Psychology of domestic abusers and mass shooters may overlap

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Podcasts Take Two

Nov 7, 2017

Listen • 5:34

Psychology of domestic abusers and mass shooters may overlap

"There's a sense in a lot of these incidents, both mass shootings and domestic violence, that the perpetrator has a feeling of grievance," NYT reporter Amanda Taub says.

Law enforcement officials gather near First Baptist Church following a shooting on November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

"There's a sense in a lot of these incidents, both mass shootings and domestic violence, that the perpetrator has a feeling of grievance," NYT reporter Amanda Taub says.

It isn't entirely clear what motivated the shooter in Sunday's attack on a Texas church. Authorities said that it might have been a domestic situation involving his wife's family who attended services there, and that the shooter had a history of being abusive.

He was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and stepson in 2012, while he was in the Air Force.

Amanda Taub of the New York Times wrote after the Pulse nightclub shooting about the possible parallels between those who commit domestic violence and acts of mass violence.

"There's a sense in a lot of these incidents, both mass shootings and domestic violence, that the perpetrator has a feeling of grievance," NYT reporter Amanda Taub says.

Listen to how the psychology of an abuser and a mass attacker may overlap. Click the audio player above.