Spree Killers

Spree Killers: Practical Classifications for Law Enforcement and Criminology is the only exhaustive, up-to-date analytical book on spree killers, standing apart from those dedicated to mass murderers and serial killers. Multicides have traditionally been categorized as double, triple, mass, serial and spree—while, mass and serial have been further divided into subcategories. Spree killing, which involves the killing of at least three persons at two or more locations due to a precipitating incident that fuels the urge to kill, remains a poorly defined concept. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) eliminated this term from its multicide nomenclature in 2005, but the authors examination of 359 cases involving 419 spree killers from 43 countries shows that not only is there enough diversity among spree killers to form classifications—similar to those devised for mass and serial—but also that subtypes offer distinct utility for identification, tracking, and warning potential targets. Spree Killers outline the designation of spree killer specifically and thoroughly. In addition to looking at existing literature, specific cases, and the behavioral patterns, it offers a fully worked up profile for the typology. The behaviors and motives for spree killers align in six categories, which are detailed in full. The book provides unique insight for police, forensic, and investigative personnel into what to look for to respond to, and—in some cases identify and stopping—certain types of spree killings.

20 April 1999, Columbine High School, Colorado, USA. Lunchtime. Enter Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold armed with shotguns. Pumping bullets into two classmates they left one dead and the other fighting for his life. They went on the rampage through the school leaving in their wake a trail of bloody death and destruction. In the aftermath, fifteen were dead, including the killers, and twenty-four were seriously injured. Spree Killers examines the events surrounding the world’s most shocking mass-killings; from the tortured drawn-out deaths of Hiroshima to the postal worker who made one too many deliveries and finally went crazy with a gun. Contents: Ancient Slayings including Viking Berserkers, Neolithic mass killings Mass Murder by the State including The Spanish Inquisition, The Holocaust, Russian Revolution Wartime Massacres including The Blitz, My Lai, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Breaking Point Killers including Derrick Bird, Raoul Moat, Appomattox shootings Also including School Massacres, Workplace Killings, Mission Murders

This investigation into spree killing analyses the psychology of this chilling and relatively new phenomenon. Cawthorne carefully examines each case – such as Michael Ryan, who slew sixteen in the English town of Hungerford - and shows how the killers suppress their violent fantasies until a small incident sparks off their fatal rampage.

Bestselling true-crime author Christopher Berry-Dee's latest book tackles the heavy crime of people who randomly kill large numbers of others (spree killers) and those who set out to do so in specific places or situations (mass killers). As such killings become more frequent, the ready availability and ease of obtaining firearms and weak backgrounds checks in the United States inevitably lends to many of these cases, but there have been other recent examples in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Norway, where extremely robust firearms legislation could not stop these horrific crimes. What is more difficult to establish is the motivation behind such killings. Some are occasioned by grievance, real or imagined, while others have their origins in a sense of failure or feelings of inadequacy, yet others seem to be driven by a desire for power over their fellow humans, often coupled with an overriding contempt for the lives of others. In a search for answers, Christopher Berry-Dee offers case studies in some of the most infamous mass killings of the past fifty years, from school massacres to workplace killings, hate crimes to familicides. But is the awful truth that such murderers are almost impossible to predict and therefore almost impossible to prevent? Dig in and find out.

WARNING: this book is NOT for the faint of heart! It depicts realistic violence with vile and malicious activities, and delve into the darkness of the human heart and mind. Two major motives fuel the Spree Killer's final, hate-filled act: revenge against the world and a desire to show that he is a person to be reckoned with. Tormented by his failure to achieve those things that seem to come so easily to others-satisfying work, loving relationships-he will prove that he is special in at least one regard: in his power to wreak havoc. Could you imagine being in an area like a mall or restaurant when someone pulls out weapons and starts killing people? It's scary! I have chosen thirteen of these stories to write about and compiled them in this book. * Columbine School Shooting * Rodrick Shonte Dantzler - Grand Rapids, Michigan * Michael Kenneth McLendon - Geneva County Massacre * Tim Kretschmer - The Winnenden School Shooting * Nidal Malik Hasan - Fort Hood Shooting * Joseph T. Wesbecker - The Standard Gravure Shooting * George Hennard - The Luby's Massacre * Seung-Hui Cho - Virginia Tech Killing Spree * Howard Barton Unruh - The Walk of Death, Camden, New Jersey * Michael Robert Ryan - The Hungerford Massacre * Patrick Henry Sherrill - Edmond United States Post Office Massacre

Spree killers are probably the most notorious and infamous of all multiple murderers, yet these criminals confuse and fascinate us more than any other. Kids going on the rampage have captured the headlines recently, but William Cruse was a sixty-one-year-old retired librarian when one day he snapped, killing six including two policemen then attempting to kill another 24. Nor is it possible to understand why the perpetrators kill, many of whom were killed by the police at the end of their sprees, and therefore unanswerable to their crimes. Those who survived are usually certified insane famously when Brenda Spencer, who had killed two and wounded nine, was asked why she had done it, she simply replied: 'I dont like Monday.' Spree Killers provides the horribly fascinating sometimes enigmatic and inexplicable but always terrifyingly gripping stories of 45 spree killers, from the first recorded incident in 1913 through to the most recent high school and shopping mall slaughters. Entries include: Charles Whitman, the 'sniper in the tower', Texas, 1966, killed 15, wounded 32; Brenda Spencer, San Diego, 1979, killed two, wounded nine; Edward Mann, Maryland, 1982, killed two, wounded eight; Woo Bum-kon, South Korea, killed 57, wounded 35; Marc Lepine, Montreal, 1989, killed 14, wounded 14; Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, Columbine, 1999, killed 13, wounded 24; Abbas al-Baqir Abbas, Sudan, killed 27, wounded 53; Virgin Tech massacre, 2007, killed 32, wounded 17; Isaac Zamora, Washington state, 2008, killed six, wounded two; Tim Kretschmer, Germany 2009, killed of 15, wounded nine; Jiverly Antares Wong, Birmingham, Alabama, 2009, killed 14.

Public mass killings are becoming more common. Though the chances of being harmed or killed in a mass shooting are slim, each incident affects the public's sense of safety. There are many myths and falsehoods concerning mass murderers. As a result, the public lacks reliable knowledge about the reasons behind such killings, preventing the development of comprehensive strategies to mitigate the violence. Written by a mental health therapist with thirty years of clinical experience in violence prevention, this book clarifies the realities of mass killings. Using research from forensic psychology, it provides a foundation for understanding the "pathway to violence" identified in the personal histories of many mass murderers. Drawing from criminology, neuroscience and developmental and social psychology, the author makes the case that we are all capable of creating a safer society.

Profiles more than twenty-five of Canada's most lethal mass and spree killers.