# Why does the media portray mass shooters as mostly white men?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-media-portray-mass-shooters-as-mostly-white-men/837043
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [July 13, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-media-portray-mass-shooters-as-mostly-white-men/837043 "2019-07-13T23:24:42Z")
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### Author: ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-media-portray-mass-shooters-as-mostly-white-men/837043/8 "2019-07-14T00:04:52Z")

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This is not an analysis of what most people would describe as “mass shooters”, which I think are incidents with more deaths. The NYT looked at 358 shooting incidents in 2015 where there were 4 or more casualties (not deaths), including the initiating shooter (462 dead, 1330 injured).

> [@](#):
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> …The shootings took place everywhere, but mostly outdoors…Where motives could be gleaned, roughly half involved or suggested crime or gang activity…The typical victim was a man between 18 and 30…average age was 27…Most of the shootings occurred in economically downtrodden neighborhoods…39 domestic violence shootings, and they largely involved white attackers and victims. So did many of the high-profile massacres…Over all, though, nearly three-fourths of victims and suspected assailants whose race could be identified were black

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