By Naveed Saleh, MDLinx, August 29, 2019
Domestic terrorism has become a nationwide epidemic—and it’s contagious. As of this writing, there have been 271 mass shootings in 2019, leaving 290 people dead and 1,121 injured, according to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive. In early August, the mass shootings in Dayton, OH, and El Paso, TX, resulted in the deaths of 31 people in less than one day’s time.
Researchers have found that mass shootings are contagious, in the sense that one mass shooting inspires more mass shootings within the following days. Notably, in the weeks following the tragic co-occurrences in Dayton and El Paso, more than two dozen people were arrested for making mass shooting threats.
In the fight against epidemics and contagion, the work of physicians saves lives. So, you may be wondering how physicians can help with mass shootings. But before we get to what you can do, let’s look at some existing research on the topic.
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