All posts tagged: shootings

Why Do ChatGPT Users Keep Committing Mass Shootings?

Why Do ChatGPT Users Keep Committing Mass Shootings?

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Content warning: this story includes discussion of self-harm and suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. On February 10, an 18-year-old named Jesse Van Rootselaar killed two family members at her home, as well as five children and a teacher at a school in British Columbia, and eventually herself. It quickly emerged that OpenAI had flagged Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT account for disturbing conversations, but never notified law enforcement. A second account tied to the shooter was also been banned for interactions about gun violence. The incident reignited a heated debate over the troubling relationship between the use of AI chatbots and deteriorating mental health, as well as the potential risk of violence. Just eight months earlier, an individual fatally shot two people at Florida State University and injured seven others. The prime suspect, 20-year-old student …

Parkland Shooting’s Jackie Corin on Zendaya-Pattinson Movie

Parkland Shooting’s Jackie Corin on Zendaya-Pattinson Movie

Published by Daniella Wilson

A24‘s dark comedy feature The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, has already become the focus of debate, despite the studio’s efforts to conceal the film’s true subject matter from its marketing. As revealed in media reports about the project that hits theaters Friday, writer-director Kristoffer Borgli‘s movie (spoilers ahead) centers on Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Pattinson), whose impending nuptials are thrown into jeopardy after the bride-to-be reveals that she planned a school shooting as a teen — and even took her dad’s weapon to school — but ultimately did not go through with it. During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Jackie Corin — co-founder of March for Our Lives and a survivor of the 2018 Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that took 17 lives — calls the film “an inevitable evolution in storytelling,” given how frequently school attacks are part of the cultural narrative. “Gun violence, particularly in schools, is not just another dramatic device,” says Corin, who had yet to see the film. “Art has the capacity to deepen …

Republican rhetoric on mass shootings does not change public opinion on gun reform

Republican rhetoric on mass shootings does not change public opinion on gun reform

Published by José Betancourt

New research published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law suggests that changing how politicians talk about mass shootings has little impact on the public’s views regarding gun control. While political statements often sway voter opinions on other issues, Americans appear to have deeply entrenched views on firearm policies that are not easily moved by alternative political rhetoric. In recent years, the United States has experienced more than 600 mass shootings annually. The immense scale of this public health crisis has pressured some lawmakers to reconsider how they respond to these tragedies in the public sphere. Republican lawmakers regularly offer “thoughts and prayers” to victims of gun violence. This specific phrasing became highly unpopular over time as the frequency of mass shootings increased. Following events like the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in the summer of 2022, some politicians began adjusting their public messages to avoid severe public backlash. “This project was first conceived when I was a Klarman postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. My co-authors and I were discussing a recent …

U2 join Bruce Springsteen in releasing six surprise ‘songs of defiance’ in response to ICE shootings

U2 join Bruce Springsteen in releasing six surprise ‘songs of defiance’ in response to ICE shootings

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This U2 have joined fellow rocker Bruce Springsteen in releasing songs in response to current events in America, including the shooting death of Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Titled Days of Ash, the band’s new six-song EP is described in a press release as “an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom.” U2 frontman Bono said in a statement that the tracks are “very different in mood and theme” from those that will be released as part of the band’s new album later this year. “These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world,” he said. “They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation. “Songs of celebration will follow, we’re working on those now… because for all the awfulness we see normalized …

Mass Shootings and the Bystander’s Resilience

Mass Shootings and the Bystander’s Resilience

Published by Jenni Sidey

Canada’s worst school shooting happened on February 12 in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, a small western community of 2,000. Eight are dead. A community is in mourning. A nation paused to remember those killed, as a few days later, leaders of the five major political parties in Canada all came together to offer their collective support to the community. They, like the entire population of Tumbler Ridge, and many others across Canada, were bystanders to a senseless act of violence. While there are plenty of studies of how bystanders respond when they see violence (and how their actions can prevent violence), there is little research on the impact of living in proximity to (or watching online) a mass casualty event like a school shooting. One notable exception is a new study led by Aparna Soni at the Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University that uses Gallup’s national survey data to show the effects on community well-being months after a mass shooting. That analysis included responses to questions about whether people continued to feel …

