoll, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016b; Meloy,
2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014).
Meloy (2014) recognized leakage, or revealing one’s intentions to
either random or specifically targeted third parties, as one type of warning
behavior common among mass murderers. Written and videotaped
communications, or manifestos, are frequent vehicles for leakage (American
Psychological Association [APA], 2013; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; K.
Cohen et al., 2014; Meloy, 2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014; Presser,
2012). Many researchers noted the importance of behavioral threat
assessment, including the analysis of advanced communications, as a
potential means to prevent mass murder (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014;
Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Gordon et al., 2015;
Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Lankford, 2015a, 2016b; Meloy, 2014; Shermer, 2013;
Shultz et al., 2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). Meloy et al. (2014)
contributed to improvements in threat assessment, noting that identifying,
coding, and utilizing pre–mass murder warning behaviors warranted further
research.
An overview of the literature search strategy comes in Chapter 2,
including databases and search terms, with discussions of the theoretical
foundation and conceptual framework to follow. I justify my selection of the
theoretical foundation to incorporate specific theories of crime, namely
social learning (Bandura, 1977), personality (Eysenck, 1977), biology and
sociology (Raine, 2002, 2006), personal construct (Kelly, 1991), and strain
(Agnew, 1992). This foundation grounded my application of Knoll’s
(2012b) mass murderer manifesto content categories to 12 purposefully
selected cases. Also following are analyses of seminal and current research,
directly or peripherally related to mass murderer manifestos.
Literature Search Strategy
The literature review research strategy involved accessing multiple
scholarly databases, search engines, websites, libraries, and bookstores. The
most frequently used databases were PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES,
PsycEXTRA, SAGE Premier, SocINDEX, ERIC, LexisNexis Academic,
Academic Search Complete, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Criminal
Justice. Primary search engines were Google Scholar and Bing. I searched
numerous keywords, many of them comprising variations, expansions, and
combinations of the root terms mass murder, mass shooting, school
shooting, public mass murder, rampage shooting, spree shooting, mass
homicide, and manifesto. Additional terms, including risk, statistics,
frequency, motive, guns, firearms, media, and impact, combined with root
terms for more specific results. I searched for all terms and combinations of
terms in each database (see Appendix A for a complete list of search terms).
I also researched scholarly and nonscholarly sources of information on
the 12 mass murderers whose manifestos I studied—Christopher Dorner,
Eric Harris, James Holmes, Kip Kinkel, Dylan Klebold, Adam Lanza, Gang
Lu, Elliot Rodger, Dylann Roof, George Sodini, Jeff Weise, and Charles
Whitman—as well as on the manifestos themselves. This comprehensive
literature review enabled me to identify content, themes, and concepts. As
evidenced by research gaps, there was a need for comprehensive scholarly
analysis of mass murderer manifestos.
The primary publication date range I searched was 2012 through
2016. Research prior to 2012 supplemented my understanding and
knowledge of mass killings and those who have committed them. Seminal
research and researchers, including theories and theorists as well as formal
definitions of topics, were important. I most commonly retrieved peer-
reviewed journal articles, although books, reports, magazines, newspapers,
and websites provided information on specific individuals, incidents,
statistics, history, and media coverage. Books, both physical and electronic,
offered additional scholarly perspectives, research findings, and pertinent
information. Even though the majority of researchers did not directly address
mass murderer manifestos, they nonetheless gave relevant information on
mass murder and mass murderers.
Conceptual Framework
A primary assumption served as a foundation for the study,
specifically that researchers can identify mass murderers’ motives and
psychopathologies through psycholinguistic analysis of offenders’
manifestos. Concepts included mass murder, mass murderers, manifestos,
gun violence, criminal behavior, and linguistics. The intersection of these
concepts provided the framework, as did how the 12 mass murderer
manifestos linguistically depicted (a) ego survival and revenge, (b)
pseudocommando mindset, (c) envy, (d) nihilism, (e) entitlement, and (f)
heroic revenge fantasy (Knoll, 2012b). Additional psychological and
criminological theories considered included social learning, personality,
modeling and behavior, power control, informal social control and
cumulative disadvantage, and escape theory of suicide.
Addressing what he saw as inadequate scientific models of behavior,
Bandura (1977) introduced social learning theory to explain human conduct.
Rocque (2012) applied this theory to school shootings, asserting that
individuals emulate other mass killers based on what they see in the media.
Using his three-factor psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism (PEN) model,
Eysenck (1977) proposed a criminal approach to personality in which law-
breaking behavior is driven by interactions between the three factors.
Scheider (2002) offered support for the personality/trait theory of
criminality, showing how an individual’s inherent and stable personality
characteristics propelled the commission of a crime. Neuman et al. (2015)
conducted an automatic linguistic analysis of school shooters’ text messages,
looking for language that reflected narcissistic personality traits. In
examining mass murderers’ diaries and websites, Dutton et al. (2013)
identified language suggestive of narcissistic and paranoid personality traits
and disorders.
More recently, some psychologists, including Raine (2002, 2006),
have suggested a combination of biology and sociology as the main drive
behind antisocial and violent behavior. According to this theory, the
interaction of genetics, neuropsychology, psychophysiology, and neurology
leads to social and antisocial tendencies, actions, and behaviors. Raine’s
work was supported by Allely et al. (2014), who conducted a study of serial
killers and mass murderers and found extremely violent acts to be the result
of a complex biopsychosocial interrelationship.
Borum (2004) used psychological approaches to explain violence,
drawing upon the theories of cognition, biology, social learning, and
frustration-aggression. Knoll and Meloy (2014) utilized a cognitive approach
to trace an individual’s path to paranoid mass murder, from idea to
inception. In 2013, the APA published a guide on youth violence warning
signs, including those predictive of school shootings. The organization
proposed a combination of frustration and anger as a primary cause for
adolescent violence. Murray (2015) supported this concept, finding
manifestos to be frequent vehicles through which mass killers voice their
frustrations.
Winter and Tschudi (2015) used Kelly’s (1991) personal construct
theory to examine a portion of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring
Breivik’s 1,500-page manifesto. Immediately prior to his 2011 government
building and youth camp attacks, Breivik sent out more than 1,000 digital
copies of his lengthy written and video messages, denouncing what he saw
as the upcoming Muslim takeover of Europe. Through their psycholinguistic
analysis, Winter and Tschudi found in Breivik a selfconstruct lacking in
personal responsibility.
In accordance with transcendent fantasy theory, Murray (2015)
alleged that mass murder resulted from the intersection of specific
psychological and sociological factors, with the offender expecting to
achieve the fame of his predecessors. Murray believed this theory explained
the mass murderer’s skewed or incomplete identity formation, as well as his
stunted psychosocial development. Many who have researched mass and
social media influences on mass murder achieved findings that supported
transcendent fantasy theory
(Auxemery, 2015; Follman, 2015b; Gordon et al., 2015; Murray, 2015;
Rocque, 2012; Schildkraut & Muschert, 2014; Towers et al., 2015).
Madfis (2014b) used Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory of crime as
the foundation for a study on homicidal anger and entitlement. Madfis
showed that societal pressures, especially in the form of cultural ideals, were
to blame for mass murder. Bonanno and Levenson (2014) also drew upon
strain theory in applying Levin and Madfis’s (2009) five-stage, strain-based
sequential model to Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza. Although their
findings were primarily speculative, Levin and Madfis viewed Lanza’s
destructive to nonexistent familial relationships as evidence of strain at
home. According to this theory, Lanza planned the mass shooting as a means
of escape when the strain became intolerable (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014;
Levin & Madfis, 2009).
I variously applied these stated behavioral and criminological theories
to the six research questions. The first part of Research Question 1, which
deals with ego survival, came from the theories of Eysenck (1977), Raine
(2002, 2006), Kelly (1991), and Agnew (1992). To identify elements of
revenge as outlined in the second part of Research Question 1, I reviewed
theories by Baumeister (1990), Eysenck, and Sampson and Laub (1997). The
pseudocommando mindset (Dietz, 1986; Knoll, 2010a, 2010b, 2012b),
addressed in Research Question 2, can be explained in part according to
Eysenck and Raine.
The criminology theories of Borum (2004) and Kelly (1991) provided
a basis for Research Question 3, which deals with envy. In identifying
nihilistic language, as outlined in Research Question 4, I drew upon the
ideas of Borum and Bandura (1977). Research Question 5 concerned
entitlement, a topic rooted in the theories of crime, personality, and behavior
posited by Bandura, Eysenck (1977), Raine (2002, 2006), and Borum. The
theories of Borum, Kelly, and Agnew (1992) helped illuminate heroic
revenge fantasy, which I explored in response to Research Question 6.
Literature Review Related to Key Concepts
In Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, 2005/2008) defined mass murder
as a purposeful homicidal act resulting in the deaths of four or more people.
Following the December 2012 Sandy Hook shootings, Congress quickly
passed legislation lowering the defining minimum number of lives lost from
four to three (Violent Crimes Act, 2013). Even with these two federal
definitions, many researchers (e.g., Agnitch, 2015; Auxemery, 2015; Blair &
Martaindale, 2013; Follman, 2014; Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Hilal, Densley,
Li, & Ma, 2014; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Phillips, 2013; Towers et al., 2015)
have drawn upon other sources and demarcations. For example, to compare
and contrast what he termed mass, serial, and sensational homicides, Dietz
(1986) defined mass murder as an event in which at least five people are
injured and three are killed. Dietz created this definition in selfinterest so as
to study the greatest number of cases.
Mass Murder
In the United States, mass shootings make up 1% of all firearm homicides
(Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund [Everytown for Gun Safety],
2015; “Mass Shootings Toll,” 2013). Public shootings comprise 15% of
mass murders, with the rest involving homicidal acts committed against
family members, concurrent with robbery or burglary, or as the result of
gang or drug activity (“Behind the Bloodshed,” 2016; Lankford, 2016a). As
the concentration of this study is pseudocommando mass murderers, I
focused the literature review on this type of offender.
Definition. Dietz (1986) defined mass murder as an act of multiple
homicide with at least three dead and five injured. The FBI (2005/2008) later
mandated a minimum of four deaths in a single incident, with no requisite
number of additional injuries. Since then, researchers have used varying
definitions of mass murder. In a study of rampage shootings since
Columbine, Larkin (2009) classified mass public shootings as acts executed
against multiple persons, the majority of them randomly selected, in which
one or more are injured, but not necessarily killed. Other researchers
(Berkowitz & Liu, 2016;
Ehrenfreund, 2015; Everytown for Gun Safety, 2015; Hickey, 2016;
Lankford, 2016a; Mayors Against Illegal Guns, 2015) have continued to use
the FBI’s (2005/2008) definition of four fatalities, rather than the
government’s reduced death toll of three (Violent Crimes Act, 2013).
To further complicate research comparison and synthesis, some
scholars included incidents in which four or more people were only injured,
but not necessarily killed (Auxemery, 2015; Follman, 2014; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Hilal et. al, 2014; Knoll, 2012b). Others looked at
attempted mass murders, regardless of death or injury (Agnitch, 2015; Blair
& Martaindale, 2013; Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 2012;
Lowe & Galea, 2017; Phillips, 2013; Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016; Vossekuil,
Fein, Reddy, Borum, & Modzeleski, 2002). As the present study relied upon
the most recent federal definition of three or more murdered (Violent Crimes
Act, 2013), research synthesis was challenging due to these varying
designations.
School shooting. A school shooting is a mass shooting in which three
or more people are killed on the grounds of a school or higher learning
institution (Bondü & Beier, 2015). As with mass murders not committed on
school property, the majority of school shootings are planned in advance,
usually from weeks to months (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Lankford, 2016a; Meloy, 2014; Walkup & Rubin, 2013).
This was certainly the case in the 1999 Columbine High School attack, as
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold plotted their massacre for over a year
(Bonanno & Levenson, 2014). School shooters are more likely than other
types of mass murderers to commit copycat violence as a means of
achieving notoriety (Auxemery, 2015; Björkqvist, 2015; Lankford, 2016b;
Malkki, 2014; Paton & Figeac, 2015; Rocque, 2012). School shooters
exhibit motives and risk factors more in line with those of adult mass
murderers than with similarly aged violent offenders who do not attempt
homicide (Berkowitz & Liu, 2016).
Frequency. Myriad researchers have cited a recent, dramatic increase
in the frequency of mass murders, including school shootings (Achenbach,
2015; Auxemery, 2015; Blair & Martaindale, 2013; Bonanno & Levenson,
2014; Bondü & Beier, 2015; A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Follman, 2015b; Huff-
Corzine et al., 2014; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Rocque, 2012; Shultz et al.,
2013; Towers et al., 2015). Following extensive journalistic review,
Blazonis (2015) identified 267 mass shootings occurring between January 1,
2015, and October 9, 2015. Ehrenfreund (2015) found at least one mass
shooting every 8 days from January through August 2015, after which the
frequency increased to every 6 days. Santhanam and Hickey (2015) noted a
minimum of one mass shooting per day across 45 states and the District of
Columbia.
Towers et al. (2015) identified one nonschool-based mass murder
every 2 weeks, and one school shooting every month, with similar results
echoed by Everytown for Gun Safety (2015). Following an extensive review
of data compiled by the New York Police Department, the Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun Violence, and Mother Jones, HuffCorzine et al. (2014)
pinpointed a recent increase in the frequency of mass murder, from one to
three events per month. Gun Violence Archive (2016), using the broader
classification of four or more persons injured but not necessarily killed,
recorded 330 mass shootings in 2015, a rate of nearly one per day. It bears
repeating, however, that different researchers have used different definitions
of mass murder.
Statistics. In the last decade, more than 750,000 people have been
injured by firearms, and over 320,000 killed (Follman, Lurie, Lee, & West,
2015). Gun Violence Archive (2016) reported more than 52,000 incidents of
gun violence in 2015, involving in excess of 13,000 deaths and nearly
27,000 injuries. Specific to mass murder, the organization recorded 367
deaths and 1,312 injuries. Urging caution with regard to the accuracy of
numbers, Huff-Corzine et al. (2014) found many acts of mass murder had
been overlooked by researchers and government organizations, and thus not
represented in official data. Alternately, Schildkraut and Elsass (2016) noted
that some organizations’ statistics included attempted acts of mass murder,
even if the requisite three or more people had not been killed.
Few researchers have attempted to measure the financial cost of gun
violence in America. Follman et al. (2015), whose research is often cited,
put this number at $229 billion annually, an average of $700 per citizen.
This figure represents $8.6 billion in direct costs, such as hospitalization,
rehabilitation, and restoration, and $221 billion in indirect costs. In an
older report published by the World Health Organization, Waters et al.
(2004) placed the annual cost of American violence at $155 billion, plus
approximately $40,000 of lifetime medical treatment expense for each
victim. Follman et al. (2015) ranked gun violence as the third most
expensive epidemic in America, outpacing the financial impact of obesity
and nearly on par with federal Medicaid spending.
Mass Murderers
Individuals committing public mass murders rarely “snap,” instead
planning their attacks over a period of weeks to months (Bonanno &
Levenson, 2014; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2014; Cohen-Almagor, 2014; Fox
& DeLateur, 2014a; Meloy, 2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). Most mass
murderers qualify as lone wolf terrorists, defined as single individuals
inflicting widespread death and damage based on a deeply held ideology,
pathological need for revenge, or desire for recognition (Gordon et al., 2015;
Lankford, 2013, 2016a). Although there is no universal profile of a mass
murderer, similarities do exist. A high percentage of American mass
murderers are middle-class White males in either their teen- or middle-aged
years (Agnitch, 2015; Madfis, 2014b). A difference is apparent among
rampage shooters at elementary, middle, or high schools, who are more
likely to be from middle- to lower- social classes (Rocque, 2012). Due to the
high number of Asian college and university offenders, just over half of all
school shooters are White (Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014).
Knoll and Meloy (2014) used a psychosocial model to review mass
murderers’ words for evidence of psychosis. The researchers found common
psychological themes of destructive envy, threatened narcissism, revenge
fantasies, and social torment. Offenders’ cognitive processes were deemed
abnormal, often leading to extreme, violence-inducing paranoia, sometimes
in response to feelings of depression and desperation. In a two-part study of
pseudocommando mass murderers, Knoll (2010a, 2010b) also identified
psychological problems common among mass murderers, including
depression, paranoia, and narcissism. Eskey et al. (2015) found nearly 60%
of mass shooters had displayed signs of paranoia, depression, and delusions
prior to the act, with Lankford (2016b) identifying similar psychological
traits. Langman (2009) acknowledged three primary mental states of school
shooters: psychotic, psychopathic, and traumatized.
Mass murderers commonly lack a sense of personal responsibility,
instead blaming others for their psychological pain and suffering (Bondü &
Beier, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Knoll, 2012b; Murray, 2015).
Offenders who commit acts of multiple homicide often display concurrent
preparation and visualization actions (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Murray, 2015; Schurman-Kauflin, 2012; Walkup & Rubin, 2013).
Approximately one third of mass shooters die at the scene, either by their
own hand or from justifiable homicide (Lankford, 2015b, 2016d). Also
known as suicide by cop, justifiable homicide results when an individual
behaves in a dangerous or menacing way, forcing police officers to shoot.
Charles Whitman, the 1966 University of Austin killer, died this way,
continuing to fire his weapon and giving officers no choice but to kill him
(“Austin [Tex.]. Police Department,” 1941–2000).
Mass Murderer Manifestos
For the present purpose, a manifesto is a linguistic communication
recorded by an offender prior to the commission of mass murder. These
communications are usually made in writing, yet may also appear in video
form (Cohen-Almagor, 2014; Follman, 2015a; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll
& Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014a; Malkki, 2014;
Murray, 2015; Oliffe et al., 2014; Paton & Figeac, 2015; Pfeifer &
Ganzevoort, 2014). Although manifestos have received little scholarly
analysis (Auxemery, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll
& Meloy, 2014; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014), researchers who have studied
some of these messages speak to the wealth of knowledge they contain
(Auxemery, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford,
2015a; Murray, 2015, 2016; Paton & Figeac, 2015; Pury et al., 2015).
Careful analysis of mass murderers’ words should help to expose offenders’
motivations and mental states, thus revealing the significant, driving forces
behind their brutal acts (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b).
Mass murderers frequently write or publish manifestos before the
massacre, a reality acknowledged by Tucson shooter Jared Loughner in his
writings: “Of course, I kept a journal. Don’t people like me always keep a
journal? It’s part of the whole thing. It was me against the world” (Junod,
2014, para. 28). With social media and online forum posts visible to all who
access or interact with them, World Wide Web users may be given an
advanced look at offenders’ plans (Björkvist, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer,
2015; K. Cohen et al., 2014; Hawdon, 2012; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2013;
Lankford, 2016a; Lindberg et al., 2012; Madfis, 2014a; Pfeifer &
Ganzevoort, 2014). Some would-be mass murderers write letters or other
messages to specifically targeted individuals. More than a year before the
Columbine shootings, Eric Harris created a website on which he threatened
and encouraged homicidal violence against a former friend, whom he named
(Cullen, 2009).
Another means of communication is a package the mass murderer
sends to the media just before the shooting (Auxemery, 2015; Björkqvist,
2015; Paton & Figeac, 2015). In such messages, the offenders use writings,
videos, and photos to express their rage, hatred, and quest for retribution. By
directing these communications to the media, mass murderers, in essence,
ensure their own fame and notoriety. Videos are often aired on television
and the World Wide Web, and written manifestos are printed in newspapers
and posted online (Eskey et al., 2015; Lankford, 2016a; Schildkraut &
Muschert, 2014). Hours before his 2007 mass homicide and suicide at
Virginia Tech, Seung-Hui Cho mailed a multimedia package to NBC,
excerpts of which appeared in news reports and remain available on the
World Wide Web today (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Paton & Figeac, 2015;
Powell & Self, 2011).
