Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 Active Shooter Event Severity, Media Reporting, Offender Age and Location Philip Joshua Swift Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Communication Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, and the Public Policy Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Philip Swift has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Jonathan Cabiria, Committee Chairperson, Psychology Faculty Dr. James Herndon, Committee Member, Psychology Faculty Dr. Stephen Rice, University Reviewer, Psychology Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2017 Active Shooter Event Severity, Media Reporting, Offender Age and Location by Philip J. Swift MS, Forensic Psychology, Walden University, 2013 MBA, American Intercontinental University, 2006 MBA, American Intercontinental University, 2005 BS, Criminal Justice, American Intercontinental University, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Forensic Psychology Walden University February 2017 Abstract Following the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, it was hypothesized that offenders used knowledge gained from news media reports about previous events to plan mass shootings.