Why labeling mass shooters as "monsters" could hurt efforts to stop them
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Criminologists tell 60 Minutes that dismissing shooters as incomprehensible villains misses an opportunity to prevent the crime.
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60 Minutes Overtime Why labeling mass shooters as "monsters" could hurt efforts to stop them By Brit McCandless Farmer March 1, 2026 / 7:00 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi examines a question that is increasingly being tested in American courtrooms: When a child carries out a mass school shooting, should a parent be held criminally responsible ? That question has been unfolding most recently in Barrow County, Georgia, where prosecutors have charged Colin Gray, the father of a 14-year-old accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School in 2024. Prosecutors allege that Gray ignored warning signs about his son's mental health and purchased the AR-style rifle used in the attack. The Georgia case follows another landmark prosecution in Michigan, where the parents of the shooter at Oxford High School were convicted in 2024 and sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. It marked one of the first times parents were held criminally liable for their child's role in a deadly school shooting. In both cases, investigators say there were clear warning signs before the violence — and that firearms were made accessible by parents. A pattern of despair Criminologists James Densley and Jillian Peterson have spent the past decade studying hundreds of mass shootings. They are co-founders of The Violence Prevention Project, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that researches mass violence and pathways to prevention. "These are not young people who are criminal masterminds," Densley told 60 Minutes. "These are crimes that are rooted in despair." Through interviews with mass shooters and people who knew them, Densley and Peterson say they've identified recurring patterns: early trauma, abuse in the home, chronic bullying, and easy access to firearms. Many shooters, they say, were also influenced by online communities that reinforced violent thinking. "These things start to overwhelm that young person's character," Densley said...
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