Citation

Concordia M. J. Threat Assess. Manag. 2022; 9(2): 98-110.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/tam0000183

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

After a mass killing, the fundamental question is why did this happened. In most cases, the public is left uncertain or confused as to the attacker's true motives. This uncertainty leads to fear, a feeling of helplessness to stop the next attack, and over simplistic explanations for the "why" factor. Stakeholders from law enforcement, public health, and education sectors tasked with threat response and determining the threatener's motive face a formidable challenge. Clarity on what prompted the threat and what is the threatener's goal is important variables in violence prevention. However, many threat response and assessment stakeholders lack the awareness and training needed to conduct balanced and holistic threat responses and assessments that investigate beyond the proximal threat communication. A limited scope investigation can produce an over or underreaction which may have short- or long-term impacts on preventing acts of targeted lethality. The present article is a case study of a 19-year-old male who, along with three teenage coconspirators, planned to conduct an armed assault on a Muslim community in the Northeast United States. An opportunity presented itself years before the plot to conduct a holistic threat assessment and threat management plan for the professed leader of the conspiracy. Instead, the response was characteristic of the police protocols and training available at that time. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance of using a holistic multidisciplinary threat response and assessment to identify the threatener's motive and the why behind the behavior. Understanding the why is essential to preventing targeted lethality by creating informed early therapeutic interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en