Date
03/10/2019
12:00 - 13:30

Location
Vlaams Parlement (zaal Rik Wouters)

Armed to Kill: A comprehensive analysis of the guns used in public mass shootings in Europe between 2009-2018

How many and what type of public mass shootings have taken place in Europe in the past 10 years?

How have the perpetrators of these public mass shootings acquired their weapons?

What can be done to prevent their access to these weapons?

Public mass shootings send a shock wave through local communities and impact national politics. The recent mass shootings at a store in El Paso (August 2019), at mosques in Christchurch (March 2019), and on a tram in Utrecht (March 2019) demonstrate that these deadly incidents can happen anywhere and are a global phenomenon. In recent years several such shootings have been perpetrated in Europe, the most notorious of which are probably the terrorist attacks in Paris in January and November 2015 and the mass shooting on Utøya island in Norway in 2011.

To develop better legislation and policies aimed at preventing gun violence in our European societies, it is important to improve our understanding of the problem. The bulk of the research into the relationship between firearms and gun violence, however, focuses onto the situation in the United States. This is also the case for research into public mass shootings. In Europe such studies are underdeveloped and much less is known about the guns used in gun violence in general and in public mass shootings in particular.

On 3 October 2019 the Flemish Peace Institute will launch its new research report “Armed to Kill: A comprehensive analysis of the guns used in public mass shootings in Europe between 2009-2018”. This reports analyses the firearms used in all 23 identified public mass shootings in Europe between 2009 and 2018. More importantly it also analyses the various ways in which the perpetrators of these shootings acquired their firearms. Nils Duquet, author of the study, will present the main findings of the report at this event. This will be followed by academic reflections by Associate Professor Marieke Liem (Leiden University) and policy reflections by Mr. Emmanuel Vallens (European Commission).

Programme

12u00-12u15                    Arrival of participants

12u15- 12u20                    Welcome Elke Devroe (Director, Flemish Peace Institute)

12u20-12u50:                   Main findings from “Armed to kill” Nils Duquet (Senior Researcher, Flemish Peace Institute)

12u50-13u00:                   Gun violence and public mass shootings in European Homicide Research Marieke Liem (Associate Professor, Leiden University)                 

13u00-13u10:                   European policy actions on firearms to prevent public mass shootings Emmanuel Vallens (Policy Advisor, DG Migration & Home

                                            Affairs European Commission)

13u10-13u30:                    Q & A (moderated by Director Elke Devroe)

 

This event will be held in English.

A light lunch will be provided for the participants

Entrance: IJzerenkruisstraat 99, Brussels

We look forward to welcoming you!