Sorting out the specifics of the shooter\u2019s background and motivation will take investigators some time. Those who have studied mass killings say it\u2019s not uncommon for the perpetrators to harbor anger against society and express hatred toward various groups. Yet harboring such views doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they were the prime motivation for the crime, they say.<\/p>\n
Usually it\u2019s \u201ca toxic cocktail of factors,\u201d\u009d says Christopher Kilmartin, a professor of psychological science at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s one topic that\u2019s not getting enough discussion, he and some others say: masculinity. \u201cThe elephant in the room with … mass shootings is that almost all of them are being done by men,\u201d\u009d Professor Kilmartin says. Male shooters often \u201cproject their difficulties onto other people…. In this case, it sounds like he was blaming Christians for his problems, but the masculinity piece is what is really missing in the discussions about the equation.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n