Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 2d

A series of shootings prompted York officials to ban ghost guns and machine gun converters. But the laws may not stick.

This Small Pennsylvania City Is Challenging the State’s Control Over Local Gun Laws

A series of shootings prompted York officials to ban ghost guns and machine gun converters. But the laws may not stick.

www.thetrace.org

1

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 3d

“We just try to grow food, grow lives, and grow community. I think that's the only way that the world will get better — if everyone works hard at the same thing together.”

‘Hands in the Soil, Off the Trigger’

A community gardening program in Milwaukee teaches young people not only about tending to plants, but also about life.

www.thetrace.org

5 13

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Josiah Bates @josiahbates.bsky.social · 7d

@thetrace.org mapped two decades of high-profile shootings at Houses of Worship. It's a sobering timeline carefully reported by @jenmascia.bsky.social and @bychipbrownlee.com

A Timeline of High-Profile Shootings at Houses of Worship

The attack on a Mormon church in Michigan was one of many similar shootings over the past 20 years, according to an analysis by The Trace.

www.thetrace.org

1 7 7

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 8d

Make a gift to help The Trace inform more people about an issue that affects all of us: thetrace.fundjournalism.org?campaign=701...

Everyone deserves the truth about gun violence. The Trace's reporting has empowered readers for the past decade. Your support will enable us to reach new audiences and spark change. Donate now

6 6

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 8d

A community gardening program in Milwaukee teaches young people not only about tending to plants, but also about life.

If it sounds like a violence intervention program disguised as a garden, that’s because in many ways it is.

‘Hands in the Soil, Off the Trigger’

A community gardening program in Milwaukee teaches young people not only about tending to plants, but also about life.

www.thetrace.org

6 13

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 8d

The Michigan attack was at least the 20th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the U.S. over the past two decades.

Many of the shootings were motivated by hate, while others stemmed from domestic disputes or a grudge the attacker had against the church.

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/chur...

3 2

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 9d

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin and the Dallas ICE shooter both scrawled messages on their rounds. A criminologist breaks down what these inscriptions mean.

Why Are High-Profile Shooters Writing on Their Ammo?

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin and the Dallas ICE shooter both scrawled messages on their rounds. A criminologist breaks down what these inscriptions mean.

www.thetrace.org

6 6 9

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 9d

The September 28 attack on an LDS church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, was at least the 20th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the past two decades.

Collectively, these shootings left at least 92 people dead and 100 wounded.

A Timeline of High-Profile Shootings at Houses of Worship

The attack on a Mormon church in Michigan was one of many similar shootings over the past 20 years, according to an analysis by The Trace.

www.thetrace.org

3 10 9

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 12d

In several recent high-profile shootings, law enforcement has found inscriptions on perpetrators’ weapons and ammunition. The Trace spoke to Adam Lankford, a University of Alabama criminologist and an expert on mass shootings and targeted violence, to unpack what these messages mean.

Why Are High-Profile Shooters Writing on Their Ammo?

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin and the Dallas ICE shooter both scrawled messages on their rounds. A criminologist breaks down what these inscriptions mean.

www.thetrace.org

3 4 2

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Jennifer Mascia @jenmascia.bsky.social · 13d

Unlike many forms of public gun violence, sniper attacks evade most security measures like metal detectors and armed guards.

It's hard to defend yourself from a bullet coming from 200 yards away.

My latest for @thetrace.org w/ @bychipbrownlee.com and Champe Barton:

The Dallas ICE Shooting Underscores How Hard It Is to Stop Sniper Attacks, Experts Say

“There really is not anything you can do to secure a public place 100 percent,” said Caylen Wojcik, a former Marine sniper.

www.thetrace.org

1 5 7

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 12d

But, like manifestos, that means media — and social media — need to be careful about amplifying their messaging.

"When perpetrators want attention and you give it to them, you’re rewarding them," Lankford, who has researched the "gamification" of mass violence, told me.

Chip Brownlee: You’ve written about the “gamification” of mass violence. Can you explain what that means and how these inscriptions may fit into that framework?

Adam Lankford: Gamification is taking a task and giving it game-like features, largely to encourage participation. If you want your kids to clean their bedroom, you make it a game — it’s fun and less like work. With the gamification of violence, it’s the same premise: Attackers suggest that extreme violence is fun, encouraging others to participate.

We see this clearly in the Charlie Kirk case, where the alleged shooter acknowledged there wasn’t a lot of meaning to his inscriptions. Some perpetrators have studied previous attackers and may attempt to inspire copycats by portraying violence as fun and cool.

1

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 12d

Are the writings shooters are leaving on their ammunition and weapons replacing manifestos? Adam Lankford, a University of Alabama criminologist and an expert on mass shootings and targeted violence, doesn't think so.

More likely: They're trying to make their violence seem "cool."

Why Are High-Profile Shooters Writing on Their Ammo?

