Mass shootings

In less than one week since last Friday's mass shooting at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Clinic, another horrific shooting has occurred at a San Bernadino social services center where they were having a holiday party, which seems to be the focus of the shooters.

How frequent are these shootings, anyway?  Several sources track them, but they use different definitions of a "mass shooting."    By the count of a Reddit online web site, "Guns Are Cool" (which is an ironic title, by the way;  they do not believe that guns are cool), San Bernadino is the 355th mass shooting this year, and it's only day#336.   In fact, it was actually the second of the day on Wednesday.   Most don't make the national news.  The Reddit site counts any event in which "four or more people [including the shooter] are shot [not necessarily killed] in a spree."  

Mother Jones magazine's "Guide to Mass Shootings in America" defines a mass shooting as a single episode carried out by a single shooter in a single location, usually a public place, that kills at least four people.   And they exclude crimes that are primarily gang activity, armed robbery, and domestic violence.   By their criteria, there have been 72 mass shootings since 1982.   It would not include either the recent Colorado City (not a lone shooter) or San Bernadino (only three killed). 

Both measures contain useful information, although it seems the Mother Jones method leaves out a lot of incidents that are terrorizing.   Both point to a horrific shame and indictment of our society.   Are we just going to accept this as the new normal?

But why this one, particularly?   We are no longer so shocked when there is an attack on a Planned Parenthood facility or provider, with all of the intense feelings about abortion;  but why on earth would anyone want to attack a center that provides services for developmentally disabled individuals?

Could this be the real face of terrorism?   Attack where you least expect it . . . so you never know where they might hit next?    I'm writing this just before midnight on Wednesday.   By the time you are reading it, some answers may be known as to who? and why?   At this point, there are more questions than answers

Ralph

[8:30 am Thursday.   The two dead suspects have been identified.   The man was employed by the group that was having the party at the Center.   He had attended the party, but reportedly left angry -- and then returned later in the combat gear and with a woman companion (reputedly his wife) and they opened fire.   So this may be a workplace resentment situation -- or, given the obvious preparations ahead of time, perhaps there were other motives as well.]