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The Focus For This Write-up
Unfortunately, since the start of the 2019 year up to this point in August, many massacres have taken place all around the world. There are some that may not have even been properly documented, or even heard of in some cases. Particularly in ultra remote locations. For the purpose of this write-up, the following events will be the focus:
- Penticton Shooting From British Columbia, Canada
- 2019 Markham home massacre
- Kyoto Animation arson attack
- 2019 El Paso Shooting
- 2019 Dayton Shooting
Defining The Term Massacre
While the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines mass murder as killing 4 or more people within a short time, this is not a universally accepted definition. Media outlets, academic researchers, and law enforcement agencies often use different definitions when discussing the different types of mass murders. That said, the following definition is widely accepted:
“Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time, and in close geographic proximity.”
2019 Penticton Shootings
On April 15, 2019, in Penticton, British Columbia, 68-year-old John Brittain, shot 4 people around 10:30 AM. Witnesses reported that the firearm was a rifle. The residents of this city describe their place as a quiet town, making the event very shocking, and eye-opening to them. Since Brittain worked as a worker for the city, he was a known resident among many, which naturally included the mayor. When the mayor was asked if Brittain was known to have a temper, he responded “Nothing like that at all. Very gentle man.”
Brittain ended up turning himself in unarmed, at the station. The crime scene was resolved fairly quickly, allowing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to report that there was no ongoing danger in a short period.
Motive
The exact motive was not known, but it was believed to have been a dispute. The targets were also not random, as Brittain knew them, and they knew him, making the killings a direct pursuit. While the RCMP say that they could not figure out the motive, Global News Canada reports that it was disputes with neighbours that led him to this extreme act. Now because Brittain was described as a quiet, hardworking, gentleman, it seems as though he let whatever was infuriating him, bother him for far too long without appropriately dealing with it.
Victims
- Rudi Winter, 71
- Barry Wonch, age not identified?
- Susan Wonch, age not identified?
- Darlene Knippelberg, 74
2019 Markham Home Massacre
On Sunday July 28, 2019, in Markham, Ontario, 23-year-old Menhaz Zaman murdered his mother, grandmother, sister, and father. The massacre took place around midnight, through the use of a knife. Police said officers were called to a house on Castlemore Avenue, a residential area near Major MacKenzie Drive East and Markham Road, before 3:00 PM. Zaman was taken into custody after officers arrived, and police reported the sight of three women and a man dead inside. Officers charged Menhaz Zaman with four counts of first-degree murder.
Motive
Depression and anti-religious beliefs were the two largest factors behind this motive. On a private discord server of Perfect World Void, he described how he skipped university after failing multiple courses. This led to him feeling depressed and unfulfilled in life. After dropping out from York University, neighbours reported that he would often spend his time at the mall, or community gym. He had also taken on Atheism, and would make very hostile remarks about Islamics. In fact, he would post so much hate, that he was banned from the server on July 11, 2019. Worse, users were aware of this aggressive behaviour, and never took it seriously, because they assumed he was just being a desperate troll. He even made a post about killing his parents, yet, that too, was just dismissed as trolling.
“I never took him seriously because he is always joking about everything,” the moderator said. ” “None of us expected him to go that far, none of us had any idea of his plans.”
“I choose to kill them instead of my out of cowardess [sic] due to me being an atheist. I believe that this is the only life we get,” the Menhaz wrote.
Kyoto Animation Arson Attack
On July 18, 2019, in Kyoto, Japan, 41-year-old Shinji Aoba (Japanese: 青葉 真司) killed 35 people. Aoba entered the 1st Studio building of Kyoto Animation in Fushimi ward, Kyoto, at 10:30 AM. He poured 40 litres of gasoline around various buildings of the area, before lighting it with fire, and reportedly shouted death messages during the diabolical attack. 35 people have died after the attack, and additional 34 have been injured. The suspect himself was also injured during the attack, hence why certain investigations have been delayed. Mass murder is rare in Japan. In fact, the island nation has not seen such an event similar to this since World War 2.
