The Secret Service studied 173 mass attacks, but much of the resulting coverage focused on firearms while giving far less attention to recurring behavioral and mental-health warning signs. That omission leaves readers with plenty of blame and far fewer serious solutions.
The Secret Service Studied 173 Mass Attacks
The Secret Service recently published a 60-page report detailing its data about mass public attacks. The study was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center and examines 173 incidents that occurred between 2016 and 2020.
This was not a narrow review of one location, one weapon, or one type of target. The report examined attacks across public and semi-public locations, including businesses, schools, houses of worship, open spaces, and other places where Americans live their daily lives.
Each attack included in the report resulted in at least “three or more individuals injured or killed across public or semi-public spaces, including businesses, schools, and houses of worship.”
Most coverage of the Secret Service mass shooting report shares one predictable theme: it points the finger at guns and places responsibility on “guns” in general.
But that conclusion is far from complete, and the Secret Service report itself presents a much broader picture. Firearms may be part of the discussion, but the report also spends considerable time examining attackers, motives, behaviors, warning signs, personal stressors, and circumstances preceding the violence.
The term “mental health” is used 57 times in the 60-page report, yet reports generated by the mainstream media often give that aspect far less attention.
The Mental-Health Detail Coverage Barely Touched
That omission matters because media coverage plays an enormous role in shaping how the public understands mass attacks, mental health, firearms, and prevention.
When coverage reduces a 60-page behavioral-threat study to another argument about an object, readers lose important context. They hear about the final tool used during an attack while learning far less about the warning signs, crises, grievances, instability, and behaviors that may have appeared before it.
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Like many articles written these days, there is plenty of finger-pointing and very little discussion of workable solutions. The quick answer is often to attack the Second Amendment, which we all know would create more issues than it would “fix.”
Hold My Guns Offers a Voluntary, Rights-Respecting Option
One nonprofit working on a practical, voluntary response is Hold My Guns. Its mission is to connect responsible firearm owners with private, off-site firearm storage options through a national network of gun shops and FFLs during times of mental-health crisis or personal need.
The idea does not begin with confiscation, criminalization, or punishment. It gives gun owners a way to make a responsible decision voluntarily, privately, and without treating ordinary firearm ownership as suspicious behavior.
“Guns are common household items, and gun ownership is a normal part of American life,” said Sarah Joy Albrecht, Founder and Executive Director of Hold My Guns.
“According to the 2021 National Firearms Survey, 32% of the U.S. adult population ages 18 and over own firearms – this translates to about 81.4 million Americans. Prioritizing accessibility to voluntary firearms storage empowers gun owners to responsibly manage their personal matters without stigma or fear of losing their Constitutionally-protected rights,” she continued.
Gun-Free Zones Add Another Uncomfortable Question
To further understand mass shootings, it is important to acknowledge all sides of the topic. S.H. Blannelberry wrote an interesting article that helped contextualize mass public shootings. Of everything mentioned in that article, one statistic really stood out.
It is difficult to study this pie chart without seeing an overwhelming trend. Criminalizing firearms or responsible firearm owners will not fix the problem.
A sign on a door does not physically stop a person who has already decided to commit murder. It does, however, establish rules that peaceful and law-abiding people are expected to follow. That distinction deserves a place in any honest discussion about public safety.
Blame Is Easy. Prevention Is Harder.
What is our best approach? What is the answer?
Those are difficult questions, and no honest person should pretend that one law, one program, or one talking point will solve every case. Still, one thing is certain: gun-control fanatics doing what they have been doing, creating gun-free zones and trying to strip us of our 2A rights, is not working.
A serious response should examine the complete chain of events, not only the object used at the end of it. That means looking at warning behaviors, threats, personal crises, access to help, voluntary storage, institutional failures, security, and the ability of communities to recognize danger before violence begins.
Ignoring those factors does not make the public safer. It only makes the conversation easier for people who already decided what they wanted the report to say.
Read the Full Secret Service Mass Attack Study
The complete Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020 report is available directly from the U.S. Secret Service. Read the full study and decide whether the headlines gave readers the whole story.
Read the full article here
