Despite mainstream media accounts asserting that heroic individuals putting an end to mass shootings is a statistically exceptional event, research suggests that such instances occur more frequently than people think, says crime researcher Dr. John Lott. According to Lott, the mass shooters frequently indicate in their diaries or manifestos that they want to attract media attention and that they are aware that the more victims they kill, the more attention they will receive. These individuals repeatedly mention going to a location where they know victims can't protect themselves while leaving comments explaining why they hit the target that they did.  They are not naive. They are aware that if individuals have the ability to defend themselves, they won't be able to murder as many people and won't garner as much media attention as they would want.