What Are Spree Shootings?
A spree killing is a distinct form of mass violence characterized by the rapid execution of multiple homicides in a short time frame, often across multiple locations but without a significant cooling-off period between the murders. A spree killing is different from a serial killing, because there is lack of psychological decompression—no return to normalcy or emotional detachment between acts. Instead, the killings unfold in a sustained episode of violence, typically lasting hours to a few days at most, but can sometimes last a little longer.
Psychological Profiles
Psychologically, spree killers often exhibit a volatile blend of acute stress reaction, dysregulated affect, and externalized blame. Many experience a catastrophic breakdown in ego integrity, an erosion of the self, in which personal failure, humiliation, or perceived injustice becomes intolerable. Rather than internalizing this rupture, they project it outward, often engaging in a form of retaliatory violence that functions as a maladaptive attempt to reassert control or agency.
The behavior is frequently impulsive, driven less by a calculated plan and more by overwhelming affective arousal/rage, despair, and disinhibition. In psychological terms, their might be traits aligned with borderline or antisocial personality, including emotional lability, grandiosity, and a lack of empathy. Delusions of persecution or nihilistic ideation (specifically nihilism) may also play a role, particularly in cases where the individual perceives their actions as a final, cathartic gesture against an unjust world.
Case Studies
- Hungerford Massacre (1987)
- Billy Cook (1950)
- Uvalde, Texas (2022)
Resources & Further Reading
For a deeper dive into criminology and mental health, explore the following: