On Monday, six people, three of them children who didn’t live to see age 9, were murdered in Nashville at the hands of a shooter armed with assault-style weapons. This problem of mass shootings, including those that target children at schools, has caused some lawmakers to essentially throw up their hands in defeat. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is either unable or unwilling to envision a legislative solution, asserted in an interview that Congress is “not gonna fix” the problem of school shootings and argued that the U.S. needs not gun control legislation but a “real revival.” But as prosecutors, we count strong gun laws among the practical, commonsense legislative solutions that have saved lives. And key among these solutions are red flag laws.
The problem of mass shootings, including those that target children at schools, has caused some lawmakers to essentially throw up their hands in defeat.
The Nashville shooter was able to legally obtain seven weapons, three of which were used in the attack, which police say was “calculated and planned.” Significantly, as in so many other mass shootings, early reporting indicates that the attacker exhibited troubling warning signs to family members. Nashville Police Chief John Drake has said the shooter’s parents felt the 28-year-old “should not own weapons.”
This is an all-too-common fact pattern for such crimes. According to a 2021 Everytown for Gun Safety report, perpetrators in 56% of mass shootings exhibited dangerous warning signs before they carried out their attacks. In a 2021 Department of Homeland Security analysis, two-thirds of attackers in mass shootings exhibited behaviors or communications “that were so concerning, they should have been met with an immediate response.”
It’s even more traumatizing to victims and even those who read or watch reports of a deadly mass shooting every time we learn that it might have been prevented. Critically, there’s something we as a country can…
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