Motive
Mental illness, as well as accusation of Kyoto Animation stealing his works are the two factors behind the massacre. Investigators told Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) that Aoba was arrested in 2012 for robbing a convenience store, and sentenced to 3½ years in prison. For the case with Kyoto Animation, further investigation has revealed that not just a single novel was received from Aoba, but multiple entries to the Kyoto Animation contest. A number of his novels had junior and high school settings. This caused Aoba to believe the elements of his submitted entries were copied by Kyoto Animation in the studio’s school-themed anime series. Why the suspicion? It seems as though they did not mention mention at the time of submission and assessment, what they did with works that did not pass. Even though Kyoto Animation acknowledged receiving it, they now made it clear that it did not pass first-stage assessment, was forgotten, and had no similarities to any of their published titles.
Kyoto Animation CEO Hideaki Yata said the company had received death threats by mail, which had been sent to authorities. This brings up a question: Did the studio take these messages seriously? Yes, though judging from the sounds of it, they were not able to identify who was sending it. Kyoto Animation is famous for numerous works: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kanon, Lucky Star, K-ON!!, Amagi Brilliant Park, Sound! Euphonium, A Silent Voice: The Movie, and numerous others.
2019 El Paso Shooting
On August 03, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, United States, 21-year-old white male, Patrick Wood Crusius, shot and killed 22 people at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall. He wanted to eradicate Hispanics. Crucsius was arrested shortly after the shooting, and was charged with capital murder. Police confirmed that he used an AK-47 style rifle. Federal Bureau of Investigation also called the move an act of domestic terrorism.
Motive
Anti-immigration and racism, specifically Hispanophobia for this case, were the two major factors behind Crusius’ shooting spree. He wanted to stop a Hispanic invasion of Texas. Evidence of this was found online, where he posted a lengthy manifesto on the messaging board 8chan. The post was filled with white supremacist language and racist hatred targeted towards immigrants and Latinos. Interestingly, Crusius relatives were not white supremacists themselves, and even released the following statements:
“Patrick’s actions were apparently influenced and informed by people we do not know, and from ideas and beliefs that we do not accept or condone, in any way. He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance — rejecting all forms of racism, prejudice, hatred, and violence. There will never be a moment for the rest of our lives when we will forget each and every victim of this senseless tragedy”
Victims
1. Maria Eugenia Legarrega Rothe, 58
2. Angie Englisbee, 86
3. Leonardo Campos, 41
4. Maribel Hernandez, 56
5. Margie Reckard, 63
6. Juan Velazquez, 77
7. Luis Alfonzo Juarez, 90
8. Maria Flores, 77
9. Raul Flores, 77
10. Alexander Gerhard Hoffman, 66
11. Ivan Hilierto Manzano, 46,
12. Gloria Irma Marquez, 61
13. Jorge Calvillo Garcia, 61,
14. Teresa Sanchez, 82
15. David Johnson, 63
16. Javier Rodriguez
17. Elsa Mendoza Marquez, 57
18. Arturo Benavides, 67
19. Sara Esther Regalado, 66
20. Cerros Hernández, 68
21. Andre Anchondo, 24
22. Jordan Anchondo, 25
2019 Dayton Shooting
On August 04, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio, United States, 24-year-old Connor Stephen Betts shot and killed 9 people on 419 East 5th Street. The shootings took place at 1:05 AM outside of the Ned Peppers Bar with a AR-15-style assault rifle, and a 100-round drum magazine. Police acted extremely quickly, killing Betts in 32 seconds after he fired his shots.
Motive
Unlike the El Paso shooting, which clearly had a racial motive, Bett’s motive was not entirely clear. However, based on comments from authorities, memories from former classmates, and posts on his alleged Twitter account, these sources show that he had been passionate about violence, and was highly fascinated with guns. In addition to this, his classmates reported that he had a kill and rape list of people he wanted to target. He also happened to be involved in a band that made goregrind and grindcore music.
“He was kind of dark and depressive in high school,” said Brickler, a freshman at the time when the school counselor told him about the hit list. Based on the comments from these people, it can be said that his motive was to satisfy his blood thirst built up from anger and psychological issues.
Victims
- Megan Betts, 22
- Lois Oglesby, 27
- Saeed Saleh, 38
- Derrick Fudge, 57
- Logan Turner, 30
- Nicholas Cumer, 25
- Thomas McNichols, 25
- Beatrice Warren-Curtis, 36
- Monica Brickhouse, 39
Commonalities
All of these scenarios have one thing in common: psychologically distorted anger. For some, it was the combination of anger and depression. In Penticton, it was built up anger with disputes over particular neighbours, hence why the targets were so specific. Markham, anger over school failures and Islamics. Kyoto, anger over the company allegedly stealing his work. El Paso, anger over the large presence of Latinos in the state. Dayton, anger and depression over his past. The answer to preventing these murders? It will take a number preventative measures to stop them.
