Experts with the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium (RGVRC) address different facets of firearm violence from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. In this series, get to know our experts and learn more about their contributions to better understand, prevent, and respond to the public health crisis of firearm violence. Meet Emily Greene-Colozzi, a member of the RGVRC and an assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Why do you study gun violence? Why is this an important area of research and how do you see your work helping to address this issue?

I first became involved in this research as a master’s student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I was part of a team coding the precipitants of active shooter incidents, and this experience really jump-started my interest in gun violence. My PhD mentor, Dr. Joshua Freilich, was also integral in giving me the opportunity to explore this area of research by bringing me onto different projects studying school shootings and encouraging me to build my own open-source database of active shooter incidents.

As a criminologist, I see gun violence as both a source and facilitator for some of the greatest social problems in the US, from suicide to gang conflict to school shootings. Research has helped us understand the scope and consequences of gun violence, but there are still gaps in the empirical understanding of prevention and response, especially in the context of rare gun violence like school and mass shootings.

What is your research focus related to gun violence? What are you currently researching?

My research primarily focuses on rare and extreme forms of gun violence, especially active and mass public shootings, terrorist mass shootings, and school shootings. Within these areas of interest, I study issues related to response (how the built environment and situational factors can potentially mitigate lethality) and prevention (what behavioral warning signs precede mass public violence).

Presently, I am working on a project, funded by the National Institute of Justice, that aims to identify the warning behaviors exhibited by mass public shooters/plotters and simultaneously map out the social networks surrounding these individuals. Additionally, I am part of a team on a separate project, funded by the US Department of Homeland Security, that will use research about these warning behaviors and communications to educate the public, break down the bystander effect, and help to prevent future tragedies from occurring.

What do you hope that people can take away from the research you are conducting?

I hope that my research contributions are twofold: first and foremost, to provide relevant and rigorous data to help private and public stakeholders and policymakers implement programs that will effectively curb gun violence; and second, to help build up the empirical literature on gun violence to dispel myths and inaccuracies.