{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T21:28:45Z","timestamp":1788902925266,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":70,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745366400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Firearms are the leading cause of death for minors in the United States and US gun culture is often discussed as a reason behind the prevalence of school shootings. Yet, few studies systematically analyze if there is a connection between the two: Do school shooters show a distinct gun culture? This article studies gun culture in action in school shootings. It studies if school shooters show distinct meanings and practices around firearms prior to the shooting, as well as patterns in access to firearms. To do so, I analyze a full sample of US school shootings. Relying on publicly available court, police, and media data, I combine qualitative in-depth analyses with cross-case comparisons and descriptive statistics. Findings suggest most school shooters come from a social setting in which firearms are a crucial leisure activity and hold meanings of affection, friendship, and bonding. These meanings translate into practices: all school shooters had easy access to the firearms they used for the shooting. Findings contribute to research on firearms and youth violence, public health, as well as the sociology of culture.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0322195","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T17:21:29Z","timestamp":1745428889000},"page":"e0322195","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["\u201cThe only friend I had was my gun\u201d: A mixed-methods study of gun culture in school shootings"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4224-7469","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anne","family":"Nassauer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0322195.ref001","author":"A Choi","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref002","author":"JW Cox","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref003","author":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","year":"2024 Jul"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0322195.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1093\/socpro\/spx040","article-title":"Gun Culture in Action","volume":"66","author":"FC Mencken","year":"2017","journal-title":"Social Problems"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0322195.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.2307\/2095521","article-title":"Culture in action: symbols and strategies","volume":"51","author":"A Swidler","year":"1986","journal-title":"Am Sociol Rev"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0322195.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12497","DOI":"10.1111\/soc4.12497","article-title":"The sociology of U.S. gun culture","volume":"11","author":"D Yamane","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sociol Compass"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref007","volume-title":"Rampage: the social roots of school shootings","author":"KS Newman","year":"2004"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref008","author":"New York Times","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref009","author":"The Guardian","year":"2018"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0322195.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"573","DOI":"10.7326\/M19-2441","article-title":"Firearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States: a Call to Action From the Nation\u2019s Leading Physician and Public Health Professional Organizations","volume":"171","author":"RM McLean","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ann Intern Med"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref011","volume-title":"The gun debate: what everyone needs to know","author":"PJ Cook","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref012","volume-title":"Under the Gun: Weapons, Crime and Violence in America","author":"JD Wright","year":"1983"},{"key":"pone.0322195.ref013","author":"J. 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