Active Shooter Situations

Incidents are labeled as an “active shooter” when the shooter killed and/or wounded victims, either targeted or random, within the school campus during a continuous episode of violence. The use of this definition/criteria for an “active shooter” blends the FBI’s definition with the homicide literature’s differentiation between a rampage killing versus a traditional homicide. It is important to note that there are widely differing definitions for mass killer, serial killer, rampage killer, active shooter, and school shooter (Madfis, 2020; Newman, 2004; Duwe, 2007; Fox, 2018; FBI; USSS; DOJ). 

There is no legal definition, or specific criminal charges, for an “active shooter”.