Forensic characteristics of mass murders in educational institutions

Abstract

Among the variety of forms of criminal activity with the use of firearms and (or) explosive devices in recent years, cases of armed attacks on educational institutions, which take the form of mass murders, have taken a special place. Given the comparative novelty of this phenomenon of russian reality, there is an urgent need to develop adequate tactical and methodological approaches to their investigation and prevention. This article is the first attempt in the Russian criminalistics science to make a systematic analysis of the structural elements of the criminalistic characteristics of mass murders in educational organisations. Typical information about the crime scene conditions, the method of committing the offence, the trace picture, as well as the characteristics of the personality of the offender are considered. The article substantiates the position that it is inexpedient to single out as a separate element of criminalistic characteristic the information about the personality of victims — their choice is non-personalised, the determining factor is physical reach. These offences are often replicas of previously known acts of violence. This directly reflects on their criminalistic uniqueness and emphasises their supranational character, as well as indicating the potential specificity of their manifestation in the Russian context.

References

1. Abramov, A.E. (2023). School Shooting in Educational Institutions as a Particularly Dangerous Phenomenon of Modernity, Prevention and Counteraction to Unmotivated Terrorist Actions. Society: Politics, Economics, Law, 3, pp. 39–45 (in Russ.).
2. Akhmadschin, R.L. (2001). On the nature of «normal mask» serial killers. Izvestiya of Altai state university, 2(20), pp. 35–38 (in Russ.).
3. Batyuta, M.B. and Knyazeva, T.N. (2011). Age psychology. Moscow (in Russ.).
4. Berardi, F. (2016). New heroes: Mass murderer and suicide. Moscow (in Russ.).
5. Bessonov, A.A. (2016). Fundamentals of criminalistic doctrine on the study and use of criminalistic characteristics of crimes. Moscow (in Russ.).
6. Brodovskaya, E.V. et al. (2021). Non-digital and digital markers of the risk of armed attack to educational institutions. Human Capital, 11(15), pp. 88–99 (in Russ.).
7. Volchetskaya, T.S., Avakyan, M.V. and Osipova, E.V. (2021). The criminological description and prevention of school shootings and cyberbullying in Russia and abroad. Russian Journal of Criminology, 15(5), pp. 578–591 (in Russ.).
8. Davydov, D.G. and Khlomov, K.D. (2018). Massacres in educational institutions: mechanisms, causes, prevention. National Psychological Journal, 4, 62–76 (in Russ.).
9. Vaske, E.V. and Kurakina, O.I. (2014). «Ideology of misanthropy». Psychological and legal analysis of modern manifestations of extremism. (2014). Vestnik of Lobachevsky University of Nizhni Novgorod. Law, 3(1), pp. 228–233 (in Russ.).
10. Dozortseva, E.G., Oshevsky, D.S. and Syrokvashina, K.V. (2020). Psychological, Social and Informational Aspects of Attacks by Minors on Educational Institutions. Psychology and Law, Vol. 10, 2, pp. 97–110 (in Russ.).
11. Zvirbul, A.K. et al. (1982). Methodology of criminalistics. Moscow (in Russ.).
12. Ilnitsky, A.S. (2024). Counteraction of criminal ideology in the Internet. Moscow (in Russ.).
13. Iudin, A.A. and Shpilev, D.A. (2024). The funnel of engagement in destructive online communities. Vestnik of Lobachevsky University of Nizhni Novgorod. Social Sciences, 2 (74), pp. 85–91 (in Russ.).
14. Karpova, A.Y. (2022). Scientific and methodological experience of the Tomsk region in the implementation of profile advanced training programmes to counter new terrorist ideologies. In S.A., Sudiin (Ed.). Absolute Terrorism: international youth subculture «Columbine» and related currents as a new terrorist threat: сollection of articles (pp. 54–66). Nizhny Novgorod (in Russ.).
15. Karpova, A.Y. and Maksimova, N.G. (2021). School shooting in Russia: what matters? Power, 29(1), pp. 93–108 (in Russ).
16. Karpova, A.Y. et al. (2020). Studying Online Radicalization of Youth through Social Media (Interdisciplinary Approach). Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, 3, pp. 159–181 (in Russ.).
17. Makogon, I.V. and Kosareva, L.V. (2016). Family as the main factor in the socialisation of the criminal personality. Bulletin of science and practice, 1, pp. 38–42 (in Russ.).
18. Maksimova, N.G. (2023). Subcultural foundations of schoolshooting. Journal of Wellbeing Technologies, 2(49). pp. 131–146 (in Russ.).
19. Samoilov, S.F. and Lapsar, M.V. (2021). Legal analysis of the elements of criminal acts committed by representatives of the movement «Columbine». Bulletin of Krasnodar University of Russian MIA, 4(54), pp. 35–42 (in Russ.).
20. Collins, R. (2014). Microsociology of mass rampage killings. Revue de Syntthese, 135, pp. 405–420.