Editing Mass murder (section)

==By individuals and governments==
[[File:Huittinen axe murder victims.jpg|thumb|The funeral for sextuple [[axe murder]] victims in [[Huittinen]], Finland in 1943, committed by [[Toivo Koljonen]]]]
[[File:320 GERMANWINGS D-AIPX 147 10 05 14 BCN RIP (16730197959).jpg|thumb|This [[Airbus A320]], registration D-AIPX, was destroyed while operating [[Germanwings Flight 9525]], having been [[suicide by pilot|intentionally crashed]] into the [[Alps]] by its co-pilot, killing all 150 people on board.]]
{{See also|List of rampage killers|mass shooting|state terrorism|suicide attack|vehicle-ramming attack}}
Mass murderers may be categorized into killers of family, of coworkers, of students, and of random strangers. Their motives vary.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1612368,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422063828/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0%2C8599%2C1612368%2C00.html |archive-date=April 22, 2007 |magazine=Time |title=Inside a Mass Murderer's Mind |date=April 19, 2007 |access-date=May 12, 2010 |first=Jeffrey |last=Kluger |url-status=dead }}</ref> One motivation for mass murder is [[revenge]], but other motivations are possible, including the need for attention or fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4267309&page=1 |title=ABC News: What Pushes Shooters to Mass Murder? |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=February 9, 2008 |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newser.com/story/18672/notoriety-drives-mass-shooters.html |title=Notoriety Drives Mass Shooters |date=February 10, 2008 |publisher=Newser |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/VATech/Story?id=3056168&page=2 |title=ABC News: Psychiatrist: Showing Video Is 'Social Catastrophe' |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=April 19, 2007 |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref>

Several [[autocratic]] regimes have been known to have ordered mass murders including [[genocide]] and [[politicide]]. Acting on the orders of Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Vasili Blokhin]]'s [[war crime]] of [[Katyn massacre|killing of 7,000 Polish prisoners of war]], shot over 28 days, was one of the most organized and protracted mass murders by a single individual on record.<ref>{{cite book | last = Sebag Montefiore | first = Simon | title = Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar | publisher = [[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]] | year = 2004 | page = [https://archive.org/details/stalincourtofred00mont/page/334 334] | isbn = 1-4000-4230-5 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/stalincourtofred00mont/page/334 }}</ref>

===Law enforcement response and countermeasures===
Analysis of the [[Columbine High School massacre]] and other incidents where [[law enforcement officer]]s waited for backup has resulted in changed recommendations regarding what victims, bystanders, and law enforcement officers should do. In the Columbine shooting, the perpetrators, [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]], were able to murder 13 people, then commit suicide before the first SWAT team even entered the school. Average response time by law enforcement to a mass shooting is typically much longer than the time the shooter is engaged in killing. While immediate action may be extremely dangerous, it could save lives which would be lost if victims and bystanders involved in the situation remain passive, or law enforcement response is delayed until overwhelming force can be deployed. It is recommended that victims and bystanders involved in the incident take active steps to flee, hide, or fight the shooter and that law enforcement officers present or first arriving at the scene attempt immediately to engage the shooter. In many instances, immediate action by victims, bystanders, or law enforcement officers has saved lives.<ref name=NYT4613>{{cite news|title=In Shift, Police Advise Taking an Active Role to Counter Mass Attacks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/in-a-shift-police-advise-taking-an-active-role-to-counter-mass-attacks.html|access-date=April 7, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 6, 2013|author=Erica Goode}}</ref> However, law enforcement programs and actions have so far been unable to reduce the total number of incidents. In 2020, a record number of 600 mass shootings occurred.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Past Summary Ledgers {{!}} Gun Violence Archive|url=https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.gunviolencearchive.org}}</ref>