Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Prev Med. 2019 Dec;129:105856. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105856.
Identifying the people and places affected by mass shootings depends on how "mass shooting" is defined. From the perspective of urban neighborhoods, it is likely the number of people injured within a proximate time and space, which determines the event's impact on perceptions of safety and social cohesion. We aimed to describe the incidence of "neighborhood" mass shootings in one US city and to determine how these events were communicated to the public through news media. This mixed-methods study analyzed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania police data from 2006 to 2015. Using rolling temporal and distance buffers, we isolated shooting events involving multiple victims within a defined time period and geography. Selecting a definition of neighborhood mass shooting consistent with other common mass shooting definitions in which ≥4 victims were shot within 1 h and 100 m, we identified 46 events involving 212 victims over 10 years. We then searched public news media databases and used directed content analysis to describe the range and headline content from reports associated with the 46 events. Neighborhood mass shooting victims were more likely to be younger and female compared to other firearm-injured individuals (p < 0.001). Seven (15%) events received no news media attention, and 30 (77%) of the 39 reported events were covered solely in local/regional news. Only one event was named a "mass shooting" in any associated headline. In Philadelphia, neighborhood mass shootings occur multiple times per year but receive limited media coverage. The population health impact of these events is likely under-appreciated by the public and policymakers.
确定大规模枪击事件的受害人和事发地点取决于“大规模枪击”的定义。从城市社区的角度来看，可能是在短时间和短距离内受伤的人数，这决定了事件对安全和社会凝聚力的感知的影响。我们旨在描述美国一个城市的“社区”大规模枪击事件的发生率，并确定这些事件如何通过新闻媒体向公众传播。这项混合方法研究分析了 2006 年至 2015 年宾夕法尼亚州费城的警察数据。使用滚动时间和距离缓冲区，我们隔离了在规定时间和地理范围内涉及多名受害者的枪击事件。选择与其他常见的大规模枪击事件定义一致的社区大规模枪击事件的定义，即在 1 小时和 100 米范围内有≥4 名受害者被枪击，我们确定了 46 起涉及 10 年 212 名受害者的事件。然后，我们搜索了公共新闻媒体数据库，并使用定向内容分析描述了与 46 起事件相关的报告的范围和标题内容。社区大规模枪击事件的受害者与其他枪支受伤者相比，更年轻，女性比例更高（p<0.001）。有 7 起（15%）事件没有得到新闻媒体的关注，39 起报告事件中有 30 起（77%）仅在当地/地区新闻中报道。在任何相关标题中，只有一起事件被命名为“大规模枪击”。在费城，每年都会发生多次社区大规模枪击事件，但媒体报道有限。这些事件对公众和政策制定者的人口健康影响可能被低估。
