Tuesday\u2019s mass school shooting inside a Texas elementary school classroom was the deadliest campus attack in about a decade \u2014 and has refocused attention on the frequency of such devastating carnage on American victims.<\/p>\n
The tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, which resulted in the deaths of at least 19 children and two teachers, unfolded just 10 days after the nation was shocked by a mass shooting that left 10 people dead at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.<\/p>\n
It could be more than a coincidence: A growing body of research<\/a> suggests these assaults have a tendency to spread like a viral disease. A research theory called the contagion effect suggests that mass shootings often happen in clusters, with intense media coverage playing a significant role in subsequent attacks. About a dozen studies, dating to the 1970s, suggest this is the case.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong>At Least 19 Children and 2 Adults Dead in Texas Elementary School Shooting<\/a><\/p>\n The U.S. has experienced 16 mass shootings in just 10 days, including the carnage in Buffalo and Uvalde. That\u2019s according to a tally by the Gun Violence Archive<\/a>, which tracks shootings that result in at least four injuries or deaths. So far this year, the U.S. has endured 212 mass shootings in which four or more people were shot or killed, according to the archive.<\/p>\n The tragedy in Texas has reignited the country\u2019s divisive and cyclical debate over gun laws, with President Joe Biden asking in an emotional White House address Tuesday night, \u201cWhen in God\u2019s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong>How Columbine Went Viral<\/a><\/p>\n Jaclyn Schildkraut, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York Oswego, said shooters are often motivated by a desire for fame. She\u2019s a proponent of the \u201cNo Notoriety\u201d campaign<\/a>, which urges media outlets to limit the frequency with which they publish a shooting suspect\u2019s name and photograph.<\/p>\n Attackers \u201cwant people to know who they are, they want their name recognition, and so when we remove that incentive and we don\u2019t report their names, we aren\u2019t rewarding people for killing other people by making them celebrities,\u201d Schildkraut said. \u201cIt\u2019s also removing the incentive for other like-minded individuals who may be seeing the amount of coverage that a case is getting and want similar attention.\u201d<\/p>\n