General Discussion

They say between 3 and 8 percent of shooters are ex-military.

CBS News analyzed a database compiled by The Violence Project. The nonprofit tracks mass shootings, which it defines as four or more people murdered in one event, not including the offender. It shows out of 195 mass shootings since 1966, 50 involved suspects who were veterans or people with military training.

To be clear, only a tiny fraction of people with military backgrounds become mass shooters. But military experience is something a disproportionate share of attackers have in common.

A CBS News analysis of the data shows 26% of mass shooters over six decades have had military service or training. That is high compared to the general U.S. adult population, where 7%, or fewer than 1 in 10, has a military background, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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"Not all of them were deployed, and some of them only went through basic training, but they do have that throughline (military connection) in their histories," Densley said. "We actually have 14 or 15 mass shooters in our database that were marksmen or snipers in the military. I think there's some skills that are learned in the military, which may lend themselves then to mass shootings that follow. So, for instance, proficiency with firearms."