Some authorities frequently insist that more police officers and psychiatrists is the answer. However, it will take more than increasing the number or therapists and officers. For starters, more officers does not guarantee safer streets. Having 20 patrolling, non-corrupted officers properly doing their job will have far better results than 40 corrupted, poorly trained, non-active officers. And for the therapists, the treatments must be reliable and more widely available. It will require a variety measures to curb or eliminate mass murders.
Solutions To Mass Murders
Watching out for early signs, better and more access to mental health facilities, respect for human life, better security patrol, securing facilities, and banning guns in the United States, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Watch Out For Early Warning Signs
Having staff and students in the case of schools, or employees in the case of other places such as churches and malls, aware of the area’s environment, and reporting worrying behaviors that allude to a person’s potential desire to commit a dangerous attack would nurture the place’s social and emotional environment, and contribute to preventing mass murders. Signs of potentially high-risk individuals can include written, spoken, or even drawn hints from people about morbid intentions or fantasies. These hints may include threats against the place or other people, Internet posts, or target lists. In addition to this, people that had troubled childhoods, lost a parent, were or are being bullied, aggressive, and lack of compassion for others’ losses, should seek immediate attention. Early intervention measures is key.
Mental Health
More research on valid prevention and treatments that work is essential. Facilities will also need to be more widely available and accessible to people. Also, blaming mental illnesses on all problem needs to stop. This stigmatizes mentally ill people, which have varying degrees of their respective condition. A lot of people identified with an illness are able to live normal lives, due to proper treatment or management of their condition.
Respect For Human Life
In domestic and non-domestic settings such as schools and the work place, there are often rules in place that do not allow abusive behaviour. However, a special emphasis in regards to treating all human lives as equal, capable humans need to be taught in homes, schools, and the work place. The belief that others are inferior, invasive, or otherwise problematic is still ingrained and taught in a number of homes and places across the world. This results in problematic, hateful, frightening actions, and drives much fear, chaos, tension and instability.
Better Security Patrol
Better security patrol, not increased, unless necessary, is another effective way to reduce or eliminate mass murders. This form of prevention works even better when the facility being patrolled is equipped with metal detectors, bulletproof windows, and other tools used for detecting weapons and threats. The presence of patrolling officers in the Dayton incident is a good example of how active patrolling stopped the murderer from taking more lives than what was already disastrous enough.
Securing Places
Metal detectors, surveillance cameras, bulletproof doors and windows, motion lights, warning signs, fences, and lockable entry gates are some of the many ways a place such as a school can be further secured. Some critics are quick to point out that these are costly. While there is truth to this, it should also be noted that each facility will have unique needs and priorities. For situations, surveillance units and metal detectors may be enough. For others, the owner or administrator may feel that bulletproof doors and windows are the best solution. Regardless of what the case may be, some form of proper hardening is better than nothing at all, even if it did not manage to entirely stop a criminal act.
Banning Guns In The United States, Mexico And Guatemala
This is by far the most extreme, and controversial solution to one of the most notorious forms of mass murdering. These three countries are all located in North America, share a landmass, and they all have a have a constitutional right to bear arms. As result of this, the United States is particularly singled out of having more gun-related deaths than any other developed country in the world.
The constitutional right for civilians to bear arms needs to be removed. All handguns, automatic assault weapons, semi-automatic assault weapons, military rifles, and machine guns need to be banned. A buyback program similar to Australia’s should be put in place. To eliminate the circulation of lethal, high capacity guns, the guns can have their metals recycled and turned into entirely different products.
For civilians that aspire to own a hunting rifle or shotgun, the extremely strict Japanese model should be followed. Their model does not allow unlicensed citizens to touch guns, without facing time in prison. For individuals that want to pursue ownership, they must take written and practical exams, go to the hospital for a mental examination, provide authorities with a medical certificate attesting their mental health and drug-free status, and have authorities investigate the applicant’s background, relatives and group affiliations. If the gun applicant is involved in certain political or activist organizations, they will be denied ownership.
Act Now Or Keep Suffering
Many Americans will probably consider the banning solution extreme, but if action is not taken now, the gun-related death toll will only continue to climb.
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