Leakage. Leakage occurs when the would-be mass murderer
expresses threats or intentions to friends, coconspirators, or specific targets
(Bondü & Scheithauer, 2014, 2015; Madfis, 2014b; Meloy, 2014). These
threats may be made verbally or in writing, and are particularly common
among adolescents. In the vast majority of school shootings, at least one
person knew about the killers’ intentions (Bondü & Scheithauer, 2015;
Madfis, 2014b; Meloy et al., 2012). In comparison, only half of adult mass
murderers leak information (A. P. Cohen et al., 2014). By reporting these
advance communications, individuals can help prevent planned acts of mass
violence (Bondü & Scheithauer, 2015; Knoll, 2012b; Shermer, 2013). As a
means of encouraging adolescents to speak out, many school administrators
have provided anonymous avenues for students to make reports without fear
of repercussion (Follman et al., 2015; Fox & Levin, 2014; Knoll, 2012b;
Madfis, 2014a; Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016). Nationally, the Department of
Homeland Security (n.d.) instituted the “If You See Something, Say
Something” campaign as a means of encouraging citizen reporting and
community safety.
Internet communication. Internet communication comes in many
forms, including writings such as journals, blogs, social media posts, and
message boards, as well as audiovisual diatribes posted on video-sharing
websites such as YouTube and LiveLeak. Troubled individuals often use
these forums to declare their grievances and advance their violent intentions
(Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Cohen-Almagor, 2014;
Hawdon, 2012; Knoll, 2016; Lindberg et al., 2012; Paton & Figeac, 2015;
Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016). Similarly disturbed persons may celebrate and
respond to such messages, encouraging action by the menacing party
(Hawdon, 2012; Lindberg et al., 2012). Beyond the direct communication of
threats, researchers found that online posts also inspire copycat crimes
(Gordon et al., 2015; Hawdon, 2012; Oksanen, Hawdon, & Räsänen, 2014).
Psycholinguistic Analysis
Dixon (1997) coined the term basic linguistic theory to describe the
analysis of word usage and meaning. Hörmann (1971) drew upon this theory
as the basis for psycholinguistic analysis, an attempt to infer psychological
relevance from the words people use. Specific to mass murderer manifestos,
researchers can use psycholinguistic analysis to obtain a view into the
offender’s mind, and to aid in understanding, forecasting, and intercepting
mass violence (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b). A. P. Cohen et al. (2014) devised
algorithms to assess linguistic markers in World Wide Web posts, helping to
identify individuals at risk of committing mass shootings. Points of
assessment included words and phrases revealing leakage, the offender’s
self-identification as an avenger, and a preoccupation with executing radical
violence.
Coyle (2014) recommended using a linguistic approach to
comprehend the social forces underlying violent crime. In profiling school
shooters, Neuman et al. (2015) looked for words strongly representative of
personality traits. K. Cohen et al. (2014) found linguistic markers suggestive
of leakage, fixation, and identification to be predictive of radical violence.
Through psycholinguistic analysis of mass murderers suffering from violent
paranoid spectrum disorders, Knoll and Meloy (2014) identified common
traits, including envy, social persecution, and revenge fantasies. Using
automated text analysis, Egnoto and Griffin (2016) recognized
foreshadowing language in the e-mails, social media posts, and manifestos
of spree killers.
Motives
Over the years, researchers and reporters have posited numerous
motives for types of mass murder. Motives vary across attack types: public
mass shootings, including school shootings; workplace shootings; gang
violence; and familicide. Mass murderers, such as Isla Vista, California,
rampage killer Elliot Rodger, are often motivated by feelings of persecution
and revenge (Follman, 2015b; Kivivuori, Savolainen, & Aaltonen, 2016;
Murray, 2015; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). The offender may be consumed
with achieving infamy and making history (Healy, 2015; Lankford, 2016b;
Pury et al., 2015; Robinson, 2015; Ziv, 2015). Mass shooters may be spurred
by the compulsion to exact homicidal revenge, and subsequently establish a
sense of personal identity (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Grobbink et al.,
2015; Healy, 2015; Lankford, 2016b). School shooters, in particular,
frequently act on resentment caused by peer rejection and ostracism.
Lankford (2016a) used strain theory to explain mass murderer motivation,
with a focus on poor social relations and the inability to achieve one’s goals.
These frustrations, paired with an irrational sense of entitlement and
victimization, can be a lethal combination in the mass murderer.
Some researchers have advanced the idea of precipitating events as
the primary cause of mass violence (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Lankford, 2012;
Madfis, 2014b; Murray, 2016; Taylor, 2016). However, as most acts of mass
murder were planned in advance, this is not generally a dominant factor
(Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Cohen-
Almagor, 2014; Lankford, 2016a; Meloy, 2014; SchurmanKauflin, 2012).
Achenbach (2015) suggested desires for notoriety and power, misogyny, and
racism as precipitating factors, yet little consensus in the literature exists for
the latter two. Fox and DeLateur (2014a) asserted that mass shooters were
also driven by profit, loyalty, and terror; however, few other researchers
have supported these motives.
Mental illness. In the media and across public opinion, mental
disorders are often linked with mass shooters (Follman, 2014, 2015b; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Knoll, 2016; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a; Levin, 2014;
Towers et al., 2015). According to a 2013 Gallup poll (Fan, 2015), 80% of
Americans blame mass shootings on the nation’s inadequate mental health
system, an opinion often echoed by researchers (Achenbach, 2015; Bondü &
Beier, 2015; Lankford, 2015a; Walkup & Rubin, 2013). Indeed, a number of
mass shooters have struggled with severe mental disorders or suicidal
thoughts (Eskey et al., 2015; Follman, 2014, 2015b; Lankford, 2015a,
2016a; Madfis, 2014b). After an extensive literature review on mental illness
in those committing homicide-suicide, Roma et al. (2012) placed this rate as
high as 75%.
From the latter part of the 20th century through the first decade of the
21st, twice as many youths were diagnosed with severe psychological
problems compared to the preceding 25 years (Schiller, 2013). In a linguistic
analysis, Madfis (2014b) noted both implicit and explicit references to
mental illness as being rampant in the manifestos of mass murderers.
According to Eskey et al. (2015), over half of mass killers had previously
been diagnosed with a mental illness. Postevent, psychiatrists were able to
identify mental disorders in a majority of mass shooters (Lemieux, 2014).
However, despite the high percentage of researchers associating mental
health problems with mass murder, some contend this is not the case (e.g.,
Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Fox & Levin, 2014).
Researchers have advanced a number of specific mental disorders as
being common among mass murderers. Following the Virginia Tech attack,
Cullen (2007) suggested all school shooters suffered from one of three
psychological disorders: psychopathy, schizophrenia, or suicidal depression.
Psychosis, he said, was a symptom of paranoid schizophrenia and other
illnesses. Knoll and Meloy (2014) found a clear progression of paranoid
thoughts in mass killers, with similar findings echoed by Metzl and
MacLeish (2015). Dutton et al. (2013) identified not just paranoid
personality disorder, but also paranoid schizophrenia with delusions, and
what the authors termed “malignant narcissism.”
Lankford (2015a, 2016a) presented similar views, pointing to not just
schizophrenia, but also psychosis and profound depression as common
afflictions of public mass shooters. Neuman et al. (2015) applied automatic
linguistic analysis to the written words of six school shooters. The
researchers noted suggestions of narcissistic personality disorder,
particularly the dimensions of revenge and humiliation, yet found no clear
association with paranoid, schizotypal, or depressive personalities.
Wondemaghen (2014) suggested offenders may use violence as a means of
alleviating the unbearable symptoms of mental illness.
The presence of one or more mental disorders has been shown to
exacerbate environmental or psychological stressors, which may then result
in the potential mass murderer taking action (Lankford, 2015a, 2016a).
Thus, early identification of psychological disorders may aid in in
preventing negative outcomes, from lessening the afflicted individual’s
suffering to intercepting violent acts before they occur (Bondü & Beier,
2015; Lindberg et al., 2012). Walkup and Rubin (2013) found mental illness
alone to be an incomplete explanation for mass homicide. Rather, they
noted, the road to mass murder appears complex and complicated, dependent
upon a convergence of dynamics that rarely intersect.
Multiple drivers may overlap, including not just psychological
disorders, but early or ongoing physical and emotional trauma, alienation,
loss, and “final straw” triggering events (Declercq & Audenaert, 2011;
Murray, 2016). Additional risk factors include access to firearms, an
attraction to violent imagery, an obsession with weapons, and a history of
aggression (Follman, 2015b; Levin, 2014; Meloy et al., 2012).
Pseudocommandos, in particular, appear to have endured long-lasting
feelings of rage, shame, guilt, and self-hatred (Knoll, 2012b; Lankford,
2015a). School shooters are also especially prone to depression and suicide
(Grobbink et al., 2015; Lindberg et al., 2012). Although Bonanno and
Levenson (2014) were unable to profile the typical school shooter, they
noted strong psychological similarities with regard to severe depression,
suicidal ideation, an attraction to violence, sustained bullying, and poor
coping skills.
Culture. Over the past two decades, the World Wide Web has
impacted global culture and communication about violence in ways never
before seen (Antliff, 2013; Roesler, 2014; Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016).
Cultural scripts, such as those threatening or glorifying mass shootings,
spread globally (Follman, 2015b; Knoll, 2013; Lindberg et al., 2012; Paton
& Figeac, 2015). Individuals psychologically at risk for committing violent
crimes may come to view mass murder not as an atrocity, but as a
courageous act of retaliation against injustice (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Lankford, 2013, 2016d; Pury et al, 2015). Hampered by weak cultural and
social ties, unstable persons may feel compelled to create an identity through
violence (Knoll, 2016; Lankford, 2016b, 2016d; Schiller, 2013; Shermer,
2013; Winter & Tschudi, 2015). The prevalence of U.S. gun ownership is
seen as contributing to this risk, as is the cultural script that firearms solve
problems (Healy, 2015; Lankford, 2016a; Lopez & Oh, 2016; Oliffe et al.,
2014; Paton & Figeac, 2015; Robinson, 2015; Rocque, 2012; Shermer,
2013). In American society, citizens often accept aggression and courage as
part of the masculine identity (KennedyKollar & Charles, 2013; Lankford,
2016d; Madfis, 2014b; Oliffe et al., 2014; Pury et al., 2015; Schiller, 2013).
Risk Factors
In persons prone to violence, mental illness may exacerbate
persecutory thinking and spark murderous attacks (Knoll, 2010a; Knoll &
Meloy, 2014). However, researchers have identified a history of violent
crime and aggression, not mental illness, as the greatest predictor of firearm
assault against oneself or others (Cloud, 2012; Dutton et al., 2013; Follman,
2015b; Levin, 2014; Meloy et al., 2012). Threatened violence, talk of self-
harm, and self-loathing are other worrisome signals (Bondü & Schneithauer,
2014; Dutton et al., 2013; Knoll, 2013). Also of concern are psychological
warning signs such as paranoid and delusional thoughts, uncontrollable
anger, and an abnormal desire for recognition and reward (Dutton et al.,
2013; Eskey et al., 2015; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2016b, 2016d;
Schurman-Kauflin, 2012). Knoll and Meloy (2014) proposed the “threatened
ego” model of paranoid cognitive progression as one way to explain violent
rage. Psychobiology is another school of thought meriting consideration, as
brain pathology and neurological abnormalities intersect with social and
environmental risks, including ostracism, rejection, and gun culture (Allely
et al., 2014; Madfis, 2014b; Shermer, 2013).
Myriad researchers, journalists, and citizens have called for the media
to dramatically reduce its coverage of mass murders and murderers
(Follman, 2015a; Knoll, 2012b, 2013). Such pervasive reporting and
analysis may glamorize mass murder, sending an especially dangerous
message to copycats (Herz, 2014; Knoll, 2016). There is also a movement
against publicizing the names and photographs of mass killers or
broadcasting their manifestos (Brooker, 2009; Eskey et al., 2015; Follman,
2015a; Friedersdorf, 2014; Tufekci, 2012). Tom and Caren Teves, whose
son, Alex, died in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting, spearheaded
a “No Notoriety” campaign in an attempt to shift media coverage from the
offenders to the victims (Follman, 2015a). Following the 2015 Umpqua
Community College mass shooting, the Douglas County, Oregon, Sheriff
echoed similar sentiments in a press conference (Andrews, 2015).
Threat Assessment
Identifying individuals at risk of committing mass murder is a difficult
and imprecise endeavor (Achenbach, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015;
Cloud, 2012; Kleinfield, Buettner, & Chen, 2015; Levin, 2014; Queen Mary
University of London, 2015). Although psychologists and psychiatrists have
used structured testing instruments in correctional and clinical settings with
varying degrees of success, they infrequently administer such tests to
persons who have not yet offended (Knoll, 2012b).
Warning signs. Researchers view leakage as one of the strongest
warning signs an individual intends to commit mass violence (Bondü &
Schneithauer, 2015; A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Meloy et al., 2014; Presser,
2012). Recognizing and reporting such messages is essential, as early
identification provides the best chance for intervention (Knoll, 2012a,
2012b; Shermer, 2013). At-risk persons may reveal these warnings through
preparatory actions, preoccupation with a person or cause, first-time
violence, an increase in activities directly related to the pending offense, and
expressions of desperation. Bondü and Scheithauer (2015) studied two
groups of school shooters, those targeting single victims and others
attempting mass murder. The researchers found different warning signs
between the groups with regard to seriousness, patterns, characteristics,
offense-related behavior, and type of leakage.
In assessing the threat of violence, Meloy et al. (2012) proposed eight
overall warning behaviors: pathway, fixation, identification, novel
aggression, energy burst, leakage, directly communicated threat, and last
resort. Bondü and Schneithauer (2015) found the majority of school shooters
had announced their intentions, either verbally or in writing; as such, they
identified a need for assessment and treatment. Meloy et al. (2012) also
recommended analyzing adolescents’ written and spoken communications
according to eight themes offered by the FBI: violence, hopelessness,
despair, hatred, isolation, loneliness, nihilism, and an end-of-the-world
philosophy. The researchers proposed similar analyses of adult mass
murderer manifestos.
Risk assessment. Following the Columbine High School massacre,
the FBI published a report on threat assessment for school shooters,
identifying types and levels of threats and outlining factors for assessment
(O’Toole, 1999). The FBI echoed then– Attorney General Janet Reno’s call
for principals and teachers to develop and implement violence prevention
plans. In line with other researchers and scholars, the organization
recognized leakage as the most important and visible warning sign. Specific
psychological disturbances pinpointed as signs of a student contemplating
violence against his classmates include depression, narcissism, entitlement,
alienation, low selfesteem, lack of empathy, and a strong fascination with
violence. As Bonanno and Levenson (2014) cautioned, though, the key
determinant should not be if the student makes a threat, but whether he poses
a threat.
Broad common denominators among mass murderers include age,
race, gender, and psychological disorders (Agnitch, 2015; Follman, 2015b;
Madfis, 2014b). Following a review of multiple studies on American mass
murderers, Lankford (2015a, 2016a) identified mental health problems and
suicidal ideation as particularly common traits. Although Neuman et al.
(2015) found no single psychological diagnosis among school shooters, they
documented a common thread of narcissistic personality disorder in both
adolescent and adult mass murderers. Similarly, Knoll and Meloy (2014)
recognized a cognitive progression in paranoia among many mass
murderers, which they attributed as a narcissistic defense. Wondemaghen
(2014) viewed committing mass killings as one way for individuals to cope
with the symptoms of serious mental illness.
Family, friends, teachers, and classmates have a social responsibility
to assess the risk of violence, especially in adolescents. Individuals need to
know which behaviors or words may signal danger, and to take appropriate
action (Klebold, 2016; Knoll, 2012b). If people overhear or observe
threatening or disturbing words or behaviors, they should either address the
individual directly or report their concerns to a suitable authority. Many high
school administrators now employ school resource officers to break the
implied code of silence, giving students and teachers a safe, confidential
channel to voice their concerns (Perumean-Chaney & Sutton, 2013;
Schildkraut & Elsass, 2016). Because of early identification, hundreds of
school shootings, as well as other mass murders, have been averted (Bondü
& Schneithauer, 2015; Madfis, 2014a, 2014b; Shermer, 2013).
Duty to warn. In 1969, after announcing his intentions to a school
psychologist, Prosenjit Poddar stabbed to death Tatiana Tarasoff, a fellow
student at the University of California at Berkeley (Simone & Fulero, 2005).
Tarasoff’s parents sued the University for its psychologist’s failure to inform
them or their daughter of the threat. The California Supreme Court ruled in
favor of the Tarasoffs, finding the duty to warn an individual or society of a
specific threat took precedence over maintaining client confidentiality
(Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 1974, 1976). This ruling
impacted courts across the country, with each state devising its own
interpretation of the law. Generally, the duty to warn obligates
psychotherapists to disclose confidential client information when the danger
is foreseeable and the victim is identifiable (Simone & Fulero, 2005).
Firearms
Collectively, Americans own over 300 million guns, more than one
for every citizen (Follman, 2015b; Lopez & Oh, 2016). There is least one
firearm in 33% of American households (Ehrenfreund, 2015). American
citizens often view guns as symbols of empowerment, self-defense, self-
sufficiency, and masculine virility (Fan, 2015; Lemieux, 2014). From 2005
to 2015, more than 750,000 people were injured by firearms, with another
320,000 killed (Follman et al., 2015). U.S. rates for firearm deaths, including
both homicide and suicide, are unparalleled among countries with advanced
economies (Lopez & Oh, 2016; Shultz et al., 2013).
Gun use in mass murder. The United States comprises 5% of the
global population, yet has 31% of the world’s mass public shootings
(Lankford, 2016a). Since 2006, more than 240 mass killings have been
committed in America, at least 75% of them involving firearms (Fan, 2015;
Fox & Levin, 2014). In 2015, Towers et al. counted one American mass
shooting every other week. Public mass shooters predominantly employ
multiple firearms, with semiautomatic handguns and semiautomatic assault
rifles the most common (Lankford, 2016a; Phillips, 2013; Robinson, 2015).
When perpetrators use an assault weapon, semiautomatic weapon, or firearm
with a high-capacity magazine, they shoot 151% more people and kill 63%
more, on average (Everytown for Gun Safety, 2015).
Media Coverage
The media devote extensive air time and print space to publicizing
acts of mass murder and those who commit them, sensationalizing violent
tragedy while attracting viewers (Knoll, 2013, 2016; Murray, 2015; O’Toole
& Fondacaro, 2015). The 1999 Columbine High School shooting became a
watershed event in terms of 24-hour media coverage, air time which has
risen steadily with each successive atrocity (Fox & DeLateur, 2014a;
O’Toole & Fondacaro, 2015). CNN and MSNBC recorded their highest
viewership to date on April 20, 1999, the day of the attack (Irving, 1999).
Cable news networks’ around-the-clock coverage continued for weeks,
making Columbine the year’s top news story (Muschert, 2002; Pew
Research Center, 1999). Mass shootings were the leading story in 2012, as
well, following massacres in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut.
Despite taking place in mid-December, Newtown became the second-
mostwatched story of the year (Fox & DeLateur, 2014a; Schildkraut &
Muschert, 2014).
Walkup and Rubin (2013) supported media reporting of mass
shootings, yet felt coverage needed to be less superficial. They advocated for
media to instead investigate the societal problems of alienation and
antisocial violence. Similarly, Follman (2015a) recommended the media use
neutral language and limited imagery in reporting mass killings. Knoll
(2012b) suggested mass murderers be neither glorified nor demonized, with
coverage instead focused on victim healing and community reconstruction.
In an ABC News interview, Duwe adopted an antithetical stance, arguing
mass public shootings deserve the coverage they receive (Phillips, 2013). On
the same news program, Follman also supported news coverage as being
necessary for public education, understanding, and discussion.
