Reports of multiple shooters seems to be the norm

[cthulu2016]

Last edited Mon Sep 16, 2013, 01:40 PM - Edit history (1)

In almost any single-shooter mass-shooting type incident at a school or office building or other spread-out location, it will credibly appear, to some perfectly reasonable persons, that there are multiple shooters.

The shooter moves around. Cops return fire. An off-duty cop somewhere returns fire. Doors slam. Furniture is over-turned. And witnesses combine eye-witness and second hand information -- co-worker says they saw the guy "in there" and another says they saw a guy "over that-away" and you saw the guy out there. After cops get inside they batter locked doors from their hinges with a ram or even little explosive devices. And, of course, as silly as this sounds, echoes.

So it is no way surprising that we always get early reports of multiple shooters. And it is very correct for police to chase down all such leads.

Also, a math thing. There will always be erroneous early reports. If there is, in fact, a shooting and only one shooter then all erroneous reports of # of shooters will be on the upside.

re: Navy Yard shooter(s). The police say there is a shooter dead and they are looking for two other persons they'd like to know more about. It is likely, IMO, that the number will settle at one. But they have to follow the leads -- properly so -- of men other than the shooter reported being seen with guns.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Unfortunately, initial rumor mill reporting begets conspiracy theories.

Remember the "second-shooter" at Sandy Hook, who was nothing more than a father who had rushed towards the school because his daughter was inside?

Remember the "bomb at the JFK library" during Boston?

Anyone remember reports of a bomb at the State Department during September 11th?

All sorts of crazy stuff gets reported as fact at the very onset of these breaking stories, only to be discredited later in the day. Unfortunately, the conspiracy theorists won't recognize this and will obsess about these stories as if they were ever actually true, and claim a coverup because of it.

[LisaL]

3. Sometimes there actually is more than one perp.

Boston bombers, DC snipers, etc.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Very true.

But almost all the time there are many initial reports that are later completely discredited.

Your mention of the DC Snipers is an excellent example. Remember how everyone was obsessed about looking for white vans, and the shooters actually were driving around in a brown sedan?

[cthulu2016]

5. In this one we have two descriptions of *potential* shooters the police are

seeking. Both are people seen somewhere with a gun.

Since there were park police, us marshals, dc police, probably some military folks, and heavens knows who else it confusing stuff.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. And just imagine in the gun enthusiast fantasy world.....

Where some CCW holder starts shooting at the other shooter. Imagine the chaos coming out of that situation and trying to determine who is the "bad guy".

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Like it almost happened when the congresswoman (Giffords) was shot

The ccw holder started to clear leader, instead he thought it over and restrained Loughner. He admitted he might have shot the good guy who first engaged Loughner

[SheilaT]

12. Not only a bomb at the State Department,

but fires on the Mall. The fires on the Mall thing kept on being repeated for about 45 minutes, even though it would have been absurdly easy to send someone over to the Mall and notice there were no fires there.

[otohara]

2. The Norm - Says It All

about our exceptional nation when it comes to guns

[DanTex]

4. Good post. But the fact that there even is a "norm" for mass shootings is pretty depressing.

[LisaL]

8. It is the norm, since mass shootings are occuring regularly.

Seems like at least once a month there is one.

[Art_from_Ark]

14. According to ThingProgress, there have already been at least 14 since Newtown

not including this latest one.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/06/14/2116461/there-have-been-14-mass-shootings-in-the-six-months-since-newtown/

[cthulu2016]

9. .

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Exactly, if I may add, this confusion

Early on is not that uncommon in many other types of disasters either

[Lex]

13. Eye-witness reports on the clothing, etc. of the shooter are notoriously

unreliable due to the stress of the situation. I'm sure he's described all kind of ways with all kinds of color clothes so people begin to think it's 2 or more shooters.