Overlooking Female Perpetrators of Mass Violence
The article argues that women can and do carry out mass or targeted shootings, yet their cases are often overlooked because of sexism, media focus, and inconsistent definitions of mass violence. It says this blind spot can cause warning signs to be missed and allow female offenders to evade intervention. In plots involving couples, the article states that the woman is almost always the main planner.
In threat-assessment training, participants readily named male attackers from several notorious school shootings but could not identify women who had carried out or planned comparable violence; some mistook them for victims. This gap can cause early warnings to be dismissed and chances for intervention to be lost.
The article attributes the blind spot to three forces: inconsistent labels for mass, rampage, and targeted killings; media preference for high-casualty male cases; and sexist assumptions that women act only under male influence or from passion. It also notes that while women commit under 3% of mass shootings, they are involved in about a quarter of rampage and targeted attacks, and in mixed-gender plots they are usually the main planner.
This story could affect threat-assessment teams, educators, media outlets, and communities by challenging assumptions about who may plan violence. If warning signs from women and girls are overlooked, interventions may be delayed, potentially leaving students, teachers, and others at greater risk. Greater awareness may help identify mixed-gender plots earlier, but it could also encourage unfair suspicion of women and girls if not balanced with evidence and care.