Let’s Stop Blaming Mental Illness For Mass Shootings

In the aftermath of the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, words like "demented," "insane," "sick" and "madman" peppered official responses, media coverage and public speculation. How else could we explain the tragedy in Las Vegas? But such loaded language obscures a simple fact: The majority of mass shooters do not have a diagnosed mental illness. More of us need to realize that it is wrong to automatically assume that mass shooting and mental illness go hand in hand. The umbrella category of mental illness is often invoked after a mass shooting, particularly when the perpetrator is white. Possible diagnoses are mulled over by the media, hinted at by those who knew the perpetrators, or simply assumed. The problem, however, is that determining an actual diagnosis is far more complex and cannot be done casually from a television studio or living room sofa. This fallback on mental illness, or other disability labels, flies in the face of data about mass shootings.