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Half of all mass assaults in the United States from 2016 to 2020 were sparked by personal, family or workplace disputes, according to a new U.S. Secret Service report aimed at preventing violence by identifying warning signs.
The attackers were overwhelmingly male and often had mental health symptoms, financial insecurity or a history of involvement in domestic violence. Guns are usually the weapon of choice.
The report comes days after two mass shootings in California killed 18 people and authorities were looking for a motive for the attacks, both involving older men.
The United States has seen mass shootings recurring in recent decades, but lawmakers remain divided on a solution, with Democrats calling for more gun control measures and Republicans focusing on mental health and enhanced safety.
The 70-page report, released Wednesday by the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, reviewed 173 incidents in which three or more people were injured. The attacks targeted places such as workplaces, schools, religious institutions and public transport, killing 513 people and injuring 1,234.
Lina Alathari, the center’s director, told reporters that the behavior of the perpetrators was common and could have helped others spot problems beforehand.
“The interest in violence, the interest in previous mass attackers, posting about them, talking to people about them, bringing weapons to the workplace, bringing weapons to schools, co-workers being afraid of them, resentment,” she said. “These are themes that we see over and over again.”
The report found that firearms were used in 73 percent of incidents, including some who were prohibited from owning firearms.
State-level “red flag laws” that allow courts to order the removal of firearms from people at risk could limit such attacks, the report said. (Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio)
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