Media and violence. Researchers have conducted many studies to
assess the relationship between violence in the media and violence in real
life. Following a comprehensive review of newspaper, magazine, television,
and online news reports, Björkqvist (2015) found that individuals exposed to
greater media violence levels were more likely to commit acts of aggression
and brutality. Walkup and Rubin (2013) drew parallels between media
violence and social isolation, finding some extremely withdrawn individuals
particularly susceptible to outwardly expressing what they see onscreen.
Pozios, Kambam, and Bender (2013) concluded that, although violent media
exposure does not by itself lead to violence, it is a proven risk factor.
Acknowledging this connection, Knoll (2010b) called on the media to accept
greater responsibility for the extent of their violent coverage, including the
images, words, and messages they select. Finally, by devoting excessive air
time and print space to only the most extreme mass murders, the media may
unwittingly be inspiring future attacks (Taylor, 2016). Extensive viewing of
media violence often predicts violent behavior, even among nonmurderers
(Björkvist, 2015).
Media influence. In reporting any story, the media choose the
language, images, approach, and presentation of information, effectively
dictating public discourse (Coverdale, Coverdale, & Nairn, 2013; Coyle,
2014; Schildkraut & Muschert, 2014). By devoting extensive coverage to
public mass murder, the media enable the killers to, in effect, control what
news people see (Paton & Figeac, 2015). Through this exposure, mass
murderers are able to achieve the fame, infamy, and notoriety they seek
(Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2016; Lankford, 2016a, 2016b, 2016d; Murray, 2015;
Pury et al., 2015). Although it is impossible to pinpoint how many mass
murderers have been inspired by earlier media coverage, researchers suggest
the number is likely quite high (Auxemery, 2015; Knoll, 2013; Leonard,
2015).
In describing mass murderers, journalists often use emotionally
heightened terms such as psycho, psychopath, monster, madman, deranged,
and crazy (Coverdale et al., 2013; Patton, 2013; Thrasybule, 2012). Most
times, they do so with limited understanding or explanation of these labels,
or the real or suspected mental disorders from which the offenders may
suffer. Using this inflammatory language demonizes the mentally ill,
perpetuating the misperception that psychological disorders alone cause
violent crime (Coverdale et al., 2013; Levin, 2014; McGinty, Webster,
Jarlenski, & Barry, 2014; Paulson, 2014). By misrepresenting those with
mental illness, the media contribute to discrimination and stigma (Follman,
2015b).
Copycat crimes. Researchers and journalists have identified a
correlation between media coverage of mass murder and murderers, and the
commission of subsequent offenses (Auxemery, 2015; Follman, 2015a;
Francis, 2014; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2013; Leonard, 2015; Rocque, 2012;
Towers et al., 2015). Applying a contagion model to media exposure,
Towers et al. (2015) found each mass murder and school shooting had
inspired 0.30 and 0.22 new acts, respectively. Tufekci (2012) called for a
balance between reporting mass murder and informing the public, as those
who commit such acts often imitate what they see and hear in the media. The
manifestos of mass murderers support these assertions, as they frequently
reference and often express admiration for prior offenders and offenses
(Auxemery, 2015; Björkqvist, 2015; Fox & Levin, 2014; Lindberg et al.,
2012). As Paton and Figeac (2015) illustrated, school shooters tend also to
copy the appearances of other adolescent mass murderers in their video
manifestos and photographs, especially with regard to firearm positioning
and military or combat attire.
The 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting was a landmark
event in contemporary society, leading to a series of copycat actions
researchers and media call “the Columbine effect” (Follman & Andrews,
2015). Countless school shooters have referenced either Columbine itself, or
Harris and Klebold in particular, in their journals, videos, and social media
posts (Auxemery, 2015; Healy, 2015; Malkki, 2014; Oksanen et al., 2014).
In 2015, Follman and Andrews identified at least 74 planned or completed
school shootings across 30 states that had been inspired by Columbine.
Alternatively, Follman (Phillips, 2013) and Fox and DeLateur (2014a) did
not believe media coverage inspired future mass murders.
Societal impact. Another dangerous effect of extensive mass murder
media coverage is its negative impact on society. Viewing the prevalence
and sensationalism of these acts, people often think such tragedies occur
with greater frequency than they actually do (Fox & DeLateur, 2014b;
Lankford, 2016a; Schildkraut & Muschert, 2014). Pervasive coverage of
public mass shootings by the media conveys the idea that no one and no
place are safe (Achenbach, 2015; Barbieri & Connell, 2015; Eskey et al.,
2015; Madfis, 2014a; Nekvasil, Cornell, & Huang, 2015; O’Toole &
Fondacaro, 2015; Schurman-Kauflin, 2012). Citizens suffer a
disproportionate amount of fear as a result, overestimating their personal risk
of victimization (Lankford, 2016a; Paton & Figeac, 2015; Roque, 2012).
Sample of 12 Mass Murderers
I investigated the 12 mass murderers and their acts prior to
psychologically analyzing the linguistic content of their manifestos.
Offenders’ ages, locations, and attack specifics were relevant, as were the
number of victims killed and injured. Also significant were indications of
the murderers’ psychological states, suggested or diagnosed mental
disorders, and what communications they left behind. The sample contained
manifestos written by 12 perpetrators who collectively committed 11 acts of
mass murder. Combined, these homicidal killers left 108 victims dead and
175 injured, with nine offenders dying at the scene. Although firearms
factored into each act, three offenders also employed knives.
Christopher Dorner. On February 3, 2013, 33-year-old former Los
Angeles police officer and U.S. Navy veteran Christopher Dorner killed a
police captain’s daughter and her fiancé with a 9-mm Glock handgun
(Goffard, Rubin, & Streeter, 2013). Over a subsequent 9-day spree, he used
both the Glock and an AR-15 assault rifle to shoot five officers, two of them
fatally, before committing suicide when surrounded by police (Goffard et. al,
2013). Shortly after the initial killings, Dorner posted a 6,000-word
manifesto on Facebook in which he detailed his grievances toward the Los
Angeles Police Department, naming specific targets (Rubin, Leonard, &
Linthicum, 2013). In the manifesto, Dorner claimed to be suffering from
severe depression (Hartley, 2013).
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. On April 20, 1999, 18-year-old Eric
Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School in
Littleton, Colorado, armed with four guns and homemade explosives
(Cullen, 2009). Less than an hour later, following a rampage during which
they killed 13 and injured 24, they took their own lives. As evidenced by
their manifestos, the boys had planned a much larger massacre, hoping to
exceed the 168 deaths from the Oklahoma City bombing. Had the propane
bombs in the cafeteria detonated as intended, the number of fatalities could
have been closer to 600 (Langman, 2009).
Prior to the shooting, Harris had seen a psychologist for anger
management, which may have been an early manifestation of psychopathy
(Cullen, 2009). Psychiatrists post-Columbine believed Klebold suffered
from severe, suicidal depression (Cullen, 2004; “Glimpses of Klebold and
Harris,” 2000). In addition to recording video diaries with Klebold, Harris
maintained several webpages and kept a ranting, hate-filled journal
(“Glimpses of Klebold and Harris,” 2000). In contrast, in his journal,
Klebold revealed hopelessness, confusion, and the desire to die (Langman,
2009).
James Holmes. On July 20, 2012, 24-year-old James Holmes entered the
Century
16 Theatre in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight premiere of The Dark
Knight Rises (O’Neill, Cabrera, & Weisfeldt, 2015). Using an AR 15 assault
rifle, Remington shotgun, and 40-caliber Glock handgun, Holmes killed 12
and injured 58 before surrendering to police (Foreman, 2012; Gembrowski,
Bello, & Hughes, 2012). Three months prior to the massacre, he had told a
psychiatrist he was having homicidal thoughts multiple times a day
(McKinley, 2015). Following his arrest, he was diagnosed with a
schizophrenia spectrum disorder (Ingold & Steffen, 2015). In his journal,
Holmes questioned the meaning of life and documented his delusional
thoughts, self-diagnoses, and plans for the attack (Alter, 2015).
Kip Kinkel. On the evening of May 20, 1998, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel
shot and killed his parents (Frontline, 2000b). The next morning, he brought
three guns to Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, where he killed
two students and wounded 25. Months prior, the teenager had been
diagnosed with major depressive disorder and prescribed Prozac (Frontline,
2000b). Kinkel often complained of hearing voices saying he was worthless
and commanding him to kill (Langman, 2009). Doctors later found these
psychotic and paranoid thoughts and behaviors suggestive of early-onset
schizophrenia (Frontline, 2000a). Kinkel maintained a diary in which he
recorded hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, anguish, and homicidal
thoughts (Langman, 2009).
Adam Lanza. On the morning of December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza,
20, killed his mother in her bed (Kreider, 2012). He then drove to nearby
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, armed with a
semiautomatic rifle and two semiautomatic handguns (Esposito, Smith, &
Ng, 2012). Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six adults in under 5 minutes,
and then fatally shot himself (Esposito et al., 2012). Based on prior
psychiatric treatment, Lanza appeared to have suffered from Asperger’s
syndrome, a personality disorder, or both (Lysiak, Slattery, & Schapiro,
2012). Although his manifesto was not made public, some of Lanza’s
journals, message board discussions, and radio transcripts are available.
Gang Lu. On November 1, 2001, 28-year-old Gang Lu showed up at
a meeting of the physics department at the University of Iowa, armed with
a .38-caliber revolver and .22-caliber handgun (Marriott, 1991b). He shot
and killed two distinguished physics professors, the department chairman,
and a fellow former doctoral student before moving on to the administration
building, where he fatally wounded the associate vice president and
paralyzed her assistant; Lu then took his own life (Mann, 1992).
Investigators discovered five unsent letters in Lu’s briefcase that revealed
had been planning his attack for 6 months, after learning the other student,
and not him, had won a prestigious dissertation award (Marriott, 1991b).
Elliot Rodger. On May 23, 2014, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger fatally
stabbed his roommates, uploaded his final video blog to YouTube, and drove
to Isla Vista, California, armed with three semiautomatic handguns (Duke,
2014; Nagourney, Cieply, Feuer, & Lovetree, 2014). Rodger shot and killed
three college students, wounding others before committing suicide; all told,
the rampage left six dead and 14 injured. Mental health professionals had
proposed a number of mental disorders throughout Rodger’s life, including
autism spectrum disorder, depression, and anxiety (Nagourney et al., 2014).
Rodger left behind a Facebook page, YouTube channel, extensive video
blog, and 140page manifesto, which he emailed to friends and family just
before the attack (Hill, 2014).
Dylann Roof. On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof attended a prayer
meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston,
South Carolina (Mindock, 2015). An hour into the gathering, the 21-year-old
White man opened fire on the Black parishioners, killing nine. Roof fled the
scene but was later apprehended. A follower of the White Supremacist
movement, he displayed obsessive-compulsive behavior and substance
abuse since adolescence (Weiss & Mone, 2015). In addition to maintaining a
website outlining his ideology, Roof leaked his intentions to several friends
(Mindock, 2015).
George Sodini. On August 4, 2009, George Sodini, 48, entered an LA
Fitness Center women’s aerobics class in suburban Pittsburgh (“Gunman in
Health Club,” 2009). Using two 9-millimeter automatic pistols, he fired 52
shots, killing three and injuring nine before taking his own life (Potter,
Cuomo, & Ferran, 2009). Sodini left behind a note, website, online videos,
and blog, which included frequent lamentations about a lack of female
companionship (“Gunman in Health Club,” 2009). Based on the chronology
of diary entries, he had been planning the massacre for nearly 9 months.
Jeff Weise. On March 21, 2005, Jeff Weise, 16, used a 22-caliber
pistol to kill his grandfather and the man’s companion as they slept (Rave,
2005). He then drove his grandfather’s police cruiser to Red Lake Senior
High School, located on the Red Lake, Minnesota, Indian reservation, where
he shot and killed seven before fatally shooting himself (Sevcik, 2005). A
year before the massacre, Weise had received a prescription for Prozac
following two suicide attempts (Rave, 2005). While alive, he posted online a
journal and violent animated videos, in addition to making entries on neo-
Nazi, Libertarian National Socialist Green Party, and zombie websites
(Gunderson, 2005).
Charles Whitman. In the early hours of August 1, 1966, 25-year-old
Charles Whitman fatally stabbed his mother and his wife, and then went gun
shopping (“Report to the Governor,” 1966). Once he was armed with rifles,
handguns, and a shotgun, he headed to the University of Texas at Austin,
where he was a student (Macleod, n.d.). From the 27th floor of the
University Tower, Whitman killed 16 and injured 33 before being shot dead
by police nearly 2 hours after the massacre began (“Austin [Tex.]. Police
Department,” 1941–2000). Whitman had previously been treated for
depression and anxiety; following his death, medical examiners discovered a
malignant brain tumor. He left behind writings, including letters, notes, and
a diary (Macleod, n.d.). As his diary, written 2 years prior, was unrelated to
the impending massacre, I did not consider it for this study.
Research Approach
Myriad researchers who conducted studies most closely related to the
current project primarily focused on mass murderers, manifestos, motives,
psychological disorders and symptoms, and linguistic analysis (Auxemery,
2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Fox & DeLateur,
2014a; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford,
2015a, 2016a, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Pfeifer & Ganzevoort, 2014). I used
Knoll’s (2012b) manifesto content categories and descriptions for the six
research questions posed in this study, and selected the qualitative multiple
case study approach to identify, compare, and analyze common
psycholinguistic themes across a purposeful selection of 12 manifestos by
American public mass murderers. I closely examined the language these
killers used, enabling interpretation and reporting through coding and data
analysis. This approach is line with the key concept that psycholinguistic
analysis of manifestos will reveal offenders’ motives and mental states
(Auxemery, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Malkki,
2014; Oliffe et al., 2014).
Summary and Conclusions
The frequency of mass murder in the United States is increasing, and
with it, the number of deaths and injuries from such acts (Auxemery, 2015;
Blair & Martaindale, 2013; Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Bondü & Beier,
2015; A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Everytown for Gun Safety, 2015; Follman,
2015b; Rocque, 2012; Shultz et al., 2013). In part because of extensive
media coverage, public shootings are the most visible type of mass murder,
causing pervasive fear and panic (Achenbach, 2015; Auxemery, 2015; Eskey
et al., 2015; Lankford, 2016a; O’Toole & Fondacaro, 2015). The U.S.
Congress defines mass murder as a single act of homicide in which three or
more people are killed (Violent Crimes Act, 2013). Researchers use different
numbers to identify mass murders, however, making research synthesis an
imprecise exercise.
Scholars have suggested a number of motives behind mass murder.
Commonly cited drives include deep-seated desires for revenge, fame, or
personal identity (Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Eskey et al., 2015; Follman,
2015b; Grobbink et al., 2015; Healy, 2015; Lankford, 2016b; Pfeifer &
Ganzevoort, 2014; Pury et al., 2015; Robinson, 2015; Shermer, 2013; Ziv,
2015). Other traits may play a role, such as narcissism, peer rejection, and
social isolation (Achenbach, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Grobbink
et al., 2015; Knoll, 2013; Lankford, 2016b; Schurman-Kauflin, 2012; Ziv,
2015). Some killers appeared to have been inspired by other mass murders
and murderers. This copycat effect may be the result of sensational media
coverage and online access to other killers’ manifestos (Auxemery, 2015;
Follman, 2015a; Francis, 2014; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2013; Leonard, 2015;
Rocque, 2012; Towers et al., 2015).
A psychological disorder alone is not sufficient cause for mass
homicide, but it is often a contributing factor (Follman, 2014, 2015b; Fox &
DeLateur, 2014a; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a; Levin, 2014; Towers et al., 2015;
Walkup & Rubin, 2013). When mental illness is present, common symptoms
include paranoid or delusional thoughts and actions (Dutton et al., 2013;
Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a, 2016a; Metzl & MacLeish, 2015).
Stronger predictors of mass murder are a fascination with firearms,
uncontrollable anger, social marginalization, and a history of violence
(Cloud, 2012; Dutton et al., 2013; Follman, 2015b; Levin, 2014; Meloy et
al., 2012).
Only a handful of researchers have focused their studies on the
manifestos disseminated or maintained by mass murderers (Knoll, 2010b,
2012b; Lankford, 2013, 2016b; Meloy, 2014; Murray, 2016). I conducted
this psycholinguistic analysis of manifesto content to address gaps in the
literature, evaluating data to identify examples of the six linguistic themes
specified in the research questions, which are based on Knoll’s (2012)
manifesto content categories. My findings expand the presently limited body
of knowledge on mass murderer manifestos and, subsequently, mass
murderers’ motives and mental states (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Knoll & Meloy,
2014; Paton & Figeac, 2015). Based on this improved understanding,
researchers can undertake future inquiries and, ultimately, grow the potential
for identification and treatment of intended killers before they commit mass
violence.
In Chapter 3, I provide a discussion on the role of the qualitative
researcher with regard to sample selection, reading, coding, analyzing,
verifying, and reporting. I offer a review of researcher biases and ethical
issues, as well as present my bases for the number of cases, criteria for
inclusion, and participant selection. There is a thorough review of data
collection methods and locales, with an outline of data coding and analysis
procedures to answer the stated research questions. Credibility,
transferability, dependability, confirmability, and reliability also merit
discussion.
Chapter 3: Research Method
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to provide greater understanding of
mass murderers’ motives and mindsets. I conducted psycholinguistic
analyses of manifestos— written or videotaped communication, either
disseminated in advance or discovered postmassacre—according to Knoll’s
(2012b) six themes: (a) ego survival and revenge; (b) pseudocommando
mindset; (c) envy; (d) nihilism; (e) entitlement; and (f) heroic revenge
fantasy. The fundamental assumption was that, by taking the time to record
their thoughts, mass killers communicated what was highly significant to
them. Study results supported the presence of these six content categories
within the 12 manifestos.
In this chapter, I restate the rationale for the qualitative case study
design and explain the role of the researcher as reader, outlining subsequent
responsibilities including coding and psycholinguistic analysis. Techniques
for minimizing researcher bias and risk mitigation methods, such as
triangulation and reflexivity, appear. As manifestos are historical documents,
the ethical obligation is to the reliability of results, and not to participants.
Representative case selection, bias elimination, and a focus on the scientific
method are necessary components.
Criteria for participant selection appear in this chapter. First, the
homicide in question must be classified as a mass murder, defined by
Congress as three or more killed within what can be regarded as a single
incident (Violent Crimes Act, 2013). The murderer(s) must have committed
the crime in the United States in a public place, using at least one firearm. I
chose the 12 cases from an overall population of publicly available mass
murderer manifestos meeting study conditions according to length,
representation, and richness of content. The only instrument was me as the
researcher. Because study participants are documents and not people, ethical
concerns were minimal and power relationships were nonexistent.
Relying on the veracity of mass murderers was a necessary risk, as
only their words provided the best insight into their motives and
psychological states. I conducted data collection and coding to answer the
six research questions, which were drawn from Knoll’s (2012b) manifesto
content themes. I recorded and coded linguistic examples of these themes
and created a master codebook. The chapter also includes a discussion of
trustworthiness, incorporating credibility, triangulation, transferability,
dependability, and confirmability.
Research Design and Rationale
I designed this study to answer six research questions, as follows:
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts ego survival and revenge?
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy, obliteration?
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts envy?
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts nihilism?
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts entitlement?
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts heroic revenge fantasy?
The central phenomenon was mass murderer manifestos. Secondary
concepts I used to conduct, understand, and interpret research were the
following: mass murder and murderers; mass shootings and shooters; mass
public shootings and shooters; pseudocommandos; manifestos; gun
violence; criminal behavior; and linguistics and psycholinguistics. These
concepts were related to or referenced in the 12 manifestos.
The qualitative multiple case study research tradition served as the
foundation.
