It’s time for another mid-month in April, when we remember the horrible day at Virginia Tech, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings and other tragic events that occurred around this time of the year. The media has hyped the countdown, along with a number of pet theories about why these shootings persist before and after then.

The first myth is that it’s all about America, and that it is an “American problem (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18249724/),” as MSNBC implies. A look at the statistics on mass murderers that are done by Americans or events that took place in America shows otherwise. Of the 19 cases of mass murders at one confined place (excluding school massacres and workplace killings) with 10 or more deaths, only three involved America. For “spree killings” (“killers on the run”) only one of the twenty worst cases happened in America. In workplace killings, five of the worst 20 cases included America. Only six of the 20 worst family massacres were perpetrated in America. When it comes to school shootings, six of the 20 worst cases involved an American or takes place on American soil. These other cases can be found on nearly every continent, in rich and in poor countries, in authoritarian nations and democracies, not just America.

Still another “pet theory” provided by the media involves the notion that the shooter was “bullied” into doing so. Yet an evaluation of the cases seems to dispel this notion. Most of those gunned down by the Columbine shooters were not bullies or on the pair’s “hit list.” The stories about them being oppressed “goths” or part of some “trenchcoat mafia” were media inaccuracies (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm?se=yahoorefer). The Virginia Tech and University of Texas shooters did not seek out bullies for their victims, or even people they knew when they fired their shots. Most seem intent upon inflating a body count, rather than exacting some personal form of revenge against an alleged perpetrator.

Another myth being perpetuated by the Christian Science Monitor is that these shootings are tied to the recession (http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0330/p02s01-usju.html). But of MSNBC’s list (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18140540/) of “Deadliest shootings in the U.S.” before this year, not one of these heinous shootings took place during a recession quarter, as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the economic data provided here (http://www.nber.org/cycles.html). Of course, several shooting sprees have occurred since the recession began. All this shows is that shooting sprees will occur regardless of the state of the economy.

Do you notice anything similar about all of these myths? Most are designed to elicit some sympathy for the shooter. “It’s America’s culture that’s to blame.” “The recession made them do it.” “They were bullied into a desperate situation.” But I have found one connection that may be of interest. There’s a pattern to these shootings. They tend to appear in clusters. The Virginia Tech shooter cited the Columbine killers. He also sent videos to the media, just like perpetrator of the recent Binghamton slaughter did. They appear to relish the media attention they receive.

National Public Radio did a recent interview for “StoryCorps” with survivors of a Michigan school bombing that killed dozens of students in the 1920s. “Nobody ever mentioned that killer’s name again,” one said. Perhaps that should be the best policy for the media to adopt, to take away the one thing these evil killers want the most.