Schools and Workplaces: Favorite Targets for Mass Shooters in U.S.

The New York Times is featuring some research by Prof. Adam Lankford. This post offers a brief but deeper look at his research.

The chart from Prof. Lankford's research for this post shows that the U.S. has about 9 guns per every 10 residents. Serbia is next with 6 guns per 10 residents; Yemen is third with 5 guns per 10 residents.
Prof. Langford also finds that the favorite targets for mass shooters in the U.S. are schools and workplaces.
Prof. Lankford published “Are America’s Public Mass Shooters Unique? A Comparative Analysis of Offenders in the United States and Other Countries.” International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice (2016).

Here is a summary of his research:

Public mass shooters are often assumed to be an exceptionally American problem, but little is known about what proportion of global offenders attack in the United States, or how America’s offenders compare to those in other countries. The present study offers the first quantitative analysis of all known offenders from 1966 to 2012 who attacked anywhere on the globe and killed a minimum of four victims. The results suggest that public mass shooters in the United States are significantly more likely to arm themselves with multiple weapons and attack at school and workplace settings, while offenders from other countries are more likely to strike at military sites. These differences may be partially attributable to America’s national gun culture and its particular set of social strains.