The case study was the most appropriate for exploring participants in detail
(Yin, 2014). Researchers practice this tradition to examine lived
experiences, letting individuals reveal their stories through recorded
documents. The multiple case study approach allowed not only for in-depth
analysis within each case, but also comparisons across cases.
Role of the Researcher
The usual qualitative roles of observer, participant, and observer-
participant were not applicable to this study. As manifestos are documents
and not people, there could be no subject observation or researcher
participation. Instead, my role as researcher was that of reader. Subsequent
responsibilities included identifying linguistic examples based on Knoll’s
(2012b) categories, coding words and phrases, and analyzing the coded data.
There were no personal, professional, or power relationships between either
the manifestos themselves or the mass murderers who composed them, and
me as the researcher.
The potential for researcher bias is stronger in qualitative studies than
quantitative ones, due to the inherent subjectivity in gathering and coding
qualitative data. To ensure the greatest degree of objectivity, researchers
must address their own personal beliefs and prejudices. Single persons
gathering and analyzing data must take care to avoid misinterpretation or
omission. I conducted multiple rounds of coding and analysis, adhering to
pre-established criteria and processes (Brink, 1993). Maintaining researcher
objectivity helped maximize accuracy across all phases of data collection
and analysis. I sought to minimize any expectations based on Knoll’s
(2012b) psycholinguistic categories or other researchers’ work, as they could
also skew findings. Additional means of reducing bias included maintaining
detailed documentation, implementing regular selfchecks, and continually
challenging assumptions.
A researcher has ethical obligations to select cases appropriate for the
study and to avoid making choices according to personal preferences or
expectations (Yin, 2014). It was important for me to stay up to date with
emerging research, incorporating it into the present study, as applicable. I
did not intend this study as a means of validating Knoll’s (2012b) proposed
manifesto content criteria, but to accurately and independently confirm or
deny the presence of his six categories within the 12 selected cases. There
were no conflicts of interest.
Methodology Participant Selection Logic
The overarching population encompassing this field of research is
manifestos written by U.S. mass murderers who committed their crimes in
public places, using at least one firearm. Because not every communication
has been made public, the population available for this study was manifestos
that were accessible from the Internet, government agencies, or history
museums.
I selected a purposeful sample of 12 mass murderer manifestos to
obtain a comprehensive cross-section of available communications.
Excluded from consideration were manifestos of fewer than two pages, or
those composed by mass shooters outside the United States. Although rich
content is important, I neither selected nor rejected manifestos based on how
well they conformed to or deviated from the six categories specified in the
research questions. As Knoll (2012b) had already applied these categories to
Cho’s and Wong’s manifestos, I did not use their communications.
I used the U.S. Congress’s definition of mass murder as a homicidal
act in which three or more people are killed (Violent Crimes Act, 2013) to
identify eligible acts and reject alternate or outdated classifications, many of
which required a minimum of four deaths or injuries. Qualifying acts of
mass murder were rampage, spree, and school shootings carried out in one
or more public places; nonqualifying acts were nonpseudocommando mass
murders, such as familicide, terrorism, or homicide committed within the
course of robbery or gang activity. Due to the spontaneous nature of
workplace shootings, manifestos by these offenders are rare and not
representative of the population. After selecting cases that built upon Knoll’s
(2012b) findings, I applied these criteria, gathered all available documents,
and read and evaluated the manifestos.
Prior to manifesto evaluation, I conducted exhaustive research on
mass murderers and murders, including offender names, locations, attack
types, weapons, and fatalities. The only murders I considered were
American public mass shootings, classified as single- and multiple-location,
rampage, spree, and school shootings meeting the federal definition.
Conducting extensive Internet searches on each of the offenders allowed me
to locate as many written and video manifestos that were available. From
this population, I selected a sample of 12 cases to maximize reliability,
validity, and generalizability. As Guest, Bunce, and Johnson (2006)
identified 12 as the point of saturation in a multiple case study, adding
participants beyond this number would have provided no new data or
themes.
In researching this topic, I searched each mass murderer’s name by
itself, and then again when paired with variations or combinations of the
terms manifesto, journal, diary, letter, suicide note, video, blog, and website
(a complete list of search terms is provided in Appendix A). Numerous
library databases and search engines proved useful, including PsycINFO,
PsycARTICLES, PsycEXTRA, SAGE Premier, SocINDEX, ERIC,
LexisNexis Academic, Academic Search Complete, ProQuest Central,
ProQuest Criminal Justice, Google Scholar, and Bing. Questionable or
unreliable sources, such as personal blogs or letters to the editor, were
excluded.
Instrumentation
The researcher is often the primary data collection instrument in a
qualitative study (Xu & Storr, 2012). As the sole researcher, I alone was
responsible for reading, coding, and analyzing manifesto content. Although I
conducted psycholinguistic analysis in accordance with Knoll’s (2012b) six
content criteria, I had to decide which language was relevant to the research
questions and how to classify the mass murderers’ words.
Following coding came data analysis, presentation, and conclusions.
The principal sources of data used in this study were archival
documents. Because manifestos are written from the mass murderers’
perspectives, they provide the best insight into the killers’ minds. A first-
person composition is not guaranteed reliable, however, as the author
controls the presentation of information, language, and tone. Despite this
drawback, the only way to psycholinguistically analyze manifesto content
was to use the mass murderers’ words as composed. Answering the six
research questions required identifying linguistic depictions within the mass
murderers’ communications, based on Knoll’s (2012b) content categories. I
accomplished this by examining, coding, and analyzing the manifestos.
Instruments
I used no formal tools or instruments, instead establishing content
validity by drawing upon Knoll’s (2012b) established coding categories. The
manifestos of the 12 mass murderers were the only data sources needed to
answer the research questions. Because this was a qualitative study
conducted by a single researcher, a degree of subjectivity was a concern and
therefore required monitoring and minimization.
Procedures for Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection
Data collection. I collected linguistic data from the sample of 12 mass
murderer manifestos according to the six specified content categories. Prior
to formal coding or analysis, I read each manifesto a minimum of three
times.
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts ego survival and revenge? I conducted coding and data
analysis to identify examples of ego survival and revenge in the language.
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy,
obliteration? I conducted coding and data analysis to identify examples of
pseudocommando mindset in the language.
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts envy? I conducted coding and data analysis to identify
examples of envy in the language.
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts nihilism? I conducted coding and data analysis to
identify examples of nihilism in the language.
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts entitlement? I conducted coding and data analysis to
identify examples of entitlement in the language.
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts heroic revenge fantasy? I conducted coding and data
analysis to identify examples of heroic revenge fantasy in the language.
Collecting data. Collecting data necessitated identifying linguistic
depictions of each content category, and then compiling a list of category
representations from each mass murderer’s manifesto. The duration of data
collection was not as important as its comprehensiveness.
Recording data. I used Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word to
record data, the former for compiling and sorting information, and the latter
for writing, rearranging content, and editing. As I had read each of the 12
manifestos prior to study selection to determine whether they qualified, no
recruitment follow-up plan was necessary. Because participants were
historical documents and not human beings, no exit or follow-up procedures
could occur.
Data Analysis Plan
The type of data was archival documentation, which includes diaries,
journals, letters, notes, and other forms of personal communication by mass
murderers. I used psycholinguistic analysis to uncover the presence of
Knoll’s (2010b, 2012b) content criteria and to answer the six research
questions. Descriptive and analytical coding enabled me to identify
categories, concepts, ideas, keywords, phrases, and themes (Gibbs & Taylor,
2010).
A critical component of the coding process is adherence to the
research questions. Vigilance to researcher preconceptions or prejudices is
necessary to minimize bias. As such, I carefully considered and executed the
coding process according to three units of analysis: individual manifestos,
words and phrases, and research question relevance. Clear thematic
definitions for each code, including the criteria for content inclusion, merited
elaboration. As I read the manifestos and recorded language content
depictions, I developed a master codebook in accordance with the six
research questions, modifying the codebook when any codes appeared
redundant or inaccurate.
I did not use any software programs for analyzing data. Because all 12
cases were prequalified, there were no discrepancies requiring treatment.
Issues of Trustworthiness
Credibility. As one individual conducted this study, triangulation by
way of comparing two or more researchers’ findings was not possible.
Instead, I employed other forms of triangulation to strengthen internal
validity, including using reliable data sources, addressing multiple theories,
and repeating analysis and coding procedures. Reflexivity, an ongoing
awareness of the researcher’s personal influence on content and
interpretation, enhanced credibility. To ensure saturation, I selected 12
representative and thorough cases as rich data sources. Researcher
trustworthiness was also important, which I boosted through subject matter
expertise, data immersion, and presentation of findings.
Transferability. To realize the greatest degrees of external validity
and reliability, and thus transferability, I undertook multiple rounds of data
coding and analysis, ensuring population representativeness and adhering to
pre-established criteria and processes (Brink, 1993). Case selection allowed
for variation in mass murder types, further increasing transferability. I
achieved thick description by keeping a comprehensive diary of manifesto
language, detailing how and why I coded the communications.
Dependability. Dependability came from reading and rereading each
manifesto, taking notes, identifying examples of the six content criteria,
compiling lists, and coding linguistic depictions. I kept a litany of notes
throughout the process, providing an audit trail to allow for research
replication. Transferability came from considering different theories and
perspectives, confirming data reliability, and conducting multiple rounds of
analysis and coding to ensure repeatability.
Confirmability. Reflexivity, a component of confirmability, came
from recognizing my personal opinions, feelings, or situations that may have
affected data collection and analysis. I acknowledged previous researchers’
findings and established theories, and then confirmed, rejected, or expanded
upon them, as applicable. Confirmability depended upon objectivity,
reliability, and the use of multiple triangulation methods. Reviewing
emerging literature, challenging assumptions, and comparing findings
against those of Knoll (2012b) were ongoing throughout the process.
Intracoder reliability. I achieved intracoder reliability through
repeated coding and analysis. This ensured results reliability over time, and
eliminated temporary risks such as mood and distraction. Intercoder
reliability was not a factor.
Ethical Procedures
Because historical documents comprise the sample, there were no
ethical concerns with regard to the treatment of human participants. No
institutional permissions were required as would be with human participants,
and no recruitment materials were necessary. All manifestos were publicly
available, eliminating the need for access agreements. Because these
documents could be publicly accessed, no ethical concerns existed with
regard to data collection.
All manifestos were clearly attributed to the mass murderers who
composed them. Confidentiality concerns were nonexistent, as the
manifestos were freely available. Data storage, dissemination, access, and
destruction did not merit consideration. No funding was provided by any
individual or organization, and there were no conflicts of interest.
Summary
Chapter 3 illustrated how findings from the present study are used to
answer the six research questions. The central phenomenon was mass
murderer manifesto content, with secondary concepts related to mass
murderer and murderers, violent crime, and psycholinguistics. I provided
justification of the qualitative multiple case study research design as the best
tradition for in-depth content analysis of personal documents. I also
discussed the researcher’s roles as reader and instrument, as well as the
integral duties of coding and analysis. Ongoing self-assessment decreased
the risk of single-researcher bias. Evaluating personal beliefs, expectations,
and prejudices, as well as conducting multiple rounds of data gathering and
coding, were also necessary.
I discussed my use of the World Wide Web to conduct extensive
research and assemble the population of available manifestos by American
mass shooters. After identifying qualifying mass murders based on location,
attack type, weapons, and number of fatalities, I ascertained the presence of
manifestos and procured all available documents. The 12 selected cases met
defined criteria and information richness, with consideration for presenting a
mix of types. I reiterated the six research questions and applied them to the
data collection process.
Information on how data were collected from the manifestos was
included. I used a combination of descriptive and analytical coding to
identify categories, concepts, keywords, and themes. I detailed steps taken to
ensure credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability, and
intracoder reliability, and included repeated reading and coding, as well as
triangulation, thick description, and reflexivity.
In Chapter 4, I review setting and participant demographics. I provide
in-depth data collection and analysis procedures, with the steps clearly
enumerated. This account includes how, when, and where I collected
information. There is a presentation of codes, categories, and themes.
Finally, I revisit issues of credibility, transferability, dependability, and
confirmability in accordance with study procedures. Following this detailed
process discussion come the results of the study, which answer the research
questions.
Chapter 4: Results
Introduction
Mass murder is a catastrophic phenomenon occurring in the United
States with increasing frequency (Achenbach, 2015; Auxemery, 2015;
Bondü & Beier, 2015; Follman, 2015b; Lowe & Galea, 2017). By definition,
a mass murder is a multiple homicide in which three or more individuals are
killed in a single event, taking place in one or more locations in close
proximity within a finite period (Violent Crimes Act, 2013). A mass
shooting, by extension, is a multiple homicide in which one or more firearms
are employed in killing three or more people. Although mass shootings may
include acts of familicide, terrorism, and homicide committed within the
course of robbery or gang activity, for this study I considered only
pseudocommando acts, or mass shootings that occurred in public places.
Through limited studies conducted on mass murderers, researchers
have focused largely on the field of postevent psychological analysis (Bondü
& Beier, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013; Eskey et al., 2015; Follman, 2015b;
Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015a). A review of mass murderers’
manifestos, writings or videos composed in advance of the act, is one means
of assessing the psychological states and motives of perpetrators; however,
there has been little analysis of these communications (Auxemery, 2015;
Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Healy, 2015; Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Lankford,
2015a, 2016a, 2016b). Only Knoll (2012b) and Murray (2016) have assessed
these offenders’ words for specific themes.
I selected the manifestos of 12 mass murderers for this qualitative case
study, the purpose of which was to identify instances of Knoll’s (2012b) six
manifesto themes. Through psycholinguistic analysis, I identified common
mental states and motives among the perpetrators. Accordingly, the research
questions were as follows:
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts ego survival and revenge?
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy, obliteration?
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts envy?
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts nihilism?
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts entitlement?
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts heroic revenge fantasy?
First in this chapter is a review of participant demographics and
characteristics. An inspection of data collection and methods follows,
particularly with regard to location, frequency, and duration. Next, I discuss
data recording processes, including steps taken to gather and code language
illustrative of the study’s six themes. An outline of the data analysis steps
includes the initial coding and subsequent analysis of thematic examples
from the 12 manifestos. A discussion of researcher trustworthiness follows,
addressing credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.
I present study findings for each mass murderer’s manifestos,
beginning with an overview of the perpetrator and his actions. Following
each summary is a list of themes represented in the communications. I
provide and discuss specific textual examples and their contexts, illustrating
how the language is indicative of the six specific themes. The chapter
concludes with a summary of how the study’s findings have answered the
research questions.
Demographics
Study participants were the manifestos written by 12 American mass
murderers who killed three or more people in single incident, or closely
related incidents. The killers executed their attacks in a public place, with at
least one firearm among the weapons used. The manifestos, which included
journals, diaries, letters, blogs, message board posts, and videos, had been
composed prior to the act. Written manifestos ranged in length from two to
137 pages. All of the written and video manifestos were openly available on
the World Wide Web.
All of the perpetrators were male, with two acting in tandem and 10
operating alone. The perpetrators ranged from 15 to 48 years of age, and
their crimes were committed between 1966 and 2015. Attack types and
quantities were three singlelocation, two rampage, one spree, and five school
shootings.
Data Collection
I collected data on each of Knoll’s (2012b) psycholinguistic themes
from all available manifestos written or recorded by the 12 selected mass
murderers. Some left behind only a single document and others had
composed multiple missives; as such, in excess of 12 separate
communications comprised this study. I read, or viewed, transcribed, and
read, all manifestos a minimum of three times before conducting coding.
Gathering and coding data involved highlighting sections of text that
exemplified the six themes. I coded each manifesto a minimum of three
times before making final determinations. I logged all linguistic examples on
a spreadsheet, along with the perpetrator’s name, document name, date of
entry, and page or paragraph number, as available. Along with direct
quotations, I noted contextual placement to provide a framework for each
entry. After logging all verbiage, I organized it by perpetrator according to
theme and order of appearance.
Data collection did not vary from the pattern detailed in Chapter 3. No
unusual circumstances arose during data collection and coding.
Data Analysis
Following multiple reads of each manifesto, I identified sentences and
passages representative of Knoll’s (2012b) six content categories: (a) ego
survival and revenge; (b) pseudocommando mindset; (c) envy; (d) nihilism;
(e) entitlement; and (f) heroic revenge fantasy. I used descriptive and
analytical coding in selecting text that aligned with the categories.
Psycholinguistic analysis allowed me to more clearly identify language
illustrative of the themes. Although the phrases recorded were standalone
representations of the themes, I also noted their context within the overall
manifestos.
The six themes served as codes, corresponding with the study’s six
research questions. Direct quotes from the manifestos appear in the Results
section of this chapter in illustration of the themes. I found at least one of the
six themes in each mass murderer’s manifesto. Envy, however, appeared
only in the communications of Elliot Rodger, suggesting this case or this
theme may be an outlier.
Evidence of Trustworthiness
As outlined in Chapter 3, I applied various methods to ensure
credibility. The first involved selecting 12 cases representative of the overall
population. As all manifestos were composed by the individuals who later
committed mass murder, their reliability as data sources was maximized.
Subject matter expertise came from long-term immersion in the material,
including not only the manifestos, but also background information on the
perpetrators and details of the acts. Different theories of crime and
linguistics were also factors. After conducting multiple rounds of coding, I
created a table and compiled results in accordance with Knoll’s (2012b) six
themes.
Repeated readings of manifestos combined with multiple rounds of
coding made for the highest possible external validity and reliability.
Although qualitative results by nature are not directly transferable to a larger
population, by selecting manifestos composed by different types of mass
murderers, I increased the degree of possible transferability. First, I noted
language indicative of each theme on both printed and digital copies of the
manifestos. Next, I created a comprehensive spreadsheet of thematic
language, which I then extensively reviewed. Combined, these two practices
lent thick description to the study.
I implemented several procedures to achieve dependability, including
the abovementioned practices. As outlined in Chapter 3, the process
involved conducting multiple rounds of reading and coding, taking copious
notes, carefully considering thematic examples in the language, repeatedly
reviewing each theme’s description to ensure alignment, and maintaining an
ongoing list of actions. Future researchers should be able to replicate or
expand upon this study based upon my documented the steps in the process.
Researcher reflection occurred both before and after conducting
extensive research and selecting the 12 participants for this study. This
involved examining my personal feelings and pre-existing opinions and
was a necessary component of ensuring objectivity. I read and considered,
and then embraced or rejected, extensive corresponding research, both
established and emerging. With the use of triangulation, objectivity and
reliability led to the confirmability of findings. Results
Research Questions
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts ego survival and revenge? Seven of the 12 manifestos
included language representative of ego survival and revenge: Christopher
Dorner, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Gang Lu, Elliot Rodger, Dylann Roof,
and George Sodini.
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy,
obliteration? Four of the 12 manifestos included language representative of
pseudocommando mindset: Christopher Dorner, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold,
and Elliot Rodger.
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts envy? One of the 12 manifestos included language
representative of envy: Elliot Rodger.
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts nihilism? Eight of the 12 manifestos included language
representative of nihilism: Dylan Klebold, James Holmes, Kip Kinkel,
Adam Lanza, Elliot Rodger, George Sodini, Jeff Weise, and Charles
Whitman.
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts entitlement? Three of the 12 manifestos included
language representative of entitlement: Eric Harris, Elliot Rodger, and
Dylann Roof.
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’
manifestos depicts heroic revenge fantasy? Five of the 12 manifestos
included language representative of heroic revenge fantasy: Eric Harris,
Dylan Klebold, James Holmes, Gang Lu, and Elliot Rodger.
All 12 manifestos included language illustrative of at least one of
Knoll’s (2012b) themes, with one manifesto exhibiting all six themes. The
most commonly represented themes were ego survival and revenge and
nihilism.
