How to Stop a Mass Killer? “Wait, Watch and Hope They Don’t Act”

Bottom line: After the mass shooting at the Parkland, Fla., school this week, the Trump administration’s focus on tackling mental health issues may produce legislation that empowers law enforcement to identify troubled would-be attackers. But such action may fail to stem the tide of gun-related mass shootings if not coupled with changes to federal or state laws to better monitor who has access to high-powered weapons.

Background: Mass shootings have become more common in the United States than almost anywhere else in the world. A 2015 study by Adam Lankford, a professor at the University of Alabama, said only Yemen has a higher rate of mass shootings. But the right to own guns continues to trump efforts to increase monitoring of who buys them.