The Mass Shooting Epidemic—And What You Can Do About it

The Atlanta spa shooting is among the most recent installations in the mass shooting epidemic that has gripped our country so tightly. We aren’t even halfway through 2021, and we have already had 147 mass shooting incidents by April. In the year 2020, we had 611 mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of 513 people, as well as 2,543 injuries. Keep in mind that these stats come from the two years wherein we were all in a collective lockdown, when concerts and events weren’t happening, and when people were avoiding gatherings altogether.

If we can have mass shootings at times like these, imagine how much worse it would be when the country opens up again.

Why are Mass Shootings Happening?

There are various explanations that we can offer for the rising rates of mass shootings in the country. One of them is how we have so many veterans pulling out of war-torn regions, coming back to a country where they feel out-of-sorts. Many of these people have known nothing but killing for most of their lives—and now they’re finding out they can’t do it anymore.

There’s a reason so many mass shooters are veterans. At least 36% of these mass shooters have been militarily trained by the US—remember the concert shooting in Vegasor the one in Milwaukee? Those were veterans, too—which is why the shooter managed to inflict such lasting damage on so many people in such a small amount of time.

Standing Up Against Mass Shootings

There’s a reason why putting up a fight against mass shooters is so difficult for us as citizens. It could be anyone—the boy next door posting xenophobic comments on Facebook or a decorated veteran. Imagine going against someone who was trained to kill. If it’s a veteran-turned-shooter, you have very few chances of making out unscathed.

But it could be worse. It could be one of those school shootings, wherein little boys show up with weapons and kill the very children they played backyard games with.

We live in scary times.

Xenophobia and Paranoia

Among the reasons behind these mass shootings are the paranoia and xenophobic sentiments that are spreading throughout our country. Racism is at an all-time high—and we saw the consequences of unchecked racism in the many shootings that targeted Asians, Muslims, black people, Jews, and other minorities.

Sadly, regulating racism in the country isn’t something that can be easily done. What’s worse is that you can be singled out if you belong to a minority more easily than you think. Safety is fickle in our world today, and the only defense that we have against evil is to ensure we’re vigilant.

What You Can Do About Mass Shootings

No matter whether you’re the owner of a school or the manager of a bank, you should be taking the security of these places very seriously. FBY Security Services in NYC provide security to schools, hotels, malls, and more. Invest in these services before you have to condemn a similar incident.