Case 1: Christopher Dorner
Five years after his dismissal from the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD), Christopher Dorner embarked on a murderous rampage during
which he targeted law enforcement personnel and their families (Kelly,
2013). On February 3, 2013, the Navy veteran shot and killed the daughter
and future son-in-law of his former LAPD captain, spurring a massive
manhunt. Four days later, Dorner shot two police officers, killing one, and
on February 12, he attacked three officers in a shootout, leaving one dead
and two injured. The next day, following an hours-long standoff outside a
Big Bear, California, cabin, Dorner committed suicide as authorities burned
down the structure in which he was hiding (Kelly, 2013; Serna, 2014).
Following the first two killings, Dorner posted online a 6,000-word
manifesto, entitled “Last Resort” and addressed to America, in which he
detailed his grievances toward the LAPD (Democratic Underground, 2013).
He listed specific dates, events, and individuals involved in what he believed
to be acts of police brutality, as well as occasions on which he felt punished
for filing incident reports. In 2009, he had been dismissed from the force for
making false statements, and his subsequent appeals were denied. Because
of this, Dorner wrote, he believed he had lost his identity and his reputation,
or what he called his “name.” In one section of the manifesto, Dorner named
and described each of the police personnel he felt had wronged him, ending
each paragraph with the words “You are a high value target” (Democratic
Underground, 2013, paras. 41–45).
Dorner wrote that he had been suffering from severe depression since
his dismissal from the police force (Democratic Underground, 2013). He
expressed hope his brain could be researched to study the physiological
effects of the disorder, using as comparison prior CT scans he had done
following football concussions. After the massacre, investigative journalists
found Dorner had been treated for severe depression since 2008, possibly
with the aid of psychotropic medication (Gant, 2013). After his death,
psychologists addressed the question of serious mental illness—in particular,
sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder
—ultimately concluding that Dorner suffered more from a desperate sense of
victimization and utter helplessness than any of these three disorders (Mills,
2013).
Within Dorner’s “Last Resort” were representations of ego survival
and revenge, pseudocommando mindset, and nihilism.
Ego survival and revenge. Although he planned the mass murder as
a means of payback, Dorner revealed a sense of ethics and fairness in his
manifesto (Mills, 2013). LAPD reform, he wrote, was necessary for the
safety of all. His murderous act was not just one of revenge, but also self-
sacrifice. He viewed himself as personally responsible for bringing injustices
to light as a means of effecting necessary social change. Dorner
acknowledged the vilification he knew he would receive because of his
actions; however, he felt all other avenues had been exhausted, leaving him
no other choice: “Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil I do not enjoy but
must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD
and reclaim my name” (Democratic Underground, 2013, para. 1).
Dorner wrote that he had tried to clear his name through legal avenues
but had been unsuccessful. He felt personally and unjustly vilified,
communicating what he saw as undeserved, targeted narcissistic injury.
Expressing hopelessness in a nonviolent resolution, he continued to justify
his homicidal attacks. He could no longer tolerate the pain and injustice, and
felt decisive action was necessary.
I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back. I
have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior
Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The
LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead [sic] to deadly
consequences. (Democratic Underground, 2013, para. 25)
To support his case, Dorner meticulously detailed incidents of police
brutality and racial prejudice, listing the offending officers by name
(Democratic Underground, 2013). He had reported many of these events to
his supervisors, yet wrote that no one had been reprimanded and nothing had
changed. Accused of filing false reports, he was disciplined, ostracized, and
demonized. His manifesto provided a detailed and comprehensive account of
these incidents, with Dorner specifying locations, dates, offenders, victims,
and conversations as he remembered them. He directed his rage toward
every individual he felt had wronged him, concluding with “You destroyed
my life and name because of your actions. Time is up” (Democratic
Underground, 2013, para. 22).
While calling for change throughout the LAPD, Dorner repeatedly
returned to the personal affront he believed he had suffered (Democratic
Underground, 2013). His words revealed narcissistic rage at the perceived
mistreatment, leading to an intense need for retaliation. In writing about his
forthcoming actions as a means of regaining his reputation, Dorner
demanded recognition and respect from his audience of both thirdparty
readers and direct targets. His language showed him to be an injustice
collector, externalizing blame. This exemplified what Knoll (2012b)
identified as “ris[ing] triumphantly from the ashes of shame, loss, and
vulnerability” (p. 764):
I stood up for what was right but unfortunately have dealt with the
reprocussions [sic] of doing the right thing and now losing my name
and everything I ever stood for. You fuckers knew Evans was guilty
of kicking (excessive force) Gettler and you did nothing but get rid of
what you saw as the problem, the whistleblower. (Democratic
Underground, 2013, para. 27)
Pseudocommando mindset. Evidence of a persecutory worldview
permeated Dorner’s words. He specifically outlined numerous occasions in
which he had reported police mistreatment, only to be reprimanded himself.
In repeatedly accusing the LAPD of intentionally destroying his name,
Dorner revealed strong egotism and paranoia. He felt himself to be a target:
It is clear as day that the department retaliated toward me for
reporting Evans for kicking Mr. Christopher Gettler. The department
stated that I lied and made up the report that Evans had kicked the
suspect. (Democratic Underground, 2013, para. 8)
In the manifesto, Dorner blamed the LAPD for not only ruining his
law enforcement career, but also taking away his military standing,
reputation, and personal relationships. His excessive and angry protestations
showed deep, longstanding feelings of frustration, mistreatment, and
persecution:
I lost my position as a Commanding Officer of a Naval Security
Forces reserve unit at NAS Fallon because of the LAPD. I’ve lost a
relationship with my mother and sister because of the LAPD. I’ve lost
a relationship with close friends because of the LAPD. In essence,
I’ve lost everything because the LAPD took my name and new [sic] I
was INNOCENT!!! (Democratic Underground, 2013, para. 25)
Nihilism. Deep-seated feelings of persecution often create a strong
sense of helplessness, which may subsequently lead to hopelessness about
the future (Knoll, 2012b). Dorner’s continual assertions of having done
nothing wrong suggested he was unable or unwilling to recognize his own
weaknesses. He accepted no responsibility for the trajectory of his career,
and instead blamed his superiors for the way his life had fallen apart. His
words pointed to a lack of self-awareness, whether intentional or
inadvertent. Because of these desperate feelings, Dorner accepted self-defeat
and embraced the act of multiple homicide-suicide. The majority of Dorner’s
manifesto was highly suggestive of an entrenched nihilistic attitude,
including one direct statement to this effect: “Self Preservation [sic] is no
longer important to me. I do not fear death as I died long ago on 1/2/09”
(Democratic Underground, 2013, para. 29).
Christopher Dorner’s manifesto revealed him to be a collector of
injustice who believed he has been irreparably wronged by his employer.
Because of the recurring mistreatment he felt he had endured, he was unable
to see any other option but to retaliate in a deadly manner. As Dorner
conveyed, it was only through a violent public statement that he could clear
his name, as well as bring awareness and change to the LAPD’s seemingly
unethical practices.
Case 2: Eric Harris and Case 3: Dylan Klebold
On the morning of April 20, 1999, 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-
year-old Dylan Klebold left their homes equipped with duffel bags full of
guns and homemade explosives (Cullen, 2009). Driving to a nearby field,
they set a fire bomb intended to create a diversion and draw emergency
personnel away from Columbine High School, where they were students.
Next, Harris and Klebold drove to their Littleton, Colorado, school and set
propane tank bombs in the cafeteria, timed to go off during the lunch period
when the maximum number of students would be present. The teenagers
then returned to their cars and waited for the explosion. When the bombs
failed to detonate, they retrieved their firearms: a sawed-off shotgun, a
semiautomatic handgun, an automatic rifle, and a pump-action shotgun
(Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff, 2000).
Harris and Klebold began firing as they walked toward the school,
killing and wounding students on the lawn before entering the building
(Cullen, 2009). The two young men made their way through the halls,
shooting at students and teachers and reportedly laughing as they went. In
the library, as students and faculty hid under desks, Harris and Klebold
taunted and shot their classmates, stopping twice to reload. The duo left to
roam the cafeteria and halls once again before returning to the library, where
they committed joint suicide with gunshots to the head. Excluding the
perpetrators, 10 students and one teacher were dead, and another 24 students
injured (Cullen, 2009). At the time, the Columbine rampage was the worst
school shooting in American history (Langman, 2009).
In investigating the mass shooting, Supervisory Special Agent
Dwayne Fuselier noted profound differences between the two killers
(Cullen, 2004). Klebold, he said, was filled with self-blame and self-
loathing. Quick to anger, the youth also displayed symptoms of depression
and suicidality. Harris, in comparison, bore homicidal, not suicidal,
intentions. Some of the latter’s personal qualities appear on the Psychopathy
Checklist-Revised (Neumann, Johansson, & Hare, 2013), including lack of
empathy, grandiosity, manipulation, pathological lying, absence of remorse,
and glibness (Egan, 2016). Following the shooting, multiple psychiatrists
labeled the older teen a psychopath (Cullen, 2004).
Both Harris and Klebold kept journals, which revealed they had been
planning the attack for almost a year (Langman, 2009). The pair also left
behind a series of videos dubbed “The Basement Tapes.” Although the
videos were not released to the public, summaries that incorporate direct
quotes from both boys are available.
Case 2: Eric Harris. The first entry in Harris’s journal, which he
titled “The Book of God,” was dated April 10, 1998, and the last entry was
dated April 3, 1999 (Cullen, 2010c). The journal was a 16-page handwritten
record of Harris’s hatred, homicidal plans, godlike self-image, and Nazi
admiration. Four of Knoll’s (2012b) themes are evident throughout the
teenager’s communications, primarily in the journal but also in the video and
his blog: ego survival and revenge, pseudocommando mindset, entitlement,
and heroic revenge fantasy.
Ego survival and revenge. Harris saw himself not only as the victim
of mistreatment and disregard by his classmates, but as the only one
qualified to deliver what he deemed necessary retribution (Cullen, 2010c).
His sense of entitlement extended beyond ego protection to supreme
retribution. In his first journal entry, the teenager positioned himself and
Klebold above the whole of society, believing only they were able to see
what was really going on:
Everyone has their own god damn opinions on every god damn thing
and you may be saying “well what makes you so different?” because I
have something only me and V [a shortened version of Klebold’s
nickname, VoDKa] have, SELF AWARENESS. Call it existentialism
or whatever the fuck you want. We know what we are to this world
and what everyone else is... We have been watching you people.
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 1)
Harris repeatedly wrote about being superior to the rest of humanity,
beginning with an April 12, 1998, post in which he claimed:
No one is worthy of shit unless I say they are. I feel like God and I
wish I was, having everyone being OFFICIALLY lower than me. I
already know that I am higher than most anyone in the fucking welt
[German for world] in terms of universal Intelligence. (Cullen, 2010c,
p. 2)
He later expanded upon this idea, linking his God complex with his
murderous desire for retribution:
I will kill who ever [sic] I deem unfit for anything at all. Especially
life. And if you pissed me off in the past, you will die if I see you.
Because you might be able to piss off others and have it eventually
blow over, but not me. I don’t forget people who wronged me . . .
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 3)
Harris lashed out at the elements of society he deemed worthless, including
the government, rules and laws, and what he termed “mindless” television
programs (Cullen, 2010c). He wrote, “The human race isn’t worth fighting
for anymore. . . . people just aren’t worth saving. Society may not realize
what is happening but I have” (p. 4).
Knoll’s (2012b) theme of ego survival and revenge draws from the
threatened ego model (Knoll & Meloy, 2014) and Menninger’s (2007)
proposed elements of violence, one of which is the access to weapons. In an
entry dated 5 months prior to the school shooting, Harris revealed as much
in his journal, writing, “I am fucking armed. I feel more confident, stronger,
more God like. I have confidence in my ability to deceive people” (Cullen,
2010c, p. 10).
Pseudocommando mindset. The paranoia that contributes to a
pseudocommando mindset is accompanied by the belief that one has been
intentionally and irreparably harmed (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b). In his journal,
Harris continued to lament the teasing he had endured while also
contradicting this position, claiming others’ words meant nothing to him
(Cullen, 2010c). He denied having been rejected by his peers because he had
rejected them first. Again, he returned to a closely held belief in his own
superiority: [I]t’s funny, people say “you shouldn’t be so different” to me,
and 1st I say fuck you don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be and 2nd
mother fuckers different is good. I don’t want to be like you or anyone.
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 4)
Despite assertions of uncaring independence, Harris wavered back and forth
throughout the journal, revealing the pain of exclusion up until the month of
the massacre.
Five months prior to the event, Harris displayed his vulnerability in an
especially revealing entry:
Everyone is always making fun of me because of how I look, how
fucking weak I am and shit, well I will get you all back, ultimate fucking
revenge here. You people could have shown more respect, treated me better,
asked for my knowledge or guidance more, treated me more like a senior,
and maybe I wouldn’t have been so ready to tear your fucking heads off.
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 8) He continued in this vein a few days later, clearly
externalizing blame for the impending massacre. In one entry, Harris
explored calling off the attack if his classmates were nicer to him, writing,
“If people would give me more compliments all of this might still be
avoidable” (Cullen, 2010c, p. 8). In the final entry, written 17 days before he
and Klebold conducted the mass shooting, Harris revealed the pain he still
felt at being an outsider: I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun
things. And no don’t fucking say “well that’s your fault” because it isn’t,
you people had my phone #, and I asked and all, but no, no no no don’t let
the weird looking Eric KID come along.
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 11)
Entitlement. A thread of entitlement pervaded Harris’s writings,
including words illustrative of entitlement. He held others responsible for the
horror they would soon endure, and asserted that he was the only one
allowed to deliver such vengeance. Harris wanted to play God in deciding
who would live and who would die, as evidenced by an April 1998 entry that
read: “I will kill who ever [sic] I deem unfit for anything at all. Especially
life” (Cullen, 2010c, p. 3). A statement he made on the Basement Tapes in
the days prior to the shooting was also particularly telling: “Isn’t it fun to get
the respect we’re going to deserve? We don’t give a shit because we’re
going to die doing it” (Cullen, 2010a, p. 4).
Another component of entitlement is a hatred of that which is
beautiful and alive (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b). Nowhere is this sentiment better
illustrated in Harris’s journal than in a July 1998 entry:
I think we are all a waste of natural resources and should be killed
off, and since humans have the ability to choose . . . and I’m human . . . I
think I will choose to kill and damage as much as nature allows me to so
take that, fuck you, and eat napalm + lead! HA! Only nature can stop me.
(Cullen, 2010c, p. 6) Even with the insecurity and hurt scattered throughout
Harris’s writings, he always returned to the idea of himself as a Supreme
Being, entitled to exact what he saw as necessary revenge on a society that
was beneath him.
Heroic revenge fantasy. By the time an individual crafts a heroic
revenge fantasy, he has decided existence means nothing and obliteration is
everything. He has lost all hope in achieving a satisfying life, and feels he
must take away others’ lives as a result. Final communications are often
composed during this stage, as the individual knows he will soon be gone
but his words will remain (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b).
The primary examples of this theme in Harris’s manifestos appeared
in an undated blog post and a video statement on the Basement Tapes. After
insulting the students he wants to kill, calling them “snotty ass” and “rich,”
Harris embraced his forthcoming annihilation, posting on his website: “i
[sic] don’t care if I live or die in the shootout, all I want to do is kill and
injure as many of you pricks as I can” (Shepard, n.d., para. 2). He echoed
these sentiments in a video rant, directly addressing his audience: “You all
need to die! We need to die, too! We need to fucking kick-start the
revolution here!” (Cullen, 2010a, p. 4).
Case 3: Dylan Klebold. Unlike the dominant expressions of rage and
hatred permeating Harris’s communications, Klebold’s private writings
revealed a depressed and hopeless individual who wanted to die (Cullen,
2010b). Although his 48-page handwritten journal, which he termed
“Existences,” also showed similar themes of ego survival and revenge,
pseudocommando mindset, and heroic revenge fantasy, there was a strong
element of nihilism not found in Harris’s words. Also worth noting were the
mixed messages that revealed Klebold’s internal confusion and ongoing
struggles.
Ego survival and revenge. In his journal, Klebold frequently
questioned how he had gotten to such a miserable state. Perhaps to counter
the feelings of hopelessness and boost his self-respect, he sometimes
followed such posts with words that demonstrated ego survival and revenge.
In an entry dated more than 2 years prior to the shooting, Klebold lamented
his troubled existence before turning his perceived abnormality into
dominance, albeit with a touch of envy:
I see how different I am (aren’t we all you’ll say) yet I’m on such a
greater scale of difference than everyone else (as far as I know, or
guess). I see jocks having fun, friends, women. LIVEZ [sic]. . . . Or
rather shallow existences compared to mine (maybe) like ignorance =
bliss. They don’t know beyond this world (how I do in my mind or in
reality or in this existence) . . . (Cullen, 2010b, p. 2)
At times, most often in the 1997 entries, Klebold balanced his
hopelessness and need for action with existentialism, attempting to think
beyond the physical realm. A somewhat lengthy passage illustrated his
attempts at self-preservation:
Within the known limits of time . . . within the conceived boundaries
of space . . . the average human thinks those are the settings of
existence . . . yet the ponderer, the outcast, the believer, helps out the
human. “Think not of 2 dimensions,” says the ponderer, “but of 3, as
your world is conceived of 3 dimensions so is mine. While you
explore the immediate physical boundaries of your body . . . see my
dimensions. My realm of thought – Time, Space, & THOUGHT.
Thought is the most powerful thing that exists . . .” (Cullen, 2010b, p.
4)
Some entries succinctly captured all of Menninger’s (2007) five
factors predictive of violent behavior. One example of this was a post dated
November 3, 1997, which read:
“Nobody will help me . . . only exist with me if it suits them. I helped, why
can’t they?
[Redacted] will get me a gun, I’ll go on my killing spree against anyone I
want” (Cullen, 2010b, p. 8). In an entry dated 7 months later, he
acknowledged, “I know everything, yet I know nothing” and embraced “fate
[as] my only master” (p. 11).
Pseudocommando mindset. In line with many other mass murderers,
Klebold viewed the world through a persecutory lens. According to his
words, he had lost hope in a positive resolution to what he perceived as
intentional mistreatment by his peers.
Multiple posts reflected these feelings, including three early entries:
I don’t know why I do wrong with people (mainly women) – it’s like
they are set out to hate & ignore me. . . . I have always been hated, by
everyone & everything, just never aware . . . Goodbye all the crushes
I’ve ever had . . . BUT WHY? . . . Everyone knows everyone. I swear
– like I’m an outcast, & everyone is conspiring against me . . .
(Cullen, 2010b, p. 6)
Interspersed throughout these entries was casual language, almost as if one
teenager were writing a mindless letter to another. Evidence of this included
a late-1997 post that begins, “Yo . . . whassup . . . heheheheh . . .” (Cullen,
2010b, p. 4). Such phrasing was yet another example of the contradictory
messages in Klebold’s journal.
Nihilism. The severe depression Klebold related throughout his
journal frequently gave way to nihilism, a need to deny one’s shortcomings
while viewing the world as meaningless (Knoll, 2010b, 2012b). Individuals
entrenched in nihilism exhibit selfdefeating actions and feelings, and
frequently turn to suicide as the only way to escape the ongoing persecution.
Klebold displayed both sides of this theme, discussing alternately what he
saw as his elevated, nonhuman status, along with his utter hopelessness and
desire to die.
I do shit to supposedly ‘cleanse’ myself in a spiritual, moral sort of
way . . . yet it does nothing to help my life morally. My existence is
shit to me – how I feel that I am in eternal suffering, in infinite
directions in infinite realities. (Cullen, 2010b, p. 2)
In the next sentence, however, Klebold acknowledged that such realities did
not exist.
Suicide was a persistent and repetitive subject throughout the journal.
