A US government report on mass attacks has called for communities to intervene quickly when they see warning signs of violence, saying workplace grievances and misogyny are the motivation behind many incidents.
The report, released by the US Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Centre, analysed 173 mass attacks carried out between January 2016 and December 2020 in public or semi-public places such as businesses, schools or churches.
It was released as the US experienced a particularly deadly start to the new year, with 39 people killed in six mass shootings.
They included one this week in Monterey Park, California, that killed 11 people in a dance hall as they celebrated the Lunar New Year.
“It’s just happening way too often,” said Lina Alathari, the centre’s director, before the report’s release.
The centre defines a mass attack as one in which three or more people — not including the attacker — were harmed.
Ms Alathari said that while the centre had not specifically studied the shootings that took place this week, there are themes seen “over and over again” when analysing mass attacks.
The report is the latest in a series undertaken by the centre to look at the problem of mass attacks.
Almost all the attacks were carried out by one person, 96 per cent of attackers were men, 57 per cent of them were white and the attackers ranged in age from 14 to 87 — with most falling in the 25 to 34 age group.
The report noted that nearly two thirds of attackers exhibited behaviour or communications “that were so concerning, they should have been met with an immediate response".
It said these concerns were often shared with law enforcement, employers, school staff or parents.
But in one fifth of the cases, the concerning behaviour was not relayed to anyone “in a position to respond, demonstrating a continued need to promote and facilitate bystander reporting”.
The report also called for greater attention towards domestic violence and misogyny, noting that nearly half of the attackers studied had a history of domestic violence, misogynistic behaviour or both.
“Though not all who possess misogynistic views are violent, viewpoints that describe women as the enemy or call for violence against women remain a cause for concern,” the report said.
About half of the attacks in the study involved a business location, and attackers often had a prior relationship with the business, as an employee, a customer or a former employer.
The report also noted the role that grievances such as workplace disputes or feuds with neighbours played in mass attacks.
About half the attacks were motivated “in whole or in part by a perceived grievance”, according to the report.
The US Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Centre report can be downloaded or read in its entirety online.
AP contributed to this report
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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