According to an FBI report released Wednesday, the number of shootings in which a gunman wounds or kills multiple people has increased dramatically in recent years. The study focused on 160 “active shooter incidents” between 2000 and 2013, which included the 2012 shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The goal of the report -- which found that most shootings occurred at a business or a school -- was to help local police prepare for similar killings in the future, federal law enforcement officials said. Officials believe many shooters are inspired by past killings and the resulting notoriety, referred to as the "copycat phenomenon" by Andre Simons of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit.