In his earliest entries, Klebold wrote of the desire to kill just himself and not
others. A March 31, 1997, passage revealed his view of suicide as the only
way to relieve his inner torment:
I don’t fit in here [sic] thinking of suicide gives me hope, that I’ll be
in my place wherever I go after this life . . . that I’ll finally not be at
war with myself, the world, the universe – my mind, body,
everywhere, everything at PEACE in me . . . (Cullen, 2010b, p. 2)
In the same entry, he acknowledged an unfulfilled desire for acceptance by
his peers, saying he went to school “scared and nervous.”
Klebold frequently wrote of life’s unfairness, relating that he wanted
to die “really bad” to escape the ceaseless punishment of living. He saw his
life as a cruel joke, irreparable and unfair, as illustrated in the following
quote:
Oooh god I want to die sooo bad . . . such a sad desolate lonely
unsalvageable I feel I am . . . not fair. NOT FAIR!!! I wanted
happiness!! I never got it . . . Let’s sum up my life . . . the most
miserable existence in the history of time. (Cullen, 2010b, p. 5)
Nihilism was a sentiment he echoed time and again. Whereas Harris
repeatedly addressed his hate-filled homicidal plan, Klebold, even as late as
3 months prior to the school shooting, still expressed ambivalence: “I hate
this non-thinking stasis. I’m stuck in humanity. Maybe going ‘NBK’ [an
abbreviation for the movie Natural Born Killers, the name Harris and
Klebold gave to their plan] (gawd) with Eric is the way to break free. I hate
this” (Cullen, 2010b, p. 12).
Heroic revenge fantasy. Klebold’s first mention of the boys’ planned
school shooting did not come until early 1998. Up to the end, though, he did
not consistently view the massacre as the only solution. On February 2,
1998, he wrote:
Soon . . . either I’ll commit suicide or I’ll get with [redacted] & it will
be NBK for us. . . . Society is tightening its grip on me, & soon I &
[redacted] will snap. We will have our revenge on society, & then be
free, to exist in a timeless spaceless place of pure happiness. (Cullen,
2010b, p. 9)
This entry is a clear example of the heroic revenge fantasy theme, as
Klebold revealed envy, entitlement, and worthlessness. He displayed no fear
of death in these words, embracing suicide as the only means of escape.
Klebold recorded his final entry on January 20, 1999, exactly 3
months prior to the shooting. Even then, he continued to speculate as to the
best way to escape his neverending pain. In his final words, he assured
himself of finally finding love after death.
Case 4: James Holmes
Shortly after the start of a July 20, 2012, midnight showing of The
Dark Knight Rises, James Holmes entered Aurora, Colorado’s Century 16
Theatre (O’Neill et al., 2015). He was dressed in full body armor, goggles,
and a gas mask, and carried an assault rifle, handgun, and shotgun
(Gembrowski et al., 2012). After setting off tear gas, Holmes began firing
into the crowd, stopping only when his rifle jammed. The attack left 12
people dead and 58 injured. Holmes was apprehended by police without
incident while sitting in his car behind the theater (Foreman, 2012).
Holmes had recently dropped out of a neurobiology doctoral program
at the University of Colorado. Prior to withdrawing from the college, he had
seen a school counselor and two psychiatrists for social anxiety. One of the
psychiatrists identified psychotic thinking progressing into paranoia and
prescribed antianxiety medication, which he soon quit taking (“Aurora
Theater Shooting Trial,” 2015). When Holmes revealed having homicidal
thoughts several times a day, the psychiatrist alerted campus police;
ultimately, however, she chose not to place him on a mental health hold
(Ingold & Steffens, 2015).
In the weeks leading up to the massacre, Holmes (2012) kept a journal
he titled “Insights into the Mind of Madness.” Although he mailed the book
to his psychiatrist before the shooting, authorities did not discover in the
school’s mailroom until days later (Illescas, 2015). Holmes’ manifesto
revealed more of an internal struggle than a preoccupation with mistreatment
and revenge. Throughout the diary, he referenced his “broken brain,” listed
possible self-diagnoses, and documented his mental struggles. Page after
page filled with a single word—“Why?”—suggested a desperate search for
answers. In the manifesto, Holmes (2012) revealed depression and
hopelessness, along with the awareness that his mind did not function as it
should. Themes of nihilism and heroic revenge fantasy were evident in
Holmes’ journal.
Nihilism. Unlike the majority of cases, Holmes’ (2012) manifesto
included neither ego survival and revenge nor pseudocommando mindset. In
documenting his repeated, unsuccessful attempts to diagnose and fix his
broken brain, he revealed a lack of meaning in his life that was
representative of nihilism. Moreover, Holmes repeatedly questioned the
overall value of life and death, as evidenced by the statement, “I have spent
my entire life searching this alternative so that the questions of how to live
and what to live for may be addressed” (p. 7) After documenting his
examination of these alternatives, he concluded that people have no value
and justice is a myth.
As Knoll (2012b) described, nihilism paired with avoidance may lead
to the desire to escape one’s thoughts and realities. Although this often leads
to escape by suicide, Holmes pursued homicide to avoid taking his own life
(Holmes, 2012). He listed three alternatives to death—“ignore the problem,”
“delay the problem,” and “pawn the problem”—noting that each “didn’t
work” (p. 8). He omitted the outcome of his final option, “Love. Hate,” and
then expressed his hopelessness with the words “Despite knowing death is
false and a suboptimal response, I couldn’t find a working alternative” (p. 8).
Heroic revenge fantasy. One way individuals cope with long-lasting
nihilism is through mental escape (Knoll, 2012b). In mass murderers, this
escape may take the form of heroic revenge fantasy, prioritizing the need to
strike back against persecution, even in the face of self-destruction.
Although Holmes sought psychological help, he documented the futility of
treatment, instead viewing the psychiatrists with suspicion and distrust
(Holmes, 2012). This obliterative mindset was also reflected in his belief
that both life and death were meaningless.
As he wrote, Holmes planned the massacre as a means of freeing
himself: “And finally, the last escape, mass murder at the movies. . . .
[T]hat’s my mind. It is broken. I tried to fix it” (Holmes, 2012, p. 14). Later
in his journal, Holmes revisited this sentiment, writing, “No consequences,
no fear, alone, isolated, no work for distractions, no reason to seek self
actualization. Embraced the hatred, a dark knight rises” (p. 32).
Although he knew he would be sacrificing his regular life, Holmes did
not give up his physical one. Rather, he viewed mass homicide as the only
way to avoid suicide: “Decided to dedicate life to killing others so that I
could live” (Holmes, 2012, p. 28). He saw only one way to free his mental
anguish, and wrote: “The mind is a prison of uncertainty . . . Destroy the
mind and be free” (p. 15).
Case 5: Kip Kinkel
On May 20, 1998, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel was suspended from
Thurston High School for bringing a gun to campus; that night, he shot and
killed his parents (Langman, 2009). The ninth grader returned to the
Springfield, Ohio, school the following day, armed with three guns and a
hunting knife, where he killed two students and wounded 25 others before
being disarmed (Frontline, 2000b; Peters, 2013).
A few weeks prior to the shooting, Kinkel had yelled in class, “God
damn this voice inside my head” (Langman, 2009). Upon later examination,
he revealed having auditory hallucinations dating back to sixth grade, with
some of the voices conversing with each other and some commanding him
to kill (Frontline, 2000a). After murdering his parents, Kinkel wrote a note
in which he revealed his ongoing psychological struggle: “My head just
doesn’t work right. God damn these VOICES inside my head” (Langman,
2016b, p. 2).
When Kinkel was in elementary school, doctors diagnosed dyslexia
and a learning disability, which resulted in his attending special education
classes and repeating first grade (Frontline, 2000b). In 1997, worried about
her son’s behavior, his mother took him to two psychologists, the first
diagnosing major depressive disorder and the second identifying
hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. Before Kinkel was tried for the
murders, court-appointed child psychologists observed major paranoid
symptoms illustrative of a psychotic disorder and suggestive of early-onset
schizophrenia (Frontline, 2000a).
The teenager had been obsessed with guns, knives, and explosives,
which he had begun accumulating in eighth grade (Frontline, 2000b;
Langman, 2009). Less than a year before the shooting, Kinkel’s father
bought his son a Glock in hopes of bridging the distance between the two.
Despite his age, Kinkel received the maximum adult sentence of life without
parole (Peters, 2013).
Throughout his writings, Kinkel’s language revealed ego survival and
revenge, pseudocommando mindset, and nihilism.
Ego survival and revenge. Unlike some mass murderers in this study
(i.e., Dorner, Harris, Klebold, and Rodger), Kinkel did not reveal an
exceptionally strong preoccupation with revenge. Although he wrote of
committing a massacre at school, he described this as being the result of his
psychological struggles: He heard voices, he believed himself to be evil, and
he had uncontrollable anger. “My head just doesn’t work right,” he wrote in
a letter after killing his parents (Langman, 2016b, p. 1).
The theme of ego survival and revenge appeared most frequently in
Kinkel’s journal, with other common themes of nihilism and
pseudocommando mindset. His undated journal was 19 short paragraphs in
length, suggesting it was composed in a single sitting. Many of the words
revealed the tortured mind of an adolescent who is alternately hurt, angry,
and psychologically unstable. After documenting his sadness when a girl
he liked did not return his feelings, he exploded into anger, writing: I am
so full of rage that I feel I could snap at any moment. I think about it
everyday [sic]. Blowing the school up or just taking the easy way out, and
walk into a pep assembly with guns. In either case, people that are
breathing will stop breathing. This is how I will repay all you mother
fuckers for all you put me through. (Langman, 2016b, p. 1)
Interestingly, there was no evidence Kinkel had been bullied; if anything,
according to classmates, he was the one harassing others (Langman, 2009).
In other passages, Kinkel displayed a range of emotions, vacillating
between selfpity, narcissistic injury, and vengeance. His words suggested
that the limits of his tolerance, for both himself and others, had been
exceeded:
Oh fuck. I sound so pitiful. People would laugh at this if they read it. I
hate being laughed at. But they won’t laugh after they’re scraping
parts of their parents, sisters, brothers, and friends from the wall of
my hate. (Langman, 2016b, p. 1) Kinkel continued to display this
range of feelings throughout the journal, as evidenced by another
entry that read, “Why aren’t I normal? Help me. No one will. I will
kill every last mother fucking one of you” (Langman, 2016b, p. 2).
Despite these clear feelings of desperation and hopelessness, Kinkel
never mentioned taking his own life. By also not addressing the
inevitability of arrest, he displayed a disregard for the consequences
of his actions.
Pseudocommando mindset. One of the hallmarks of the
pseudocommando mindset is paranoia (Knoll, 2012b). Through their words,
individuals may reveal a strong sense of personal injustice, mistreatment,
distrust, and torment. Despite the handful of these topics found throughout
Kinkel’s journal, one passage stood out as clearly representing the
pseudocommando mindset:
I gave her all I have, and she just threw it away. Why? Why did God
just want me to be in complete misery? I need to find more weapons.
My parents are trying to take away some of my guns! My guns are the
only things that haven’t stabbed me in the back. (Langman, 2016b, p.
2)
Before the killings, Kinkel displayed clear paranoia and delusions.
One of the reasons he gave for collecting so many weapons was for
protection against what he believed was China’s imminent invasion of the
United States (Langman, 2009). Two child psychologists who evaluated
Kinkel after the shootings each identified symptoms of paranoid
schizophrenia in the teenager (Frontline, 2000a).
Nihilism. Although nihilism in mass murderers frequently leads to
suicidal
thoughts and actions, Kinkel’s writings revealed not self-harm, but
conflicted emotions and a loss of religious faith. In his journal, Kinkel
lamented, “Why did God just want me to be in complete misery?”
(Langman, 2016b, p. 2), and then, in the final paragraph of the document,
concluded, “If there was a God, he wouldn’t let me feel the way I do” (p. 2).
In acknowledging the futility of life and what he could not control, he
directed his pain outward:
I don’t want to see, hear, speak or feel evil, but I can’t help it. I am
evil. I want to kill and give pain without a cost. And there is no such
thing. We kill him – we killed him a long time ago. Anyone that
believes in God is a fucking sheep.
(Langman, 2016b, p. 2)
Nihilism was also apparent in the note Kinkel (1998) wrote after
killing his parents. Once again, he expressed confusion over what he saw as
his sentence in life: being evil and full of hate, and guided by hallucinations.
“I don’t know what is happening” (Langman, 2016b, p. 2), he wrote after
killing his parents, and then justified his actions by saying they could not
have lived knowing what he had done.
Case 6: Adam Lanza
Adam Lanza lived at home with his mother until the morning of
December 14, 2012, when he fatally shot her as she slept (Kreider, 2012).
The 20-year-old then drove to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and
forced his way in through a glass panel flanking the locked front door
(Gorosko, 2013). Once inside, Lanza moved from classroom to classroom,
using a Bushmaster rifle to shoot students, teachers, and administrators at
point-blank range (Esposito et al., 2012). When he stopped firing, 26 people
were dead: 20 first-grade children and six adults. Lanza then turned the gun
on himself, taking his own life before first responders arrived on the scene.
Speculation abounds with regard to motive and mental illnesses, with
some diagnoses indicating multiple psychological maladies, including
Asperger’s syndrome, psychosis, extreme anxiety, a lack of empathy, and
undiagnosed schizophrenia (Langman, 2015; Pilkington, 2013; Stoller,
2013). Lanza was also hypersensitive to sensations including touch,
suggesting he may have had a sensory disorder. His mother had talked about
her son’s problems with her friends and, in an attempt to bond with her
troubled child, bought him guns and took him to shooting ranges.
Lanza spent hours alone in his sunless basement bedroom, playing
first-person shooter video games, compiling extensive spreadsheets of mass
murders and murderers, and creating journals, stories, and drawings (Winter
& McClam, 2013). Unfortunately, despite Freedom of Information Act
requests by The Hartford Courant, an appeals court ultimately ruled that the
state attorney did not have to make these documents public (“Judge Rules
Police,” 2016). Even despite the ruling, police had not been able to retrieve
an unknown number of documents, as Lanza had destroyed his hard drive.
Other communications appeared on online message boards and in transcripts
of call-in radio programs.
Accessibility to Lanza’s journal would have provided deeper insight
into the young man’s mind and the content themes within his recorded
thoughts. Because a review of this text was not possible, however, his
message board posts and private email communication were the only
documents available for this study.
Language suggestive of nihilism could be found within Lanza’s
electronic communications.
Nihilism. Lanza’s “Shocked Beyond Belief” message board posts
revealed a dispassionate, logical, and intelligent individual (Coleman, 2014).
He wrote extensively about mass murderers, as well as mass murder–themed
movies. He displayed little emotion through his words, the one exception
being a hatred of “Pumped up Kicks,” a song often thought to be about
Robert Hawkins, a mass murderer who killed eight people at an Omaha,
Nebraska, mall in 2007. Lanza argued vehemently and repeatedly against
this connection, however, enumerating ways in which the “Robert” of the
song differed from the Nebraska killer.
Nihilism was the primary theme running throughout Lanza’s message
board posts. One of the most prominent examples was a 2012 entry entitled
“Anxiety and fear in American society: a history,” in which he argued that
humans were defective, indoctrinated from childhood and forced into
submission by prescription drugs: Civilization has not been present for 99%
of the existence of hominids, and the only way that it’s ever sustained itself
is by indoctrinating each new child for years on end. The “wellness” that
you speak of is solely defined by a child’s submission for this process and
their subsequent capacity to propagate civilization themselves. When
civilization exists in a form where all forms of alienation (among other
things) are rampant, as can be seen in the most recent incarnation within the
last fifty years which AS55 talked about, new children will end up “not
well” in all sorts of ways. You don’t even have to touch a topic as cryptic as
mass
murder to see an indication of this: you can look at a single symptom
as egregious as the proliferation of antidepressants. (Coleman, 2014,
p. 38)
Lanza displayed similar contempt for the educational system, which he
called “the brutal indoctrination of pristine minds so as to propagate some
delusional system of cultural values” (p. 32).
In an email to an unnamed correspondent less than 5 months prior to
the murders, Lanza expressed a complete loss of pleasure, revealing that his
only source of enjoyment and excitement no longer had the same effect:
My interest in mass murdered [sic] has been perfunctory for such a
long time. The enthusiasm I had back when Virginia Tech happened
feels like it’s been gone for a hundred billion years. I don’t care about
anything. I’m just done with it all. (Office of the Child Advocate,
2014, p. 100)
Lanza’s displays of nihilism, coupled with his fixation on mass murder,
could have served as warning signs for the violence that was to come.
Case 7: Gang Lu
After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1991, 28-year-old
Gang Lu purchased a .38-caliber revolver and a .25-caliber handgun (Mann,
1992), and then took shooting lessons to establish his aptitude. Later in the
summer, Lu withdrew his money from the bank and sent it to his sister back
in China. On the morning of November 1, 1991, Lu mailed a statement to
media outlets, keeping a copy in his briefcase to be found after his death
(Mann, 1992). Later that afternoon, he entered the physics hall on the
University of Iowa campus, where he fatally shot three professors and a
former classmate (Marriott, 1991a). Next, he moved to the administration
building, killing the associate vice president of academic affairs and severely
wounding the receptionist. Lu then went into an empty office and took his
own life (Mann, 1992).
Lu completed his studies in May 1991, earning a Doctor of
Philosophy in physics (Mann, 1992). He had hoped to receive the D.C.
Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize, an academic honor accompanied by a cash
award; instead, the prize went to a fellow student (Marriott, 1991b). Lu
blamed his dissertation chair for the loss, believing his advisor had not
submitted Lu’s research for consideration. Instead of Lu obtaining the
professorship he had expected, his postdoctoral position ended and he was
unable to obtain subsequent employment.
Lu’s actions in the months preceding the killings showed evidence of
premeditation, beginning shortly after graduation (Mann, 1992). After
failing to procure the award, he wrote multiple letters, grievances, and
appeals to school administrators, all of which were dismissed. He also sent
letters to the Des Moines Register, which went unpublished. Filled with
entitlement and resentment, he isolated himself from friends and family.
In his statement to the media, Lu conveyed ego survival and revenge
and heroic revenge fantasy.
Ego survival and revenge. The most prevalent theme in Lu’s
statement was ego survival and revenge. He repeatedly wrote about
avenging what he saw as a lack of justice in society, blaming the University
of Iowa for its failure to act and thus prevent the forthcoming atrocity
(Langman, 2016a). In imprecise English, he presented a courageous view of
himself as righting the inequalities of the world:
It is believed that there exists no justice for people in this world,
extraordinary action has to be taken to preserve this world as a better
place. . . . What an outrage! . . . I have sworn to myself that I would
revenge at any cost, sooner or later. (Langman, 2016a, p. 1)
In this paragraph and the one preceding it, Lu shifted between topics, also
listing his favorite places, movies, and beliefs. Despite acknowledging one
individual who had successfully sued the school and won, he maintained that
“privately-owned guns are the only practical way for individuals/minority to
protect themselves against the oppression from the evil
organizations/majority who actually control the government and legal
system” (Langman, 2016a, p. 1).
Five components comprise the threatened ego model, which underlies
expressions of rage and violence (Knoll, 2010b). In his statement, Lu
displayed each of these elements: He felt he had been personally and
irreparably harmed; he had given up on a nonviolent resolution; he saw
himself as tasked with retaliation; he had purchased guns; and he knew he
would lose his life in the attack.
I regret that I have to take extraordinary measure to resolve this
matter, but it is simply not my fault. The University of Iowa
authorities should be blamed for the unfortunate outcome. If the
university had taken positive steps as it is supposed by the tax-payers,
tuition payers and funding agencies, all this could be avoided.
(Langman, 2016a, p. 3)
Throughout the statement, Lu externalized blame and responsibility while
embracing what he viewed as a necessary evil: murder and self-sacrifice in
the name of justice.
