'Mass murders with knives are rare': Internet highlights how Idaho murder case is strikingly 'unusual'
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MOSCOW, IDAHO: In the aftermath of the Idaho murders, social media users have noted that the massacre was unusual as most mass murders are not carried out with a knife. More than a month after the brutal slayings, a suspect has yet to be caught, which has led to unrest in the community and the Internet as well.
University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in an off-campus three-story rented home in the early morning hours of November 13. Authorities have said that the gory scene where the students were killed was the “worst they’ve ever seen."
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A social media user shared a USA Today compilation of statistics since 2006. The article says, "The majority of mass killings are fatal mass shootings. These events usually happen about two dozen times a year. Analysis shows non-gun-related deaths make up just under 20% of mass killings."
The user who shared the article on Reddit said, "What is really striking is how *unusual* the Moscow case is. Mass murders with knives are rare. And there is only one other unsolved mass murder of people in a house who weren't shot or weren't killed in an arson house fire; a 2014 bludgeoning in upstate New York (there was a task force, the FBI was involved). One point in the article really struck me: an altercation will seldom escalate to mass murder. They are almost always *planned*. (The exception is felony mass murder, which are killings in the course of a robbery, gang violence, etc.)"
"If you look up 'mass stabbing' in Wikipedia, the Moscow case is the *only* one listed that isn't ideological or terrorist-driven, and the only non-public or non-spree mass stabbing," the user added. The article also said that mass killers are typically "angry, aggrieved, emotionally unstable people who seek retribution or revenge for perceived mistreatment, rejection or humiliation." In the Idaho murders, Gregg McCrary, a former FBI profiler, said the killer was possibly "enraged."
The Internet discussed the gun statistics, with one user saying, "What caught my attention is that there are 22 unsolved mass murders - all involving either 4 or 5 victims - since 2006." Another user said, "most of them are public, with guns, though. like drive-bys or gang. on the bottom of the page you can sort & filter, & I looked for unsolved in-home ones. this is the only stabbing."
Another aspect that makes this rarer still is the type of knife used, making sudden rage more implausible. People keep quoting the most generalized statistics when the unique aspects of this crime make that almost completely redundant. IMO the characteristics of this crime more closely match a serial killer," one user said, while another wrote, "Thanks for the info and source. Interesting for sure. If you filter the data to ‘unsolved’, there are actually very few since 2006 and like you mentioned none that are stabbings except for this one. I am hopeful LE is close."
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.