Risk Factors and Warning Behaviors of Female Offenders of Family Mass Shootings
Location
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Publication Date
April 2025
Start Date
17-4-2025 8:00 AM
Description
Introduction Despite the widespread media attention to mass shooting events, female perpetrators of mass shootings remain vastly understudied in research literature compared to their male counterparts, making it difficult to establish patterns specific to female offenders (Morgan, Allison, & Klein, 2022). When female mass shootings do occur, they most often involve familicide, the killing of multiple family members (Girgis et al., 2024). The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors and warning behaviors specific to female family mass shooters. By examining a subset of female family mass shooters, this study aims to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that go into these acts of violence. Methods Cases of family mass shooting events between 2007 and 2022 were found through the Gun Violence Archive and Northeastern Mass Killing database. Additional case details were gathered through open-source documents such as news articles and court documents. Each case was reviewed and coded for demographic information, event details, offender characteristics, and motives for the violent crime. Results A total of 16 cases of female family mass shooters occurred between 2007 and 2022. In three cases, mass shootings were completed in conjunction with a male offender. Results of this study found that motives for crimes varied from custody battles to severe mental health issues to recent or traumatic relationship problems. Conclusion The findings of this study contribute to the limited research on female-perpetrated mass shootings, providing insight into their distinctive patterns of behavior. By identifying motivations and characteristics of at-risk individuals, this study highlights the importance of targeted intervention strategies. Future studies should continue to examine more cases of female family mass shooters to establish more of an evidence base, which would allow for the development of more effective prevention and intervention methods.
Recommended Citation
Mermilliod, Isabelle BS and Barker, Chikira H. MA, "Risk Factors and Warning Behaviors of Female Offenders of Family Mass Shootings" (2025). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 13.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2025/presentations/13
Risk Factors and Warning Behaviors of Female Offenders of Family Mass Shootings
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Introduction Despite the widespread media attention to mass shooting events, female perpetrators of mass shootings remain vastly understudied in research literature compared to their male counterparts, making it difficult to establish patterns specific to female offenders (Morgan, Allison, & Klein, 2022). When female mass shootings do occur, they most often involve familicide, the killing of multiple family members (Girgis et al., 2024). The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors and warning behaviors specific to female family mass shooters. By examining a subset of female family mass shooters, this study aims to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that go into these acts of violence. Methods Cases of family mass shooting events between 2007 and 2022 were found through the Gun Violence Archive and Northeastern Mass Killing database. Additional case details were gathered through open-source documents such as news articles and court documents. Each case was reviewed and coded for demographic information, event details, offender characteristics, and motives for the violent crime. Results A total of 16 cases of female family mass shooters occurred between 2007 and 2022. In three cases, mass shootings were completed in conjunction with a male offender. Results of this study found that motives for crimes varied from custody battles to severe mental health issues to recent or traumatic relationship problems. Conclusion The findings of this study contribute to the limited research on female-perpetrated mass shootings, providing insight into their distinctive patterns of behavior. By identifying motivations and characteristics of at-risk individuals, this study highlights the importance of targeted intervention strategies. Future studies should continue to examine more cases of female family mass shooters to establish more of an evidence base, which would allow for the development of more effective prevention and intervention methods.