Heroic revenge fantasy. As illustrated by his words, Lu had lost all
hope of a peaceful solution to his perceived maltreatment. He saw himself as
a heroic crusader solely tasked with righting the world’s wrongs. Lu needed
to escape from irreversible obliteration, and planned a public, symbolic
gesture of revenge as a final display of heroism. He stated, “[E]xtraordinary
action has to be taken to preserve this world as a better place” (Langman,
2016a, p. 1). Later in the document, he further personalized this self-
sacrificing struggle:
Although my flesh/blood-made body seems dead, my spiritual soul
remains perpetual and I am being quantum leaping [sic] to another
corner of our world. I have finished what I am supposed to be here
[sic] which is to make right what was once wrong. I am proud of my
achievement here and I am more confident in my upcoming journey.
(Langman, 2016a, p. 3)
Lu appeared to have been an underdog hero in his own eyes and, judging by
his writings, was confident other people would see him that way, too.
Case 8: Elliot Rodger
Elliot Rodger began his May 23, 2014, killing spree at his apartment,
stabbing to death his two roommates and their friend (Duke, 2014). As night
fell, he loaded three semiautomatic handguns and multiple rounds of
ammunition into his car and drove to the University of California, Santa
Barbara (UCSB) campus in Isla Vista. He shot three girls in the front yard of
a sorority house, killing two. He then took to his car, killing another student
and wounding 13 people. When police caught up to Rodger, they found him
in his vehicle, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rodger’s parents had filed for divorce when he was 7 years old, an
event that seemingly contributed to their son’s burgeoning emotional
troubles (Lovett & Nagourney et al., 2014). Throughout his youth, the
introverted and withdrawn boy viewed himself as an outsider, unable to
attract the attention of girls. He felt personally insulted when his peers began
dating, and professed his superiority in his journal and videos.
His parents recognized the young boy’s psychological problems and
sought treatment for their son. Rodger visited his first therapist at age 8, and
through the years was seen numerous times for evaluation and treatment
(Yan, Brown, & Duke, 2014). Prior to the rampage, he was being seen by at
least two mental health professionals. Over the course of Rodger’s life,
psychiatrists alternately diagnosed him with high-functioning autism,
anxiety, and depression (Nagourney et al., 2014). Although Rodger was
prescribed antipsychotics on multiple occasions, he refused to take
medication.
Rodger attended four high schools and multiple colleges before
settling on UCSB (Nagourney et al., 2014). He soon stopped attending
classes, however. The longer he went without a girlfriend, the more his
hatred and jealousy grew and he began to plot revenge. While writing his
137-page autobiography, which he titled My Twisted World, Rodger
maintained a public video blog and a YouTube channel. He also posted on
message boards and made comments on his Facebook page (Lovett &
Nagourney, 2014). He uploaded his final video to the World Wide Web
before the shootings, and emailed his manifesto to 30 people, including his
parents, therapists, and former teachers (“Gunman Emailed Plans,” 2014;
Yan et al., 2014).
All six of Knoll’s (2012b) themes appeared in the extensive
communications Rodger left behind.
Ego survival and revenge. A pervasive subject within Rodger’s
written and video messages was revenge. He repeatedly lamented his lack of
female companionship, but instead of accepting any responsibility, described
himself as a “[m]agnificent, supreme gentleman” (“Elliot Rodger,” n.d.).
Through his words, he revealed the five elements Menninger (2007)
believed led to explosive rage. Rodger felt he had been unfairly and
irreparably injured and some action had to be taken. Seeing no possibility of
a nonviolent resolution, he acquired weapons and planned a rampage that
would result in not only others’ loss of life, but also his own.
In one undated video, he related what would be a “spectacular” sunset
if only he had a beautiful girl beside him:
Sex, love, companionship. I desire those things. I desire girls. I’m
sexually attracted to girls. But girls are not sexually attracted to me.
There’s a major problem with that—a major problem. And it’s a
problem that I intend to rectify. I, in all my magnificence and power, I
will not let this fly. It’s an injustice that needs to be dealt with.
(Rodger, 2014b, 5:21)
In multiple entries, both audiovisual and written, Rodger echoed similar
sentiments. In the final video recorded before the rampage, he was more
specific as to the nature of his revenge.
You are animals, and I will slaughter you like animals. I’ll be a god,
exacting my retribution on all those who deserve it. And you do
deserve it, just for the crime of living a better life than me. All you
popular kids. You’ve never accepted me and now you’ll all pay for it.
And girls—all I’ve ever wanted was to love you and to be loved by
you. . . . If I can’t have you, girls, I will destroy you. You denied me a
happy life, and in turn, I will deny all of you life. It’s only fair.
(Beyond the Veil, 2014, 3:54)
The autobiography’s concluding paragraph clearly illustrated the
theme of ego survival and revenge:
All I ever wanted was to love women, and in turn to be loved by them
back. Their behavior towards me has only earned by hatred, and rightfully
so! I am the true victim in all of this. I am the good guy. Humanity struck at
me first by condemning me to so much suffering. I didn’t ask for this. I
didn’t want this. I didn’t start this war. . . . I wasn’t the one who struck first. .
. . But I will finish it by striking back. I will punish everyone. And it will be
beautiful. Finally, at long last, I can show the world my true worth. (“The
Manifesto,” 2014, p. 137) Rodger repeatedly displayed a highly distorted
self-perception, viewing himself as both victim and vigilante hero.
Pseudocommando mindset. Evidence of this theme appeared more
often in Rodger’s video blogs than his writings. His skewed worldview was
that of being intentionally harmed by the women who failed to express
interest in him and the men who dated them. In one video entry, he related,
“I always have to see these young couples and I get jealous of them. . . .
There’s a major problem with that . . . And it’s a problem that I intend to
rectify . . . It’s an injustice that needs to be dealt with” (Rodger, 2014b,
5:10).
In other videos, Rodger took the sight of a happy couple as a personal
affront, saying, “I was enjoying such a nice view until they came and sat
down and started kissing” (Rodger, 2014c, 3:33). In particular, he blamed
the women for what he saw as their poor choices: “You’re attracted to the
wrong kind of guy. You should be attracted to guys like me: beautiful,
magnificent guys” (Rodger, 2014a, 4:53). In these and other manifesto
entries, Rodger exhibited externalization as a defense mechanism. At one
point in his autobiography, he documented “curs[ing] the world for
condemning me to such suffering” (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 87).
Envy. The strongest emotion Rodger displayed throughout the
majority of his writings and recordings was envy. It was interwoven
throughout the entries, incorporated into different concepts and underlying
his reactions and actions. Because he could not have what he wanted,
Rodger vowed to destroy everyone else’s happiness and enjoyment. At age
17, he wrote in My Twisted World:
I began to have fantasies of becoming very powerful and stopping
everyone from having sex. I wanted to take their sex away from them,
just like they took it away from me. I saw sex as an evil and barbaric
act, all because I was unable to have it. . . . This was when I formed
my ideas that sex should be outlawed. . . . If I can’t have it, I will
destroy it. (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 56)
Next, Rodger equated jealousy with loathing, as he wrote, “I was fueled both
by my desire to destroy all of the injustices of the world, and to exact
revenge on everyone I envy and hate” (p. 57).
When it came to romance and sex, he felt the world should be
egalitarian, affording equal opportunities to all. Illustrating his increasingly
destructive feelings at age 18, he wrote, “It was all fueled by my wish to
punish everyone who is sexually active, because I concluded that it wasn’t
fair that other people were able to experience sex while I have been denied it
all my life” (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 65).
Nihilism. Elements of nihilism appeared in Rodger’s manifesto after
the recorded age of 17, when he concluded there would be no happy ending
for him. Without a sense of personal control, he was unable to see a path
toward happiness, or even improvement. Nothing could help him, and so all
that remained was to destroy the world in which he lived. “As time
progressed,” he wrote,” I realized how hopeless everything in my life was”
(“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 57).
According to the final pages of his autobiography, Rodger had given
up faith in finding a solution to his unhappiness: “During the last few weeks
of my life . . . I realized that the only world I can possibly ever experience is
a twisted world of constant suffering. No matter where I go, I have to face
all of the same injustices” (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 137). Just before the
epilogue, which served as a farewell, he embraced the end: “There is
nowhere in the world I can go anymore. There is no more life to live. The
Day of Retribution is all I have” (pp. 134–135).
Entitlement. In repeatedly professing his magnificence, Rodger
displayed a profound sense of entitlement. He was the exception, the perfect
gentleman. He deserved a girlfriend but the “brutes” of the world did not,
and for that they would pay. This was clearly evidenced by his words “If I
can’t have it, I will destroy it. I will destroy all women because I can never
have them” (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 101). The same theme reappeared
later in the autobiography: “As the phrase that I had coined goes: If I cannot
join them, I will rise above them; and if I cannot rise above them, I will
destroy them” (p. 112).
Although there were multiple lengthy passages of his need for
revenge, some are more vivid than others, such as the following entry:
Ever since my life took a very dark turn at the age of seventeen, I
often had fantasies of how malevolently satisfying it would be to
punish all of the popular kids and young couples for the crime of
having a better life than me. I dreamed of how sweet it would be to
torture or kill every single young couple I saw. (Rodger, “The
Manifesto,” 2014, p. 101)
Despite these enduring feelings, Rodger at first clung to hope for a
nonviolent solution: winning the lottery and, subsequently, a girlfriend. Such
riches never materialized, of course, and he returned to his plan of
annihilation.
Rodger clearly believed that the withholding of women’s affection
was an intentional injustice, one that, in turn, entitled him to kill his
offenders. At age 22, he wrote, he felt he had exhausted any chance of a
peaceful resolution, and thus intended to execute his homicidal plan:
My whole tragic life had led to this, and I was ready. I had been
rejected, insulted, humiliated, cast out, bullied, starved, tortured, and
ridiculed for far too long. Humanity is a cruel and brutal species, and
the only thing I could do to even the score was to return that cruelty
one-thousand fold. (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 131)
As Rodger revealed throughout his lengthy writings and numerous videos,
his desire for love had transformed into a hatred of it. He failed to
acknowledge the situations of others as analogous to his own, instead
viewing himself as an exception to society’s rules.
Heroic revenge fantasy. As Rodger planned his attack, he realized he
would need to take his own life in the process. Due to what he perceived as
deliberate harm by potential lovers and friends, he no longer attributed
meaning to his life or to the lives of others. He called his forthcoming attack
the Day of Retribution, a day on which he would “exact [his] ultimate
retribution and revenge on all of the hedonistic scum who enjoyed lives of
pleasure that they don’t deserve” (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p. 101). He
continued: If I can’t have it, I will destroy it. I will destroy all women
because I can never have them. I will make them all suffer for rejecting me. I
will arm myself with deadly weapons and wage a war against all women and
the men they are attracted to. And I will slaughter them like the animals they
are. . . . They showed me no mercy, and in turn I will show them no mercy.
The prospect will be so sweet, and justice will ultimately be served. And of
course, I would have to die in the act to avoid going to prison. (“The
Manifesto,” 2014, p. 101) Rodger saw himself as godlike, entitled to mete
out justice because of his perceived intentional mistreatment.
In My Twisted Life, Rodger noted that, when he was 20 years old and
living in Santa Barbara, his thoughts turned from self-pity and revenge to
mass murder and retribution:
I crossed a threshold that I knew existed, but never actually believed I
would cross. . . . I always mused to myself that I would rather die than
suffer such an existence, and I knew that if it came to that, I would
exact my revenge upon the world in the most catastrophic way
possible. At least then, I could die knowing that I fought back against
the injustice that has been dealt to me. (“The Manifesto,” 2014, p.
101)
Over the course of the autobiography, Rodger’s language evidenced a
cognitive progression from hatred and envy to entitlement and violent
revenge. He accepted no responsibility for his failures, instead assigning
external culpability to justify his murderous intentions.
Knoll (2012b) identified the heroic revenge fantasy phase as the point
at which the mass murderer may begin composing his manifesto. These
words are not only a way to be remembered, but also a means of justifying
the heroic sacrifice the killer will make. This appeared to be an accurate
representation of Rodger’s pervasive need to document his misguided, self-
centered, and vengeful intentions.
Case 9: Dylann Roof
On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old White man, sat among
Black worshippers at an Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Bible
study in South Carolina (Weiss & Mone, 2015). After an hour had elapsed,
he stood up and began shooting, killing nine parishioners and injuring one.
According to one victim’s son, Roof attempted suicide at the scene but his
gun misfired (Phelps, 2015).
Roof had a middle- to upper-class upbringing (Weiss & Mone, 2015).
His neighborhood and schools were racially integrated, something Roof
addressed in the first words of his manifesto: “I was not raised in a racist
home or environment” (Roof, n.d., para. 1). Roof struggled with school
when he hit adolescence and was forced to retake ninth grade, subsequently
dropping out before finishing. He gained and lost jobs, began using alcohol
and drugs, and accumulated an arrest record of minor infractions. He also
developed an interest in White supremacist websites, and often shared his
racist views with friends.
In the months preceding the church massacre, Roof told friends he
intended to commit mass murder, to do “something big” with the goal of
starting a race war (Robles & Stewart, 2015, para. 33). The day before the
killings, he related plans of executing multiple people at a nearby college
(Mindock, 2015). He spent much of his time drinking with his Black
friends, and sharing threats of violence with the White ones (Weiss &
Mone, 2015). None of his confidants, however, reported Roof’s threats.
The manifesto Roof posted on his website (which I obtained before it
was taken down by law enforcement the day after the shooting) contained
elements of ego survival and revenge and entitlement.
Ego survival and revenge. According to his manifesto, Roof’s
actions were spurred more by racial hatred and White supremacy than a
feeling of persecution or unfairness (Roof, n.d.). Throughout the majority of
his 1,500-word personal essay, he addressed particular racial or religious
groups and what, in his mind, was wrong with each. He saw the White man
as beleaguered, forced to endure the injustices imposed by racial integration.
Black people, he felt, were “stupid and violent” (para. 5), and the
commingling of the races had brought Whites down a base level. Roof held
similar views toward Jewish, Hispanic, and East Asian races. He felt
something needed to be done to restore Whites’ racial superiority, and that
this action was up to him. He loosely quoted two of his favorite movies, the
White supremacist–focused American History X and the dystopian Himizu:
To take a saying from a film, “I see all this stuff going on, and I dont
[sic] see anyone doing anything about it. And it pisses me off.” To
take a saying from my favorite film, “Even if my life is worth less
than a speck of dirt, I want to use it for the good of society”. I have no
choice. (Roof, n.d., paras. 30–31)
These words revealed how Roof saw himself as a martyr, the only person
brave and smart enough to take what he saw as necessary and swift action.
He conveyed the same sentiment in other entries, lamenting the
inaction of Whites in defending their place in society:
What about the White children who, because of school zoning laws,
are forced to go to a school that is 90 percent black? . . . [W]ho is
fighting for him? Who is fighting for these White people forced by
economic circumstances to live among negroes [sic]? No one, but
someone has to. (Roof, n.d., para. 14)
A consistent focus on White oppression and Black inferiority pervaded the
manifesto, as did a call to bring back racial segregation.
Entitlement. Among the elements comprising Knoll’s (2012b) theme
of entitlement is a belief that one is authorized to engender harm to others as
a result of the wrong done to him. Roof represented this in the above entries,
as well as in one of the last sentences on the page: “Well someone has to
have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me”
(Roof, n.d., para. 31). Although he was raised in a society that promoted the
idea of racial equality, he felt his own research had proven otherwise. To
combat the unjust teachings he had received, he saw no other way out but to
kill the problem.
Case 10: George Sodini
On August 4, 2009, 48-year-old George Sodini brought two 9-
millimeter automatic pistols to LA Fitness in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
(“Gunman in Health Club,” 2009). He entered a women’s aerobics class and
began firing, committing suicide after a volley of shots killed three women
and wounded nine. A series of dated blog entries revealed he had been
planning the massacre for over a year, yet had repeatedly changed his mind
when things seemed to be going well for him (“Full Text,” 2009). In fact, he
had brought loaded guns to the gym 10 months prior to the actual shooting,
but “chickened out” and went home (para. 18).
Sodini prefaced his blog with a litany of details about himself,
including his dates of birth and death (“Full Text,” 2009). Throughout the
document, he repeatedly bemoaned his 19 years without sexual intercourse.
He documented his solitude, excessive drinking, layoff fears, and eroded
family relationships. He revealed an interest in younger girls, and remarked
how good he looked because of tanning and working out.
Sodini maintained two websites and posted two videos online, one in
which he spoke about himself and another in which gave a tour of his house,
both seemingly attempts to entice women. He also left a suicide note at the
crime scene, but that document was not made public.
Although the most recurring theme in Sodini’s blog was nihilism, ego
survival and revenge was also represented.
Ego survival and revenge. In his writing, Sodini revealed ostracism
from, and frustration with, the opposite sex (“Full Text,” 2009). Despite his
efforts, he found himself excluded from the world of couples, whom he
regarded with jealousy and disdain. Some of his words were prescient of
Elliot Rodger’s writings over a decade later, such as the following passage
illustrative of this theme:
I dress good, am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of cologne – yet 30
million women rejected me – over an 18 or 25-year period. This type
of life I see is a closed world with me specifically and totally
excluded. . . . Flying solo for many years is a destroyer. . . . I owe
nothing to desirable females who ask for anything . . . (“Full Text,”
2009, para. 6)
Seeing himself as powerless to change his life, Sodini directed his anger and
blame outward at the women who withheld what he felt he deserved.
Nihilism. Despite recording no platonic or romantic relationships,
Sodini was obsessed with his lack of sexual encounters. He frequently
referenced the subject, addressing recency, frequency, and jealousy while
noting the meaninglessness of life: “The future holds nothing for me.
Twenty five years of nothing fun. I never even spent one weekend with a girl
in my life, even at my own place. . . . If you have nothing, you have nothing
to lose” (“Full Text,” 2009, para. 20). He likened his hopeless state to the
Holocaust, writing, “This is the Auschwitz Syndrome, to be in serious pain
so long one thinks it is normal” (para. 14).
In an entry dated November 5, 2008, Sodini wrote of composing a list
of things intended to motivate him into conducting what he called the “exit
plan” (“Full Text,” 2009). In a later passage, he revealed having had a lunch
date, but then returned to obsessing over his destructive hopelessness:
Women just don’t like me. There are 30 million desirable women in
the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one. Not one of them finds me
attractive. . . . These problems have gotten worse over a 30 year
period. I need to expect nothing from me or other people. All through
the years I thought we had the ability to change ourselves – I guess
that is incorrect. Looking at The List makes me realize how
TOTALLY ALONE, a deeper word is ISOLATED, I am from all
else. . . . I no longer have any expectations of myself. I have no
options because I cannot work toward and achieve even the smallest
goals. (“Full Text,” 2009, para. 30) Sodini provided no further detail
of his date, but allowed himself to delve deeper into his inability to
control the trajectory of his life, thus remaining entrenched in his
nihilism.
Throughout the 9 months of recorded entries, Sodini vacillated
between trying to find the good in life to documenting the reasons why
continuing to live was futile. His posts read like an ongoing discussion with
himself, building a list of reasons to conduct the exit plan. In an entry dated
May 4, 2009, he wrote:
It is difficult to live almost continuously feeling an undercurrent of
fear, worry, discontentment and helplessness. . . . I need to realize the details
of what I never accomplished in life and to be convinced the future is merely
a continuation of the past – WHICH IT ALWAYS has been. (“Full Text,”
2009, para. 23) Two and a half months later, Sodini referred to himself as a
“total malfunction,” continuing, “Girls and women don’t even give me a
second look. ANYWHERE. There is something blatantly wrong with me
that NO goddamn person will tell me what it is” (“Full Text,” 2009, para.