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin and the Dallas ICE shooter both scrawled messages on their rounds. A criminologist breaks down what these inscriptions mean.

www.thetrace.org

1 2 7

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 15d

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site

As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

www.miamiherald.com

1.2K 19K 32K

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Brian Freskos @brianfreskos.bsky.social · 15d

A bill in Illinois would require gunmakers to pay into what amounts to a compensation fund for gun violence. It's sort of like workers’ comp — but for gun injuries and deaths — shifting some of the burden from victims and taxpayers back onto the industry that profits from the product.

A Chicago Trauma Doctor Has a Plan to Shift the Cost of Gun Violence

Dr. Anthony Douglas is determined to compel the gun industry to fund victim restitution in Illinois — with national implications.

www.thetrace.org

1 4 9

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 18d

In an undercover operation last year, the FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration.

Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.

The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.

www.msnbc.com

3

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · 19d

We've posted the data behind this story — on the alarming prevalence of gun suicides among older Americans — on the Gun Violence Data Hub.

That includes county- and state-level data that journalists can use to investigate how this issue affects their communities
datahub.thetrace.org/dataset/gun-...

1 7 10

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Jennifer Mascia @jenmascia.bsky.social · 19d

In 2020 the gun industry urged the ATF to add a nonbinary category to the federal background check form for gun sales. The Trump administration made the change.

Now the 2nd Trump administration is reversing it. My colleague @vansant.bsky.social has the scoop:

Buying a Gun Is About to Get More Complicated for Nonbinary People

The ATF has told The Trace that the federal background check form for gun sales is being revised to recognize only two sexes.

www.thetrace.org

4 5

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

This Is Our Lane @thisisourlane.org · Aug 23

For decades, the CDC has been a backbone of gun violence research. Now sweeping cuts are gutting that work—layoffs, slashed budgets, even the dismantling of the injury prevention team and its vital data.

This research informs laws, prevention, & care nationwide.

CDC Data Is Helping Combat Gun Violence. But It’s at Risk of Disappearing.

As the Trump administration pushes deep cuts to the CDC, we’ve compiled 10 examples of how the agency’s gun violence work has shaped policy and prevention.

www.thetrace.org

1 9 13

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 20d

Really important work by my colleague @amendelson.bsky.social and @thetrace.org's Data Hub. Give it a read.

Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · 20d

Older Americans have the highest rates of gun suicide of any age group. Not by a little — by a lot.

Why? I spent months exploring this question through data, field reporting, and interviews with experts. Our story is up today on @thetrace.org

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...

The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?

More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.

www.thetrace.org

1 3 3

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 21d

If you like stories like this that look at creative ideas to address America's gun violence epidemic, consider subscribing to my newsletter: The Trajectory.

It's free!!

Subscribe to The Trajectory

Get our solutions coverage sent straight to your inbox.

www.thetrace.org

3 2

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 21d

Licensing fees pegged to how often firearms are recovered in fatal incidents could nudge the industry to design safer products and police supply chains, supporters say.

“We accept this as normal,” Dr. Selwyn Rogers Jr. said of the daily toll of gunfire. “We should not accept this as normal.”

A Chicago Trauma Doctor Has a Plan to Shift the Cost of Gun Violence

Dr. Anthony Douglas is determined to compel the gun industry to fund victim restitution in Illinois — with national implications.

www.thetrace.org

1 5 6

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · 22d

In Illinois, a bill called the RIFL Act would shift some of the financial burden of gun violence from victims and taxpayers back onto the industry that profits from the product. Think of it as workers’ comp, but for gun injuries and deaths.

A Chicago Trauma Doctor Has a Plan to Shift the Cost of Gun Violence

Dr. Anthony Douglas is determined to compel the gun industry to fund victim restitution in Illinois — with national implications.

www.thetrace.org

2 18 45

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 24d

A celebration of Harper Moyski’s life will begin at noon at Lake Harriet.

Memorial for 10-year-old Annunciation shooting victim to take place today

A celebration of Harper Moyski’s life will begin at noon at Lake Harriet.

bit.ly

2 14 47

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 24d

Today marks three months since Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog Gilbert were assassinated.

“A lot of leaders show up to events and doorknocks, give the rah-rah speeches, and then they leave. That was not Melissa.”

‘Fearless’ Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman, Assassinated by Firearm, Leaves a Legacy of Gun Reform

The former state House speaker had a role in passing several bills to curb violence.

www.thetrace.org

6 11

Reposted by Chip Brownlee

WIRED @wired.com · 26d

NEW: The inscriptions on bullets recovered near the scene of Charlie Kirk's murder appear to reference video games like Helldivers 2 and online furry roleplay, not a legible political ideology.

Bullets Found After the Charlie Kirk Shooting Carried Messages. Here’s What They Mean

The inscriptions on bullets recovered near the scene of Charlie Kirk's murder appear to reference video games like ‘Helldivers 2’ and online furry roleplay, not a legible political ideology.

www.wired.com

36 280 920