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.....................................................................
(Original Signature of Member)

H. R. ll
117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and analyze

online content created by mass shooters in an effort to early identify
potential mass shooters.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. MFUME introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on llllllllllllll

A BILL
To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study,
and analyze online content created by mass shooters
in an effort to early identify potential mass shooters.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Identifying Mass

5 Shooters Act’’.
6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

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1 (1) Perpetrators of mass shootings have utilized
2 various online channels to declare their intent to
3 commit violence through manifestos, blog posts, so-
4 cial media posts, and direct messages prior to com-
5 mitting acts of terror.
6 (2) Inadequate oversight and accountability
7 mechanisms on online platforms creates an environ-
8 ment that enables hate speech, extremism,
9 radicalization, and violence.
10 (3) In 2018, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
11 High School shooter posted a video on YouTube
12 stating his desire to be a ‘‘professional school shoot-
13 er,’’ and proceeded to share photos of himself posing
14 with guns, along with troubling photos on Instagram
15 of his weapons arsenal and an animal he tortured,
16 prior to murdering 17 student and school staff mem-
17 bers.
18 (4) In 2018, the Santa Fe High School shooter
19 posted a Facebook photo of a t-shirt with ‘‘Born to
20 Kill,’’ and images of Nazi and satanic symbols prior
21 to murdering 10 students and school staff members.
22 (5) In 2022, the Buffalo Tops grocery store
23 shooter declared on Discord, ‘‘I will carry out an at-
24 tack,’’, posted a manifesto on 4chan, and then

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1 livestreamed the murder of 10 Black people in a ra-
2 cially motivated shooting.
3 (6) In 2022, the Robb Elementary School
4 shooter posted a photo of a hand holding a gun
5 magazine, 2 semi-automatic rifles, a TikTok profile
6 that warned ‘‘Kids be scared,’’ and sent a direct
7 message though Yubo notifying an individual of his
8 intent to kill prior to murdering 21 children and
9 staff members.
10 (7) The First Baptist Church of Sutherland
11 Springs shooter demonstrated a fascination with
12 mass shootings and launched personal attacks on
13 Facebook prior to murdering 26 churchgoers, includ-
14 ing an unborn child.
15 SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 year after the

17 date of the enactment of this Act the Director of the Na-
18 tional Institute of Justice shall prepare and submit a re-
19 port to Congress identifying content patterns used by
20 mass shooters through online platforms and social media
21 channels.
22 (b) REVIEW AND CONSULTATION.—In preparing the
23 report required under this section, the Director shall, at
24 a minimum—

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1 (1) review evidence relating to linguistic pat-
2 terns used by previous mass shooters collected by
3 Federal, State, and local law enforcement as of the
4 date of the enactment of this Act;
5 (2) review academic studies, including studies
6 analyzing the relevance of social media in mass
7 shootings described in paragraph (1); and
8 (3) meet with, and consider any facts and anal-
9 yses offered by, prosecutors, defense attorneys, fam-
10 ily attorneys, judges, nonprofit organizations, victims
11 service providers, culturally specific organizations,
12 Federal, State, Tribal, and local courts, Federal,
13 State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies,
14 and individuals with academic expertise in relin-
15 quishment.
16 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF ITEMS FOR FURTHER
17 STUDY.—In the report under this section, the Director
18 shall identify items for further study, relating to the effec-
19 tiveness of the best practices developed under subsection
20 (b).
21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

22 In this Act:
23 (1) MASS SHOOTING.—The term ‘‘mass shoot-
24 er’’ means a person who commits a shooting during
25 which three or more individuals, not including the

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1 shooter, were injured or killed in one location or in
2 multiple locations in close proximity.
3 (2) SOCIAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘social media’’
4 means a channel for interactions among people in
5 which they create, share, or exchange information
6 and ideas in virtual communities and networks (spe-
7 cific activities including instant messages, social
8 media posts, blogs, uploading media content,
9 through social media platforms including, Facebook,
10 Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, LinkedIn,
11 WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch,
12 4chan, 8run, Yubo, and Discord).
13 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADOPTION.

14 The National Institute of Justice shall prepare and

15 submit to Congress findings and recommendations for
16 Federal legislation in accordance with section 3.

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