(3 of 4)
That, however, does not mean that mass murder is conducted entirely without feeling. For the killer, the powerlessness that came from a sense of victimization has been replaced by its perfect opposite--a heady experience that may produce an implacable serenity on the one hand, or the eerily jocular banter that surveillance tapes picked up between Harris and Klebold in Columbine on the other. Making the gunman calmer still is the fact that he has long since convinced himself that the world brought the carnage on itself. Because nobody is exempt from membership in that world, nobody's exempt from the line of fire either. "You forced me into a corner. The decision was yours," were among the most disturbing lines in the suicide videos that Cho left behind, but they may also have been the least original.
However long it takes the killing to play out, when the crime is finally over, the shooter almost never expects to survive. Indeed, he typically doesn't want to. Achieving the state of nihilistic certainty that's necessary to commit the killings is one thing; crossing back to the world of the living afterward may be well-nigh impossible. "They are both homicidal and suicidal," says Pollack. "After the attack they are simply waiting for the next step, which they assume is the police shooting them." Most killers don't wait even that long, taking their own lives before whatever killing room they have barricaded themselves inside can be stormed.
If there is a hopeful lesson to be drawn from this week's tragedy, it's that people planning mass murder sometimes seem to recognize the dark place they're headed toward and, even as they're cooking up their carnage, send out warning signals. The federal school study after Columbine found that in more than 75% of cases, at least one person had knowledge of the killer's plans. In 40% of cases, that knowledge actually included detailed descriptions of precisely where and when the attacks would happen. Klebold and Harris went so far as to post their lethal ruminations on the Web. The key, Pollack insists, is for friends and family members to be alert to these and other cues and to act on them--fast. "Connection, connection, connection," he says. "It's through these connections that people in authority, when they hear certain things, can provide the appropriate help."
The larger culture can help as well--particularly the media. It may be uncomfortable for any journalist to admit it, but the flood-the-zone coverage that usually follows mass murders simply confirms a potential killer's belief that what he sees as his small and inconsequential life can end on a large and monstrous chord, even if he won't be around to enjoy the transformation. "We glorify and revere these seemingly powerful people who take life," says Kaye. "Meanwhile, I bet you couldn't tell me the name of even one of Ted Bundy's victims."
Sadly, Kaye's indictment is well founded. But he's also right in his choice of words. People like Cho are indeed only seemingly powerful. In an open culture with cheap and plentiful guns, any fool can kill a lot of people. For all the loss and suffering such a shooting sparks, it is in fact a weak and furtive act, one that masquerades as a gesture of sublime power but is really an act of confusion and cowardice. The very purpose of the murders, Welner explains, is to give the shooter the last word. Unfortunately, what he says when he at last has that chance to be heard is: "I surrender." [This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy or pdf.]
A History Of Violence.
They're seared into our memories, but rampages are exceedingly rare Death on campus Washington began collecting detailed statistics on campus deaths in 2001. Earlier figures may not be comprehensive 1965--2007 Violent deaths at schools, Grades K-12 Detailed data collection began in 1992. Despite several high-profile killings, overall violent crime in schools has dropped 54% since then. In 2005 a student had roughly 1 chance in 2 million of dying violently at school
Known multiple killings
Murders on U.S. campuses '65 '66 Austin, Texas Firing from the observation deck of the tower at the University of Texas, Charles Whitman kills 16 and wounds 31
'70 Kent, Ohio National Guard troops kill four students and wound nine during an antiwar protest
'75
'76 Fullerton, Calif. Edward Allaway, a mentally ill custodian at California State University, kills seven co-workers
'80 '85
'90 '91 Iowa City, Iowa Graduate student Gang Lu kills five employees of the University of Iowa. He then kills himself '92 Death on campus 17 Grades K-12 '93 Death on campus 15 Grades K-12 56 '94 Death on campus 19 Grades K-12 53 '95 Death on campus Grades K-12 '96 Death on campus 15 Grades K-12 22 San Diego Frederick Davidson kills three professors during his thesis presentation '97 Death on campus 19 Grades K-12 36
'98 Death on campus 21 Grades K-12 44
'99 Death on campus 11 Grades K-12 31 Columbine High School, Littleton, Colo. '00 Death on campus 20 Grades K-12 32 '01 Death on campus 18 Grades K-12 24 '02 Death on campus 23 Grades K-12 5
'03 Death on campus 9 Grades K-12 22 '04 Death on campus 16 Grades K-12 42
'05 Death on campus 11 Grades K-12 28 Red Lake Indian Reservation High School, Minnesota '06 Death on campus Data not yet available Grades K-12 5 '07 Death on campus 33 Grades K-12 19 Amish schoolhouse, Nickel Mines, Pa.
Blacksburg, Va. Cho Seung-Hui kills 32 students and himself at Virginia Tech
Unusual circumstances Nearly all homicides involve a single victim. Mass killings are less than one-quarter of 1% of U.S. homicides 1975--2005
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5% 2 victims 3 victims 4 or more victims
Decreasing violence Violent crime on college campuses has been dropping for years. Less than 10% of campus crimes involve a firearm
Violent crimes against college students (rate per 1,000 people) 100 80 60 40 20 0
'95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 Use of guns in crimes against college students (1995-2000)
9% Guns
26% Other weapon/unknown