Understanding shooter’s motives may help prevent future violence

At last count, the death toll from Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas perpetrated by Stephen Paddock tops almost 60, and injuries from the violence number over 500. In an interview with a reporter at FOX Carolina, Furman Philosophy professor Carmela Epright says, “I’ve spent my life caring … about why people do these things.” Epright reports that people are quick to assume a mass shooter suffers with mental illness, but in most cases, the killer knows exactly what he’s doing and is typically very angry or has some kind of grievance. Epright believes with the proper intervention, would-be killers can be helped and stopped.