Multiple victim homicides: patterns, causes, and prevention

Violent Crime Analysis

One of the most unfortunate incidents that can occur is the killing of another person, and it is even more unfortunate when more than one person is killed. The killing of multiple persons can be divided into three categories: "Mass" killings, "Spree" killings, and "Serial" killings, and there are distinct differences between the three. In the past the difference was limited to the number of victims involved, but criminologists and researchers have since expanded that definition to include the types of motivation and the time involved with the killings. Today, the most important factor in determining the type of killings that have occurred is the time between the individual killings, and time is the main difference between a mass, spree, and serial murderer.

According to the FBI, most definitions of multiple killings require a period of time in which the killings occurred, and this will be the main factor in what type of multiple homicide that is involved. In general, "mass murder was described as a number of murders (four or more) occurring during the same incident, with no distinctive time between the murders." ("Serial Murder") on Valentines Day 2008, a mass killing took place on the campus of Northern Illinois University when Stephen Kazmierczak walked into a university building and began shooting everyone he could find. The killer acted "calmly, unemotionally, walking up the aisles, aiming methodically, and shooting -- again and again." ("Northern Illinois University Shooting") in this case a single killer, shot and killed multiple victims in a single incident that happened at a single time; this is a good example of a mass killing.

When it comes to a spree killing, there is a great deal of commonality between it and a serial killing. For instance both include at least one offender (sometimes more), there are always two or more murder victims, and the incidents of killing should be separated by time. ("Serial Murder") Unlike a mass killer, spree killers and serial killers perform a number of separate killings, in separate places, over a period of time; but it is the time between killings that separates a spree killer from a serial killer. In general, a spree killer will perform "two or more murders & #8230;without a cooling off period." ("Serial Murder") it is the lack of a specific cooling off period, which distinguishes a spree killer from a serial killer, and because of this, spree killers usually kill during a relatively short period of time, weeks or months, while a serial killer could operate over many years.

An example of a spree killing could be July 22nd, 2011's incident in Norway when Anders Behring Breivik carried out a series of attacks. He first set off a bomb in central Oslo and several hours later went on a shooting rampage "at a youth camp at an island near the capital." ("Oslo Bombings and Utoya Attack") in all, nearly 80 people were killed in the two separate incidents, but since the time between the incidents was relatively short, this is considered a spree killing and not a serial killing. However, a serial killer usually takes their time and commits multiple killings over time with long periods in between individual murders. Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer, is an example of a typical serial killer, and committed a number of murders over a period of time that lasted decades. (McMahon) There were even months and sometimes years between the killings which satisfies the requirement for a cooling off period between murders. Ridgway began his murders in the mid-1980's and was not stopped for decades, strangling 48 women in all. His multiple killing, taking place at separate locations at separate times with a long cooling off period between killings makes it possible to classify him specifically as a serial killer.