El Paso Was Terrorism, Dayton Wasn’t, And Why That Matters

Different types of shootings, different strategies to stop them

Over the weekend, the United States suffered two big mass shootings: one in El Paso, Texas, which killed 22 — the sixth deadliest in U.S. history — the other in Dayton, Ohio, which killed nine.

Some mass shootings are terrorism, some aren’t. The big difference is whether the action was political or personal. Terrorists aim to send a message, to advance a cause. In the June 2015 Charleston church shooting, a white man killed nine in a historically black church, explaining in online videos that he hoped to ignite a race war. In the December 2015 San Bernardino shooting, a Muslim couple killed 14, explaining on social media that they did it for ISIS. Both attacks were terrorism.

By contrast, the Virginia Tech shooter (killed 32 in April 2007) was angry at his classmates, as were the Columbine shooters (killed 13 in April 1999). In the January 2011 Tuscon, Arizona shooting that killed six and injured Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, the shooter was a paranoid schizophrenic who believed Giffords snubbed him at a 2007 event and sought revenge. In many of these cases, attackers hope their actions will make them famous. The main distinction is they’re doing it for themselves, while terrorists believe…