CSUN On Point

Although the United States makes up less than five percent of the world’s population,  31 percent of mass shootings happen here, according to CNN.

Law enforcement experts, mental health professionals, politicians and survivors continue to ask what the driving force is behind these mass shootings, and whether there is any way to predict or prevent them.

The Parkland Florida shooter told authorities he heard voices in his head giving him instructions on what to do to conduct the attack, and Nashville’s Waffle House gunman claimed Taylor Swift was stalking him. Many experts say easier access to mental health treatment would help, but warn against suggesting that all mental illness leads to violence.

“The connection between violence and mental health often [leads to a] stigma,” Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health program manager James Coomes said. “It’s actually counterproductive [because] it prevents people from accessing mental health services if they need them.”

“Sometimes people think if someone is hearing voices that is somehow criminal, and someone should be locked up for that,” Coomes said, “[but] people live with psychosis every day.”

Many suggest that people be encouraged to speak up when they suspect a friend, classmate, or family member is contemplating violence.

“I definitely do believe there are signs,” U.S. Department of Justice investigator Sgt. Rod Clayton said. “Whether we adhere to them, or report them in a timely matter, is our biggest question.”

“The reality is one and every four people experience a major mental health issue at some point in their life,” Coomes said. “The vast majority of people who are experiencing mental health issues are not prone to violence. So, if we’re trying to predict who is going to engage in a violent act and who isn’t, there might be signs, like a collection of weapons, or aggressive behavior, [but not always].”

Others say parents should limit exposure to violent video games and movies.

“I would attribute a lot of it, in my personal opinion, to what we see or what we see our kids do on social media and video games,” Clayton said. “Anytime you can see where a person is becoming desensitized by what they see on the internet or the video games, there needs to be some intervention.”

Some say that if the mass media and social media users would stop reporting, sharing, reposting or retweeting the names, faces and detailed histories of killers, there might be a reduction in mass shootings, and some studies do suggest that ‘media contagion’ may be a factor.

“Media makes people copycat what they see,” Clayton said. “Now we see it more [and] people want to do it more. [It’s like] what we experienced in the late 90’s with vehicle pursuits. We saw it on the news so everybody wanted to do it.”

Crime statistics suggest society is not actually more violent overall, even as these mass shootings increase. But Americans don’t feel safer.

“In a public opinion poll, it was asked how much violence is out there in 2016,” CSUN Communication Studies Professor David Keating said, “and 70 percent of Americans thought 2016 was more violent than 2015. But the crime rate has been steadily declining for a couple of decades now.”

Law enforcement experts and mental health professionals said awareness can help.

“Learning to engage each other, and accepting each other a little bit more, and having more tolerance for each other [can help],” Coomes said. “Being open to a family member or friend that might be experiencing something they may not feel is normal or acceptable, and giving them an opportunity to talk about it, and then engaging support around them [can help].”

Moderator: Sammy Shaktah

Producer: Jiani Navarro

Anchor: Kaylee Kealani

Social Media Editor: Daniel Martindale

Reporters: Jade Davis, Kaylee Kealani, Daniel Martindale, Jiani Navarro, Sammy Shaktah

Since September 11, 2001, when many Americans hear the word ‘terrorism’, or when they think of a ‘terrorist attack’, they think of an act perpetrated by a foreign entity. The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center were perpetrated by 19 foreign-born Arab hijackers recruited by Al-Qaeda, leading some Americans to equate all attacks to Islam, leading to Islamophobia, or a fear of Islam, and a fear of foreigners in general.

“It is important to go back to the definition of terrorism,” said Edina Lekovic, the Director of Policy and Programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council, “so that Americans know the United States is talking about all forms of politically-motivated violence that take civilian lives, instead of misunderstanding what terrorism is about.”

In fact, every lethal terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11, whether in Fort Hood or Boston or San Bernardino, has been conducted by American citizens or legal permanent residents.

“Terrorism has to have three vital components,” said Erroll Southers, USC’s Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism and Director of International Programs. “It has to have a threat or an act of violence, some legitimizing ideology it’s attached to, and have a civilian, most likely a victim, that’s going to be some political driver to it.”

Media play a huge role in the misconception some Americans have that all terrorism is linked to Muslim perpetrators.

“Today, when there’s an act of violence, if [the media] don’t mention that the person who perpetrated it is Muslim, I know he’s not and that is a code,” Southers said. “It becomes a driver for what the public hears and perceives, and they pick up on that.”

“The media give us ways of thinking about things,” Lekovik said. “When we only get one piece of the overall picture, and that picture is exclusively through the lens of bad news, then we have a fundamental misunderstanding of who a group of people are.”

Last year, 52 people were killed in acts of domestic terrorism, Southers said. An equal number of those 52 were killed by white supremacists as were by Muslims, yet the majority of law enforcement officers’ efforts seem to be against Muslims.

The Department of Homeland Security started the campaign, “See Something, Say Something,” to raise public awareness of the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement, but Southers argued the campaign is skewed too strongly against foreign threats.

“The government needs to “see something, say something” on all things,” he said, “and that’s not being done equitably. The best approach to handle this is through real community engagement. Communities have to own, and direct, and drive and sustain efforts, so violence doesn’t happen.”

“It’s powerful to model for the public, a way to engage with Muslims, that says ‘we stand together’ in solidarity,” Lekovic said.

She pointed to Los Angeles’ Mayor Garcetti’s 2016 visit to the Islamic Center of Southern California, where he participated in the weekly prayer, and shared a message of unity and support for Muslim-Americans living in Los Angeles.

“Those messages are very powerful, and need to get out to Angelinos and Americans at times like this, when we feel uncertain,” Lekovic said. “When we feel uncertain, we feel fear. When we feel fear, our brains turn off and our hearts turn on and we don’t always make the best decisions in those circumstances.”

Moderator: Alexi Chidbachian

Anchor: Scott Sanders

Producer: Gabrielle Ortega

Social Media Editor: Danielle Pendleton

Reporters: Sophie Ashley, Alexi Chidbachian, Gabrielle Ortega, Danielle Pendleton, Scott Sanders, Joshua Spidel