"I will not say his name": the police try to stop the notoriety of the armed men during mass shootings

The refusal to repeat the name of a suspect is not universal. At the press conference following the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last fall, which killed 11 people, for example, the authorities repeatedly announced the suspect's name. And some people think that the decisions of the forces of order to avoid naming assailants make little difference, especially for the relatives of the victims.

"Do not say that his name will not take away anything that has happened," said Reverend Sharon Risher, whose mother died during the attack on a church in New York City. Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. Ms. Risher stated that she was sure to mention Dylann Roof, the shooter who was sentenced to death in January 2017, during speeches, because "you must know who he is and when that name will rise, the hurt that person has caused. "

But the approach of not naming the suspects has recently been more widely adopted, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the non-profit police research research forum, while chiefs and sheriffs have eventually recognize that mass shooters often kill to attract attention.

"The feeling is that this is part of the reason why these people do it, so let's not worry about it," Wexler said.

According to Adam Lankford, a professor of criminology at the University of Alabama, nearly half of the deadliest victims since 2010, explicit evidence of "search for glory" exists for nearly half of the victims. His research revealed that 90% of the very fatal shots have circumstantial evidence of a desire to pay attention.

"The evidence supporting these types of strategies is stronger than ever because we have more cases and more data," said Dr. Lankford. "And law enforcement is also increasingly desperate to do something that would make a difference."

Several law enforcement officials said that their departments had no official policy to avoid pronouncing the name of a suspect. But it has become custom, or in some cases, an instinct. In a press conference following the shooting at a manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois last February, killing five officers and wounding five officers, Kristen Ziman, the city's police chief, avoided appoint the murderer more than once.