Scientists pinpointed factors that put a community at risk of a mass shooting — and found 2 gun laws that could make a difference

A mass shooting at a bar in the Los Angeles-area suburb of Thousand Oaks has
Recently, researchers from the University of Toledo in Ohio analyzed 155
gun laws
.
the study was intended to highlight a holistic approach to reducing gun violence.

There have been 307 mass shootings in the US so far in 2018.

On Wednesday, a 28-year-old Marine veteran opened fire inside the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, a Los Angeles-area suburb.

Because these deadly events have become so common in the US, a team of researchers from the University of Toledo in Ohio set out to look for patterns or similarities among communities that have dealt with a mass shooting.

They looked at 155 mass shootings in the US (defined as an event with four or more fatalities, excluding the shooter). Their research, which was

These include a shortage of mental-health professionals, a lack of opportunities for social interaction, greater income inequality, and relatively high housing costs.

Two common gun restriction laws were also found to be correlated with a lower incidence of mass shootings: a requirement that mental-health records get reported in criminal background checks, and restrictions on open carry firearms.

Mental-health care as prevention

null BusinessInsider

Another important risk factor was a lack of socialization.

"If you look at communities where these events occurred, the average individual had 10.5 to 11 people that they commonly associate with compared with an average of 13 or so close associations in communities where they didn't occur," noted in a release about the study.

Does gun control work?

The study's results suggest that not all gun laws are equal when it comes to lowering the risk of a mass shooting.

States with strict regulations, like New York and California, had high rates of mass shootings. But stricter gun laws were associated with less violent crime overall.

Plus, the results showed that

This study is the latest in a growing body of evidence that certain gun-control policies can reduce rates of gun violence.

compared with states where gun laws are strictest.

And last month, a first-of-its-kind analysis found that gun injuries sent 75,000 US children and teens to emergency rooms over nine years. The total cost: almost $3 billion.

We could solve this problem if we wanted to

Markowiak stressed that his team's conclusions were apolitical and only based on correlation, not causation. So he doesn't have recommendations about specific gun-control policies. But he said he hopes the results lead political and community leaders to prioritize community health across the nation and take a holistic approach to combatting mass shootings.

Markowiak noted, though, that he fears the sharp divisions within the American political landscape are stalling potential improvements.

"If we could be more honest with ourselves, and talk about things with less of a heated political sense, we might move past some of these issues," Markowiak said. "We have to be able to agree on the facts. That's what our project is — trying to kick-start a discussion and provide some evidence."

Another barrier to progress in reversing the mass-shooting trend, Markowiak added, is that organizations like the NIH, CDC, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — which are known for gathering data that informs policy making — have seen their ability to research gun violence restricted.

Indeed, the US spends less money researching gun violence than it does on almost any other leading cause of death. That's because of "incredibly poor leadership decisions" from lawmakers, Markowiak said.

"The reality is, we could solve this problem if we wanted to," he said. "We have these excellent resources available to our country that have a decades-old history of solving public-health crises."

Scientists pinpointed factors that put a community at risk of a mass shooting — and found 2 gun laws that could make a difference

Mental-health care as prevention

Does gun control work?

We could solve this problem if we wanted to

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!