The 2012 mass shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, CO, and at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School have reignited the controversy over the mindset of rampage killers, who seemingly transform without warning from average people into cold-blooded murderers. This PBS-aired NOVA documentary is part of a series quickly put together with an aim toward detecting and preventing similar future crimes. Reporter/director Miles O'Brien seeks to discover whether killers are born or made, and if they are primarily motivated by a wish to kill or to die, either by their own hand, or "suicide by cop." The 1966 Austin, TX, sniper shootings by Charles Whitman, a clean-cut young man who went on a sudden, deadly killing spree, would set the pattern. At the time, speculation centered around a tumor or abnormality found in Whitman's brain, which might have altered the circuitry and thinking of a normal, well-adjusted person. Recent research points to more complex causes, including the roles of stress, anxiety, hormones, and parental abuse and neglect. Most killers are male, many in their teenage years (when the brain is not yet fully formed), and have been subject to bullying, peer pressure, and the all-important need to "fit in" and be accepted. Columbine killer Dylan Klebold was consumed by despair and a wish to die; hiding his feelings, he confided to his diary instead of parents, teachers, or friends. O'Brien interviews a mother who hides household knives from a son known for sudden rages, and a California school shooter who went from a "kind kid" and "class clown" to a murderer. Rampage shooters often die with the belief that it's "better to be infamous than invisible." Since human behavior doesn't change all that much over the decades, more coverage should have been given here to the role of high-powered weaponry and Internet social media in magnifying these crimes. As the documentary notes, predicting who will kill is like predicting the strength and track of a developing hurricane. An incomplete but unquestionably timely documentary, this is ultimately recommended, with reservations. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)
Mind of a Rampage Killer
(2013) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.95 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-60883-877-6. Volume 28, Issue 5
Mind of a Rampage Killer
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