Mass Shootings: Re-defining and Conceptualizing the Definition

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Project Summary

We are proud to highlight a new research collaboration that includes our lab鈥檚 founder,聽Dr. Robert Motley, as a Co-Principal Investigator on a team led by聽Dr. Christopher St. Vil聽(Associate Professor, University at Buffalo School of Social Work). Alongside Co-Principal Investigators聽Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra聽(Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work) and聽Dr. Tanya L. Sharpe聽(Professor, University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work), the team has been awarded a聽$414,981 grant聽from the聽Joyce Foundation聽for their project titled:

鈥淢ass Shootings: Re-defining and Conceptualizing the Definition.鈥�

This innovative study will explore the聽spatial and contextual patterns of mass shootings聽in the United States, addressing the long-standing disconnect between聽media-driven narratives聽and聽empirical realities. By combining:

  • Quantitative spatial analysis,
  • Qualitative media reviews,聽and
  • Insights from community town halls,

The research aims to uncover how聽mass shootings disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities, who are often left out of conventional definitions and policy conversations.

The study鈥檚 ultimate goal is to聽inform equitable, community-informed policy solutions聽and to advance聽prevention strategies grounded in lived experience.

We celebrate this important milestone and look forward to the impact this collaboration will have on how mass shootings are understood and addressed.

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