Canada shootings at a school and home leave 9 dead

Canada shootings at a school and home leave 9 dead

Published by Sam Flores

At least nine people have been killed and more than two dozen injured in shootings at a school and home in British Columbia, Canadian authorities said. Nina Krieger, minister of public safety for the province, described the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as “one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history.” Source link

Shootings at school and home in Canada leave 9 dead : NPR

Shootings at school and home in Canada leave 9 dead : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Tumbler RIdge Secondary School is shown in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Wednesday. Jesse Boily/The Canadian Press/AP hide caption toggle caption Jesse Boily/The Canadian Press/AP VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Police on Wednesday identified the suspect in a school shooting in Canada as an 18-year-old who had prior mental health calls to her home and who was found dead following the attack that killed eight people in a remote part of British Columbia. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said Jesse Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health contact with police, and that the suspect’s mother and stepbrother were found dead in a home near the school. The motive remained unclear. Police initially said nine people were killed Tuesday in the attack, but McDonald clarified Wednesday that there were eight fatalities, plus the suspect, who authorities said shot herself. McDonald said the discrepancy arose from a victim who was airlifted to a medical center. Authorities mistakenly thought that person had died. A map showing the location of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting. Will Jarrett/AP …

How watching violent videos of ICE arrests and shootings affects our mental health

How watching violent videos of ICE arrests and shootings affects our mental health

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The recent murders of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are drawing renewed attention to the activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. While they are not the only people to have been killed by ICE agents, first-hand videos of the events of their deaths have made us all witness to the extreme violence being carried out in the US. Multiple versions of the footage went viral globally, capturing the world’s palpable sense of injustice. These videos demonstrate how mobile media is transforming each of us into a new kind of witness to suffering. We need to find new ways to process such collective trauma and channel it toward meaningful action. Why some deaths grip the world Every day, we are exposed to loss, grief and death through our mobile phones. The distance between the participant …

After the Minneapolis shootings, Trump says his administration could use ‘a softer touch’ on immigration

After the Minneapolis shootings, Trump says his administration could use ‘a softer touch’ on immigration

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump told NBC News on Wednesday that he believes his administration could use “a softer touch” in its immigration enforcement operations after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens last month in Minneapolis. “I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump said in an Oval Office interview with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas. “We’re dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor. Spoke to ‘em. Had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there. Literally as though a call wasn’t made.” Tune in for even more of Tom Llamas’ interview with President Donald Trump on Super Bowl Sunday on NBC. Trump has been engaged in a weekslong feud with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, two Democrats who have been highly critical of his immigration crackdown in the city and condemned the fatal shootings of Renee Good …

Trump admin to withdraw 700 immigration agents from Minnesota after Minneapolis shootings, Homan says

Trump admin to withdraw 700 immigration agents from Minnesota after Minneapolis shootings, Homan says

Published by Sam Flores

The immigration crackdown prompted national outrage after federal authorities fatally shot two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37. Trump administration officials have given mixed signals on whether they plan to raise or lower the temperature in the Twin Cities. Immediately following Pretti’s killing — before meaningful evidence from any investigation into the incident was produced — Noem and top adviser Stephen Miller called the intensive care unit nurse a “domestic terrorist” and accused him of brandishing a firearm. Days later, the administration removed Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who was often present at violent encounters with protesters and arrests of immigrants. Bovino returned to his post in El Centro, California. Meanwhile, Homan arrived in Minneapolis the same week, where he quickly said that the situation could be improved and that the administration would “draw down” the operation in the state. In Wednesday’s news conference, he said there will now be one line of command in Minneapolis, rather than two. White House border czar Tom Homan speaks Wednesday at the Bishop Henry …