UC Santa Barbara

Approximately 40% of mass shooters die during their own shootings, yet little is known about patterns in mass shooter outcomes. This warrants increased attention to mass shootings as unique events in which the choices made by shooters and police officers may be shaped by their orientations to aspects of gender and race. Using Stanford University Geospatial Center’s Mass Shootings in America database, I examine the outcomes of 212 mass shootings occurring between 1966 and 2016 to test for racial differences in the likelihood of shooters’ death by suicide and homicide. Findings from multinomial regression demonstrate significantly higher odds of death by self-inflicted suicide for white than Black mass shooters, but no Black-white difference in the odds of death by homicide or cop-assisted suicide. These findings advance knowledge on mass shootings and mass shooter outcomes by revealing racialized patterns. Further research should aim to better understand police response to these crisis situations, how law enforcement behaviors affect mass shootings, and the role of suicide in mass shooting motivations.