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A Disturbing New Pattern in Mass Shootings: Young Assailants
Glenn Thrush and Matt Richtel
Thu, June 2, 2022, 4:45 AM·10 min read
WASHINGTON — The two young men accused of carrying out the massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, followed a familiar path: They legally bought semi-automatic rifles right after turning 18, posted images intended to display their strength and menace — and then turned those weapons on innocent people.
As investigators and researchers determine how the tragedies unfolded, the age of the accused has emerged as a key factor in understanding how two teenagers became driven to acquire such deadly firepower and how it led them to mass shootings.
They fit in a critical age range — roughly 15 to 25 — that law enforcement officials, researchers and policy experts consider a hazardous crossroads for young men, a period when they are in the throes of developmental changes and societal pressures that can turn them toward violence in general, and, in the rarest cases, mass shootings.
Glenn Thrush and Matt Richtel
Thu, June 2, 2022, 4:45 AM·10 min read
WASHINGTON — The two young men accused of carrying out the massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, followed a familiar path: They legally bought semi-automatic rifles right after turning 18, posted images intended to display their strength and menace — and then turned those weapons on innocent people.
As investigators and researchers determine how the tragedies unfolded, the age of the accused has emerged as a key factor in understanding how two teenagers became driven to acquire such deadly firepower and how it led them to mass shootings.
They fit in a critical age range — roughly 15 to 25 — that law enforcement officials, researchers and policy experts consider a hazardous crossroads for young men, a period when they are in the throes of developmental changes and societal pressures that can turn them toward violence in general, and, in the rarest cases, mass shootings.
