I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 563 
To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and analyze 
online content created by mass shooters in an effort to early identify 
potential mass shooters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2023 
Mr. MFUME (for himself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. CARSON, Mr. EVANS, Ms. PORTER, Ms. KAMLAGER- 
DOVE, Ms. BROWN, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PAYNE, 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. 
PLASKETT, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. IVEY, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 
Mr. LYNCH, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. SABLAN, and Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, 
and analyze online content created by mass shooters 
in an effort to early identify potential mass shooters. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Identifying Mass 
Shooters Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Perpetrators of mass shootings have utilized 
various online channels to declare their intent to 
commit violence through manifestos, blog posts, so-
cial media posts, and direct messages prior to com-
mitting acts of terror. 
(2) Inadequate oversight and accountability 
mechanisms on online platforms creates an environ-
ment 
that 
enables 
hate 
speech, 
extremism, 
radicalization, and violence. 
(3) In 2018, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
High School shooter posted a video on YouTube 
stating his desire to be a ‘‘professional school shoot-
er,’’ and proceeded to share photos of himself posing 
with guns, along with troubling photos on Instagram 
of his weapons arsenal and an animal he tortured, 
prior to murdering 17 students and school staff 
members. 
(4) In 2018, the Santa Fe High School shooter 
posted a Facebook photo of a t-shirt with ‘‘Born to 
Kill,’’ and images of Nazi and satanic symbols prior 
to murdering 10 students and school staff members. 
(5) In 2022, the Buffalo Tops grocery store 
shooter declared on Discord, ‘‘I will carry out an at-
tack,’’ posted a manifesto on 4chan, and then 
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livestreamed the murder of 10 Black people in a ra-
cially motivated shooting. 
(6) In 2022, the Robb Elementary School 
shooter posted a photo of a hand holding a gun 
magazine, 2 semi-automatic rifles, a TikTok profile 
that warned ‘‘Kids be scared,’’ and sent a direct 
message though Yubo notifying an individual of his 
intent to kill prior to murdering 21 children and 
staff members. 
(7) The First Baptist Church of Sutherland 
Springs shooter demonstrated a fascination with 
mass shootings and launched personal attacks on 
Facebook prior to murdering 26 churchgoers, includ-
ing an unborn child. 
SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Justice shall prepare and submit a re-
port to Congress identifying content patterns used by 
mass shooters through online platforms and social media 
channels. 
(b) REVIEW AND CONSULTATION.—In preparing the 
report required under this section, the Director shall, at 
a minimum— 
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(1) review information, data, and reports relat-
ing to linguistic patterns used by previous mass 
shooters collected by Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act; 
(2) review academic studies, including studies 
analyzing the relevance of social media in mass 
shootings described in paragraph (1); and 
(3) meet with, and consider any facts and anal-
yses offered by, prosecutors, defense attorneys, fam-
ily attorneys, judges, nonprofit organizations, victims 
service providers, culturally specific organizations, 
Federal, State, Tribal, and local courts, Federal, 
State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, 
and individuals with academic expertise in relin-
quishment. 
(c) IDENTIFICATION
OF
ITEMS
FOR
FURTHER 
STUDY.—In the report under this section, the Director 
shall identify items for further study, relating to the effec-
tiveness of the best practices developed under subsection 
(b). The Director shall publish a solicitation for applica-
tions for research grants on such items not later than 30 
days after the date of the report. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) MASS SHOOTING.—The term ‘‘mass shoot-
ing’’ means any incident in which four or more indi-
viduals, not including the shooter, are shot or killed 
with a gun. 
(2) SOCIAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘social media’’ 
means a channel for interactions among people in 
which they create, share, or exchange information 
and ideas in virtual communities and networks (spe-
cific activities including instant messages, social 
media posts, blogs, uploading media content, 
through social media platforms including, Facebook, 
Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, LinkedIn, 
WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch, 
4chan, 8run, Yubo, and Discord). 
SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADOPTION. 
The National Institute of Justice shall prepare and 
submit to Congress findings and recommendations for 
Federal legislation in accordance with section 3. 
Æ 
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