Is There an Assault of Violence?

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The majority of gun micides are these assault of interactions, essentially. Two thirds that we know of are by people that are known to the person who was injured or killed. And the other third we actually just don't know. Most of this viol is happening in social networks,. In small communities that people are known to each other. i think it's important that we understand that they're all tragic, but they're not qite rand."

The United States is suffering from an epidemic of tragic gun violence. While a political debate rages around the topic of gun control, it remains important to understand the causes and possible remedies for gun violence within the current system. Andrew Papachristos is a sociologist who uses applied network science to study patterns of street violence in urban areas. His research shows that such violence is highly non-random; knowing something about the social networks of perpetrators and victims can help identify who might be at heightened risk of gun violence. It’s an interesting example of applying ideas from mathematics and computer science to real-world social situations.

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Andrew Papachristos received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago. He is currently a professor of sociology at Northwestern University, and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. He is also founding director of the Northwestern Neighborhoods and Networks Initiative.

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