Commentary: Mass shooters aren’t mentally ill people who suddenly snap. They decide to kill

In the aftermath of major mass shootings, politicians and pundits depict the killers as crazed monsters and blame mental illness as the fundamental cause. The same story has played out since the horrific massacre May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where an 18-year-old allegedly motivated by racist ideology is accused of murdering 10 people. But this misleading narrative is not supported by scientific evidence and is counterproductive to solving America’s epidemic of mass shootings.

The claim that mental illness produces such attacks implies that