Mark Follman

That's wrong. The identity of the shooter, that's wrong. And that has real impact in some of these cases, people who are falsely identified, not to mention the sort of categorical demagoguery that plays out. So I think it's really important to have good, solid, dispassionate reporting on what's happening. Follow the evidence, tell the story. That's what I do.

I think he committed suicide. Oh, that's so much worse than I thought. Oh my God. Don't quote me on that. I would have to refresh, but I think that was a dark case of that for sure.

I think he committed suicide. Oh, that's so much worse than I thought. Oh my God. Don't quote me on that. I would have to refresh, but I think that was a dark case of that for sure.

I think he committed suicide. Oh, that's so much worse than I thought. Oh my God. Don't quote me on that. I would have to refresh, but I think that was a dark case of that for sure.

So I'm glad you asked that because that's actually a big part of where this work started. In the 1980s, folks in the mental health field started collaborating with Secret Service, focused on the question of how can we prevent assassination. It was an era of a lot of political violence with assassinations and other things going on in the 1970s and 80s, including the shooting of Reagan.

So I'm glad you asked that because that's actually a big part of where this work started. In the 1980s, folks in the mental health field started collaborating with Secret Service, focused on the question of how can we prevent assassination. It was an era of a lot of political violence with assassinations and other things going on in the 1970s and 80s, including the shooting of Reagan.

So I'm glad you asked that because that's actually a big part of where this work started. In the 1980s, folks in the mental health field started collaborating with Secret Service, focused on the question of how can we prevent assassination. It was an era of a lot of political violence with assassinations and other things going on in the 1970s and 80s, including the shooting of Reagan.

After that event, which was about three months after John Lennon was murdered, they were talking about this and said, we got to do more to figure out, is there a way we can predict or better prevent people assassinating high profile public figures. And so that's where the collaboration actually began. The Secret Service started doing research quietly with some forensic psychologists.

After that event, which was about three months after John Lennon was murdered, they were talking about this and said, we got to do more to figure out, is there a way we can predict or better prevent people assassinating high profile public figures. And so that's where the collaboration actually began. The Secret Service started doing research quietly with some forensic psychologists.

After that event, which was about three months after John Lennon was murdered, they were talking about this and said, we got to do more to figure out, is there a way we can predict or better prevent people assassinating high profile public figures. And so that's where the collaboration actually began. The Secret Service started doing research quietly with some forensic psychologists.

And it's a really amazing story. They learned a lot from studying cases, not only of people who tried and succeeded in committing an attack of this nature, but then also looking at what they called near attacks. Cases that weren't really known to the public, but were foiled or came close. Perpetrators were incarcerated or institutionalized and studying them, studying who they were as human beings.

And it's a really amazing story. They learned a lot from studying cases, not only of people who tried and succeeded in committing an attack of this nature, but then also looking at what they called near attacks. Cases that weren't really known to the public, but were foiled or came close. Perpetrators were incarcerated or institutionalized and studying them, studying who they were as human beings.

And it's a really amazing story. They learned a lot from studying cases, not only of people who tried and succeeded in committing an attack of this nature, but then also looking at what they called near attacks. Cases that weren't really known to the public, but were foiled or came close. Perpetrators were incarcerated or institutionalized and studying them, studying who they were as human beings.

What led them to do this? And in a number of cases, talking to them directly saying, hey, we want to understand better what led you to become an assassin. You're the expert on this. And so we want to learn from you so that we can prevent it. And through that research, one of the key findings was that there's no way to profile based on characteristics or demographics, types of people.

What led them to do this? And in a number of cases, talking to them directly saying, hey, we want to understand better what led you to become an assassin. You're the expert on this. And so we want to learn from you so that we can prevent it. And through that research, one of the key findings was that there's no way to profile based on characteristics or demographics, types of people.

What led them to do this? And in a number of cases, talking to them directly saying, hey, we want to understand better what led you to become an assassin. You're the expert on this. And so we want to learn from you so that we can prevent it. And through that research, one of the key findings was that there's no way to profile based on characteristics or demographics, types of people.

You can profile the behavior. That's what behavioral threat assessment is. It's profiling a behavioral process. But there are all kinds of people who commit this type of targeted violence. They're different ages. They come from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic circumstances, different

You can profile the behavior. That's what behavioral threat assessment is. It's profiling a behavioral process. But there are all kinds of people who commit this type of targeted violence. They're different ages. They come from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic circumstances, different

You can profile the behavior. That's what behavioral threat assessment is. It's profiling a behavioral process. But there are all kinds of people who commit this type of targeted violence. They're different ages. They come from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic circumstances, different

Most of them are dudes, men, but that's not predictive of anything either because half the population in America is male. Most men in America aren't going to go try to assassinate the president or commit a school shooting. So no one characteristic or demographic factor tells you anything. It's about the behavior. It's about the process, the circumstances.