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Is it possible to stop a mass shooting epidemic?

Two authors say prevention starts with data-driven solutions

A woman leaves a bouquet of flowers next to a police cruiser parked outside the Boulder Police Department after an officer was one of the victims of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Boulder, Colo.

 David Zalubowski / AP Photo

A woman leaves a bouquet of flowers next to a police cruiser parked outside the Boulder Police Department after an officer was one of the victims of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Boulder, Colo.

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Airdate: Wednesday, September 1, 2021

For many years, criminologists Jillian Peterson, Ph.D., and James Densley, Ph.D., have studied mass shootings and the people who carry them out.

One of the most jarring points made in their new book THE VIOLENCE PROJECT: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic is that most of those who commit mass shootings aren’t monsters, but have been exposed to or were victims of violence or trauma, reached a crisis in their lives and had access to firearms. Often, they blend into the crowd and look and live like everyone else.

Dr. Peterson and Dr. Densley appear on Smart Talk Wednesday to offer insight to their research and a hopeful look at stopping the violence before it happens.

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