37).
Sodini’s second-to-last entry, dated August 2, 2009, ended in mid-
sentence. He reiterated his lack of control and his belief that nothing would
ever change: “Everything stays the same regardless of the effert [sic] I put
in. If I had control over my life then I would be happier. But for about the
past 30 years, I have not” (“Full Text,” 2009, para. 46). He introduced
religion in the final post, seemingly to reassure himself of salvation, not
damnation. The document then ended with two oddly enthusiastic words:
“Death Lives!” (para. 56).
Case 11: Jeff Weise
On March 21, 2005, 16-year-old Native American Jeff Weise used
a .22 caliber handgun to kill his grandfather and his grandfather’s
companion at home (Rave, 2005). He stole the man’s tribal police patrol car,
shotgun, and semiautomatic handgun, and then drove to Red Lake Senior
High School, where he had been a student. Weise shot and killed a security
guard, teacher, and five students, injuring another seven before taking his
own life (Davey & Wilgoren, 2005).
Weise was known to be a troubled adolescent. A year and a half
before the shootings, he had been diagnosed with depression and prescribed
increasing dosages of Prozac (Rave, 2005). He twice attempted suicide, first
by cutting his wrist and then by hanging (Sevcik, 2005). According to an
aunt, the family tried to get him help, enlisting “every single resource . . . on
the reservation,” including mental health services, social services, law
enforcement, and the school (Rave, 2005, para. 62).
The teenager’s family history contributed to his risk of violence and
suicide (Rave, 2005). Weise’s mother left him with his father when he was 3
months old, where he stayed until his father committed suicide when the boy
was nine. Although Weise returned to his alcoholic and abusive mother’s
custody for 16 months, he mostly lived with his paternal grandparents. He
was frequently bullied at school, which led to the administration’s decision
to enroll him in the homebound schooling program (Sevcik, 2005).
Weise found fellowship in the Goth culture of the World Wide Web,
creating multiple profile pages and blogs, as well as contributing to
discussion forums on neoNazi, Libertarian National Socialist Green Party,
fan fiction, and zombie websites (Gunderson, 2005). He produced and
posted two animated videos, one of which depicted a gory mass shooting,
police annihilation, and suicide (Benson, 2005). He wrote short stories about
school shootings and drew sketches of guns and bloody deaths, which he
shared with friends (Davey & Wilgoren, 2005).
Common threads throughout Weise’s online postings were racial
purity, anger, self-loathing, and self-defeat, illustrating nihilism.
Nihilism. Two months before the shooting, Weise wrote on his blog
about women who chose men and alcohol over their children and friends
(Weise, 2004–2005), likely a loosely veiled post about his own mother. He
expressed his naiveté in expecting things to change before conceding defeat:
I sacrifice no more for others, part of me has fucking died, and I hate
this shit. I’m living every mans [sic] nightmare and that single fact alone is
kicking my ass. I really must be fucking worthless. This place never
changes, it never will. Fuck it all. (Weiss, 2004–2005, p. 1)
These words illustrated Weise’s deep-rooted nihilistic attitude, as he
acknowledged a perceived inability to effect change and embraced the
meaninglessness of life.
Weise created two MSN profile pages, one under his own name and
one with the stylized moniker of Sølitüdë (Weise, 2005). For the user photo,
he uploaded a still from Elephant, Gus Van Sant’s fictionalized film based
on the Columbine High School massacre. Weise again embraced his
downfall, writing in the “A Little About Me” section of the page: “16 years
of accumulated rage suppressed by nothing more than brief glimpses of
hope, which have all but faded to black. I can feel the urges within slipping
through the cracks, the leash I can no longer hold” (Weise, 2005, p. 13).
Among his favorite things, Weise listed losing control and psychopaths
unleashing the gates of hell. Both of these further signified a turning point in
the losing battle to change his life.
Case 12: Charles Whitman
On the evening of July 31, 1966, 25-year-old Charles Whitman drove
to his mother’s apartment, where he killed her with a large hunting knife
(“Report to the Governor,” 1966). He then returned home and stabbed his
sleeping wife to death. After supplementing his arsenal of firearms, he
arrived at the University of Texas at Austin just before noon the next day
(Macleod, n.d.). With a duffel bag full of weapons and supplies, Whitman
ascended to the observation deck of the campus’s main building, the 307-
foot Tower, where, for over 90 minutes, he shot people on the ground.
Eventually killed by campus police, Whitman left behind a toll of 16 dead
and 33 injured (“Austin [Tex.] Police,” 1941–2000).
Whitman had enlisted in the U.S. Marines when he was 18 (Macleod,
n.d.). He enrolled at the University of Texas on a military scholarship 2
years later but, due to poor grades, was recalled to active duty. Following an
honorable discharge in 1964, he returned to his studies in 1965. The next
year, exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety, and self-loathing and
complaining of severe headaches, Whitman was prescribed Valium, yet he
failed to pursue treatment (Biography.com, n.d.; Macleod, n.d.). A
postshooting autopsy revealed an aggressive, malignant brain tumor, which
experts suggest may have played a role in impacting his self-control
(“Austin [Tex.] Police,” 1941– 2000).
Whitman had been close to his mother, yet estranged from his
physically and emotionally abusive father (“Austin [Tex.] Police,” 1941–
2000). Although he kept a diary while enlisted in the U.S. Marines, it was a
mundane account of his daily life and not used for this study (“Report to the
Governor,” 1966). Of relevance here are the writings Whitman wrote after
killing his mother and wife, including a suicide note, letters, and a list, all of
which portrayed a vastly different man from the record-keeper of 2 years
prior (Macleod, n.d.). Nihilism was the primary theme throughout these later
writings.
Nihilism. Whitman’s note and letter revealed a man who no longer
believed himself capable of enjoying life (Whitman, 1966a, 1966b). He
frequently referenced the physical headaches and psychological anguish
over which he felt powerless. The note began, “I don’t quite understand
what it is that compels me to type this letter” (Whitman, 1966a, p. 1). Later
in the paragraph, Whitman twice referenced his “mental turmoil,” including
in the following passage:
I talked with a Doctor once for about two hoursand [sic] tried to
convey to him my fears that I felt come overwhelming violent
impulses [sic]. After one session I never saw the Doctor again and
since then I have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and
seemingly to no avail. (Whitman, 1966a, p. 1)
Although Whitman expressed feeling isolated in his fight, he failed to attend
a scheduled psychiatrist appointment.
Whitman also left behind a typed list of positive reminders entitled
“Thoughts to Start the Day.” At the top were two brief sentences, perhaps
also written in between the killing sprees: “I never could quite make it.
These thoughts are too much for me” (Whitman, 1966b, p. 1).
Whitman handwrote a second letter dated August 1, 1966, addressed
“To whom it may concern” (Whitman, 1966c, p. 1). The first sentence, “I
have just taken my mother’s life” (p. 1), suggested he had composed the
words in his mother’s apartment before returning home to kill his wife. In
addition to documenting how much he loved his mother, he noted wanting to
release her from the abuse she had endured over her 25-yearmarriage to his
father. The surrender revealed in Whitman’s first letter was now
accompanied by words connoting cognitive deconstruction, along with the
need to take his life as the only means of escaping what he had become. In a
final display of selfdefeat, Whitman wrote, “I truly do not consider this
world worth living in, and am prepared to die” (Whitman, 1966a, p. 1).
Discrepant Cases
Envy was the theme least represented, appearing only in the manifesto
of Elliot Rodger. In addition, as Rodger was the only mass murderer whose
communications included all six of the study’s themes, this case may be an
exception within the sample. Because of this, the possibility also exists that
the theme of envy is an outlier among mass shooters’ manifestos. As such,
this theme in particular warrants further investigation and research.
Table 1
Presence of Six Manifesto Themes by Mass Murderer
Mass Murderer
Manifesto Themes
1 2 3 4 5 6
Christopher Dorner x x
Eric Harris x x x x
Dylan Klebold x x x x
James Holmes x x
Kip Kinkel x
Adam Lanza x
Gang Lu x x
Elliot Rodger x x x x x x
Dylann Roof x x
George Sodini x x
Jeff Weise x
Charles Whitman x
Note: The six themes are aligned with the six research questions, as
follows: (1) ego survival and revenge; (2) pseudocommando mindset:
persecution, envy, obliteration; (3) envy; (4) nihilism; (5) entitlement; and
(6) heroic revenge fantasy (Knoll, 2012b).
Summary
This study involved the examination of manifestos written or recorded by 12
male American mass murderers. I evaluated all manifestos to identify
linguistic examples of Knoll’s (2012b) six themes, text which I then used to
answer the six research questions. I read and coded each manifesto multiple
times to achieve the highest possible degrees of validity, reliability, and
transferability. Language illustrative of each theme appeared in the sample,
with thematic appearances in from one to eight of the 12 cases, and
individual manifestos displaying from one to six themes. As each theme was
aligned with one research question, all questions were answered with regard
to each manifesto.
Chapter 5 includes a discussion of the purpose and nature of this
study, as well as the rationale for why the research was undertaken. I
summarize findings with regard to how well they confirm and extend
knowledge of mass murderers and their words. I revisit limitations and
implications, along with recommendations for further research. Finally, I
discuss the potential for social change.
Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Introduction
In the United States, the frequency of mass murder has been
increasing over the past few decades, and dramatically so in recent years
(Achenbach, 2015; Auxemery, 2015; Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Bondü &
Beier, 2015; A. P. Cohen et al., 2014; Follman, 2015b; Huff-Corzine et al.,
2014; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Towers et al., 2015). With this rising incidence
of mass murder come increases in death, injury, fear, and anxiety (Bonanno
& Levenson, 2014; Fan, 2015; Lowe & Galea, 2017; Newman, Tabke, &
Pfefferbaum, 2016). While general research on these offenders has been
conducted (Bonanno & Levenson, 2014; Dutton et al., 2013; Faria, 2013;
Gordon et al., 2015; Lankford, 2016b; Madfis, 2014b; Neuman et al., 2015;
Winter & Tschudi, 2015), research specific to the language they recorded
has been scarce. Despite the insight mass murderers’ recorded words—
written or video manifestos—can provide into the minds of the offenders,
only a limited number of researchers (e.g., Knoll, 2010b, 2012b; Lankford,
2013, 2016b; Meloy, 2014; Murray, 2016; Paton & Figeac, 2015) have
contributed to the overall scant scholarly analysis of such communications.
In response to this research gap, I conducted the present study to
illuminate offenders’ motives and mental states as revealed through their
words. I identified examples of Knoll’s (2012b) six psycholinguistic themes
within a purposeful sample of 12 mass murderer manifestos, and then
analyzed them according to their contexts within the communications. Use
of the qualitative tradition allowed for careful examination of historical
documents, which in this study were mass murderers’ manifestos. The
multiple case study research design allowed for detailed, descriptive
assessment and analysis. Due to issues of availability and attack type, I
purposefully selected the 12 cases. Because individuals construct their own
truths, the constructivist paradigm was appropriate. The study’s results
should inspire further research and inquiry into mass murderer manifestos.
Research questions were aligned with Knoll’s (2012b) six content
categories, as follows:
Research Question 1: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts ego survival and revenge?
Research Question 2: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts pseudocommando mindset: persecution, envy, obliteration?
Research Question 3: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts envy?
Research Question 4: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts nihilism?
Research Question 5: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts entitlement?
Research Question 6: What language in mass murderers’ manifestos
depicts heroic revenge fantasy?
I read, coded, and analyzed each of the 12 manifestos to answer the
research questions, identifying language illustrative of each theme, and then
analyzing those words within the context of the communication. I found all
six psycholinguistic themes throughout the sample, with each theme
appearing in a minimum of one manifesto, and a maximum of eight.
Individually, each mass murderer’s manifesto contained language
representative of at least one of the six themes. Potential outliers include the
theme of envy, which appeared only in the manifesto of Elliot Rodger, as
well as Rodger’s manifesto itself, the only one to exhibit all six themes.
Whether this is due to the excessive length of the Isla Vista shooter’s
writings and videos is unclear.
Interpretation of the Findings
Mass murderers often create journals, blogs, websites, or videos to
record their grievances; however, these documents have received infrequent
study (Auxemery, 2015; Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Murray, 2015, 2016;
Paton & Figeac, 2015). Looking at the manifestos themselves, Knoll (2012b)
identified six psycholinguistic themes in the communications of two mass
shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Jiverly Wong. Examining the manifestos of 10
mass murderers, Murray (2016) was able to pinpoint four shared fantasy
ideation scripts. Paton and Figeac (2015) found common cultural scripts
from a review of visual media composed by eight school shooters. Other
researchers (e.g., Bondü & Schneithauer, 2015; Dutton et al., 2013;
Grobbink et al., 2015; Knoll & Meloy, 2014; Lankford, 2015b, 2016b,
2016d; Murray, 2015; Pury et al., 2015) also noted common themes in the
words of mass killers. However, only Knoll’s (2012b) themes were used as a
template for the present study.
Based upon limited prior research in the field (Auxemery, 2015;
Knoll, 2010a, 2010b, 2012b; Lankford, 2015a; Murray, 2016; Neuman et al.,
2015), the concept grounding this study was that psycholinguistic analysis of
mass murderer manifestos would provide insight into the killers’ motives
and psychopathologies. With my results, I was able to confirm the presence
of the six psycholinguistic themes identified by Knoll (2012b). Coding and
analysis of these 12 manifestos not only supported his results, but furthered
understanding of these themes and their appearances among the words of
mass shooters. Identifying common content across mass murderers’
communications also affirmed Murray’s (2016) findings that mass
murderers revealed similar concepts in their manifestos, extending
knowledge in this regard, as well.
Although this study’s results shed light on the thought processes and
motives behind each offender’s violent actions, it was not possible for me to
identify individual psychopathologies. I drew or inferred information related
to mental disorders primarily from biographies, news reports, and prior
scholarly research, not the mass murderers’ recorded words. It is important
to note, however, that diagnosing offenders was not an objective of this
study, nor did it align with any of the research questions.
Limitations of the Study
There were several limitations, beginning with the inability to transfer
qualitative case study results to alternate contexts or broader populations
(Creswell, 2012; Yin, 2014). Other limitations included threats to researcher
credibility, dependability, and results confirmability (Yin, 2014). Findings
from a sample size of 12 cannot be generalized to all mass murderers’
manifestos. In addition, the limited sample size was not statistically
representative of the broader population and cannot be extrapolated as such.
Purposeful participant selection based on availability also precluded the
ability to adequately represent the entire population of mass murderer
manifestos.
Using myself as a single researcher to collect, code, and analyze data
did not allow for confirmability, as it eliminated the benefit of triangulation
and increased the risk of researcher bias and misinterpretation. Even if
multiple researchers had been employed, however, coding and analysis
remain imprecise activities, without clear rules to guide their execution (Yin,
2014). I acknowledged and addressed all limitations in advance and during
execution of the study, and minimized risk factors as able to achieve the
highest degree of trustworthiness.
Recommendations
A number of future research opportunities exist based on these
findings. Scholars could replicate the study using a sample from one specific
pseudocommando population, such as school shooters, non-U.S. mass
murderers, single-location attackers, terrorists, and mass killers in a given
timeframe, among others. Researchers may also wish to look for
psycholinguistic examples of Murray’s (2016) manifesto content categories
within the current sample. Different themes, such as language indicative of
the desire for fame and glory, could also play a role in later evaluation
(Lankford, 2016c).
Evaluating manifestos with regard to mental illness is another
potential field of future study. Researchers can look for evidence of
psychological illness in the mass murderers’ manifestos, either disorders
specifically stated or words highly suggestive of an abnormal psychological
condition. A review of news reports, biographies, and psychological
evaluations would provide insight into the mental state of the perpetrator,
which could further qualify participants for a study incorporating mental
illness into subject selection criteria. Lankford’s (2016c) suggestion of
suicidality in mass murderers may also warrant thematic exploration.
Researchers might also wish to apply psycholinguistic analysis to the
words mass murderers speak, not just the ones they write or record.
Additionally, postevent communications may merit examination to see if
themes are consistent both before and after the mass murder is committed.
Such documents may include the jail writings of Oklahoma City Federal
Building bomber Timothy McVeigh (“An Essay on Hypocrisy,” 2013;
“Timothy McVeigh’s Manifesto,” 2013), or the documents Fort Hood
shooter Nidal Hasan provided to Fox News after the 2009 massacre in
Killeen, Texas (Hasan, n.d., 2012).
Extending thematic analysis to similar groups, later researchers may
also wish to examine the communications of serial killers or of different
types of mass murderers, including familicide or workplace shooters. The
population could also include individuals who attempted acts of mass
murder, but were stopped before they could kill at least three people.
Implications
Following a comprehensive literature review, I identified a clear
research gap: analyzing the words left behind by mass murderers. For this
study, I used Knoll’s (2012b) six psycholinguistic themes to evaluate the
manifestos of 12 American mass murderers: Christopher Dorner, Eric
Harris, James Holmes, Kip Kinkel, Dylan Klebold, Adam Lanza, Gang Lu,
Elliot Rodger, Dylann Roof, George Sodini, Jeff Weise, and Charles
Whitman. Among the findings were that all manifestos contained at least
one of Knoll’s themes, and each theme was represented in at least one
manifesto, lending confirmability to Knoll’s results.
The results of this study expand awareness and understanding of mass
murderers’ communications, which will undoubtedly lead to further research
and findings. Use of such accumulated information has multiple significant
implications for social change. The greatest potential for positive social
change exists for mental health care professionals and their clients, as
practitioners may be able to provide better care and protection to at-risk
patients. If a client’s communications reveal two or more of these six
themes, the care provider may wish to alter the methods of evaluation and
treatment, perhaps by asking more probing questions or exercising 3-day
psychiatric holds. More effective psychological care may one day lead to the
prevention of future acts of violence.
Using these and other tested themes, researchers may also wish to
analyze manifestos found postoffense. Such review and understanding have
the potential of streamlining law enforcement interrogations, investigations,
negotiations, and productivity. Further, if any or all of these benefits follow
as a result of this and future studies, positive social change may extend to
individuals, families, and societies through reductions in fear, trauma, and
loss of life.
The qualitative multiple case study approach was the best means of
examining historical documents. This method allowed for close analysis of
mass murderers’ recorded communications, a necessity when searching for
psycholinguistic themes. Using 12 cases achieved the saturation point for a
case study (Guest et al., 2006). This larger sample size improved upon
Knoll’s (2012b) original thematic analysis, which involved the
communications of just two mass killers. Use of the constructivist paradigm
provided the structure to answer each research question, and to present
findings clearly and accurately.
Conclusion
Individuals often reveal their thoughts, mental states, and motivations
through personal communications (Riffe, 2013). As mass murderers
frequently compose or publish written or video communications in advance
of committing mass violence, I expected analysis of these words to provide
insight. Because the language in these manifestos had not been extensively
studied, the current study greatly expanded knowledge in this field.
This was the first study done in response to Knoll’s (2012b)
qualitative analysis of two manifestos, in which he identified six
psycholinguistic themes in the pre-attack communications of Cho and
Wong. My results confirmed that mass murderers’ communications display
common psycholinguistic themes, specifically ego survival and revenge,
pseudocommando mindset, nihilism, entitlement, and heroic revenge
fantasy. Although I found weak support for envy, the remaining five themes
were well represented, with each appearing in from three to eight
manifestos.
Even with the consistency of findings across my and Knoll’s studies,
by nature, I cannot extrapolate qualitative results to the entire population of
mass murderer manifestos. To heighten transferability, additional research
should be conducted. Future scholars may seek to replicate these findings
with new participants or segments of the mass murderer population.
Exploration of different themes could also enable further understanding of
mass murderers and their manifestos. Likely, individuals conducting future
studies will also find commonality in the language of those planning acts of
multiple homicide.
